Reimaging narratives for Queer and IBPOC narratives in ballet with Performance Acting faculty member Lisa Karen Cox

In 2024 Performance faculty member Lisa Karen Cox and co-applicant Signy Lynch (University of Toronto) earned an SSHRC Insight Development Grant  (external link) of nearly $75,000 for a multi-year research project, Breaking Boundaries in Ballet: Reimagining Narratives for Queer and IBPOC Voices. The project focuses on narrative ballet, or ballet d’action, aiming to reflect the lived experiences of people not traditionally represented in the artform. This year, Cox is working to reimagine the classic ballet Swan Lake with a team of entirely IBPOC and/or Queer identifying artists. 

Breaking Boundaries in Ballet uses practice-based research to inform its creation, rehearsal, and performances. During the rehearsal process dancers work with choreographer Kunal Ranchod to learn and refine movement sequences and also with Lisa Cox as the director to delve into character interpretation and storytelling, ultimately bringing emotional depth to the forefront of the narrative ballet and allowing artists to tell stories through movement which reflect the full spectrum of their identities and experiences. Cox says that "by blending the high-level technique of ballet with deep, character-based storytelling, we return to what ballet d’action was always meant to be: a form where dancers are not just bodies executing steps, but expressive artists telling stories.”

This rehearsal process will finish with a workshop presentation in the Performance Studio Theatre titled “Breaking Boundaries in Ballet: Swan Lake” with the following participating artists: