Dinner conversations may vary from smart discussions or gay political debates to just highly entertaining moments around the table. But when "The Queen of Folk Rock" Joni Mitchell dined with "Piano Man" Sir Elton John's long-time personal manager Michael Hewitson, their discussions centered around Mitchell's recent successful ballet, The Fiddle and the Drum. In 2007 Mitchell collaborated with Jean Grand-Maitre, artistic director for the Alberta Ballet, to choreograph a ballet—an anti-war show—based on selections from her musical repertoire. The result was a critically acclaimed production which played to sold-out houses and immediately garnered worldwide recognition.
Not surprisingly, John's curiosity was piqued. He is quoted as later saying that he had been approached by many people, including Broadway producers, to use his music biographically. But when John saw the Filddler and the Drum he knew he had found the right artistic director to proceed with such a production.
Imagine the surprise when about one year ago Grand-Maître received a cold call from Elton John's road manager, inviting him to a Calgary concert—including a backstage pass. Grand-Maitre plus an entourage including six of his ballet troupe proceeded with grand allegro all the way to the concert venue where they were treated to John's VIP hospitality.
"Elton is a very gracious gentleman," Grand-Maître is quoted as saying. "He dedicated a song to us at the concert and met all of us backstage. He told us that he had dined with Joni ( Mitchell ) the week before. She raved about her experience creating The Fiddle and the Drum with Alberta Ballet which made him interested in working with us."
The rest—as they say—is about to become history as Grand-Maitre and his ballet company prepare to premiere Elton as part of the Alberta Ballet 2009/2010 season's offerings aimed to delight ballet enthusiasts, dance officianados, and—of course—Elton John fans.
British-born John has been an influential force in pop and rock music for four decades, with hits such as "Daniel," "Tiny Dancer," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Candle in the Wind." He has written songs for musicals such as The Lion King and Billy Elliot. With such an amazing body of diverse work it will be intriguing to see how Grand-Maitre selects the songs to create his unique ballet from John's vast aggregation of material. "It was a very hard choice with so much great music," said Grand-Maitre in a recent interview during a break from his work in Vancouver. "But I really selected songs which went with the libretto—the story lines which I had written—so sometimes I had to sacrifice some really great hits." It's a narrative from the life of a man who never expected to become a superstar. He was from a small middle-class suburb of London called Watford, Middlesex and he suddenly became one of the biggest superstars of all time. So it's the account of this young boy whose adult life reached great heights, being friends with royalty, coping as a rock star, confused about his sexuality, and almost succumbing to addictions. Surviving this he goes on to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to charity, AIDS causes and the performing arts. He concealed his own homosexuality for many years and then decided to create his own AIDS Foundation and after meeting Canadian David Furnish 12 years later they were married very publicly in England. The ballet focuses on this life of challenges—both good and bad—plus his outstanding achievements.
With only 14 songs the dance is always the essence of the story of this legendary man's incredible adventure. The ballet opens to the musical strains of "Bennie and the Jets" with a photograph—discovered by Grand-Maitre—of a very young Elton John in his British school uniform of traditional cap and blazer, standing beside his tricycle. Characters will appear from A Clockwork Orange; demons will emerge from John's drug-induced visions; and even appearances by the occasional colourful drag queen will be highlighted as Grand-Maitre interprets John's powerful journey through the diverse stages of his life.
"He is so theatrical and a world unto himself which allowed me the opportunity to incorporate into the story many facets of dance from Bob Fosse to classical ballet and more," said Grand-Maitre. "We have also been able to develop some interesting special effects for songs like 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight.'" Included will be perennial favorites like Rocket Man, unusual numbers like "Madman Across the Water," "The King Must Die" and "Honky Cat" as each one relates to a different phase of John's biography. Some of the songs are big production numbers with twenty dancers together on stage, the costumes will be very burlesque, and some of the sets are very surreal—plus, of course, the pianos!
Although Grand-Maitre is the creative genius behind this project, John is a consultant. John is making available all of his personal artwork, paintings, memorabilia and anything that Grand-Maitre may require for his dynamic, semi-abstract ballet portrayal of John's life. John even sent Grand-Maitre some unpublished CDs of his songs for consideration. There have been a couple of meetings between John and Grande-Maitre thus far and a few more are scheduled before the premiere including a meeting between John and the dancers. It is also hoped that John's schedule will allow him to attend the Gala Premiere in May 2010. Throughout the run in both Calgary and Edmonton audiences will be encouraged to dress as Elton John, or characters from his songs, wear outrageous glasses, and drag queens will be welcomed in the spirit of the occasion. "We're aiming for a rock concert kind of feeling when people come into the auditorium," said Grande-Maitre.
When asked about the future of this ballet Grande-Maitre said, "Already interest has been expressed in Tokyo, North and South Korea, China, New York, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver for a touring version of Elton," says Grande-Maitre. And that interest is sure to grow between now and the premiere. "Somehow, Joni Mitchell facilitated the connection with Elton John without even realising the significance. One can only hope that he will continue to support this, as he is a great patron of the performing arts. This artistic encouragement began when he was in his 20s and he formed his own label, Rocket Records."
The always exuberant Grand-Maître is modest about his success, particularly his transformation of a regional ballet company into international prominence for the organization in less than a decade. An amazing accomplishment in today's world of financially challenged and struggling performing arts companies. Some observers have even said that Grand-Maitre is to ballet what Andrew Lloyd Webber is to musicals in terms of bringing old and new audiences into the fold.
In addition to his artistic duties at the Alberta Ballet, Grande-Maitre is currently serving as the Choreography Director of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies plus nightly Victory Ceremonies.
On the heels of the Vancouver Winter Olympics the Alberta Ballet season concludes with the new Elton show premiering in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta in May 2010.
Ballet is exciting, alive and well and evolving on the world's stages.
The world premiere of Love Lies Bleeding ( featuring the music of Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin ) will take place May 6-9 in Calgary and May 11-12 in Edmonton. See www.albertaballet.com .
