Possesom Paul and Igor Dobrovolskiy on co-directing a first-of-its-kind ballet
The co-directors of the Atlantic Ballet's Pisuwin tell Q’s Tom Power about this unique collaboration
In many ways, the Atlantic Ballet's Pisuwin has all the ingredients of a traditional ballet: incredible dancers, a deeply emotional music score and an epic tale of a hero's struggle with evil. But as the first Wolastoq ballet, it's also completely unique.
The Wolastoqiyik are a small but thriving community in New Brunswick with only 100 or so speakers of the language, so it took a special kind of collaboration between the community and the dance company to bring Pisuwin to life.
The ballet is co-directed by Possesom Paul and Igor Dobrovolskiy. Paul is a multidisciplinary artist and champion grass dancer whose initiative got the ball rolling and Dobrovolskiy is the artistic director at the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada. Together, they brought on acclaimed Wolastoqiyik musician Jeremy Dutcher to compose the music.
"I knew that if we were going to create a project that I didn't want to come in heavy-handedly with something that's already pre-written — I really wanted to work collaboratively," Paul told Q's Tom Power in an interview along with Dobrovolskiy.
"My really good friend Jeremy Dutcher dropped his album [that he worked on] with my grandmother, and, you know, they were on the back porch, and he was singing with her, learning how to sing our traditional songs. And I remember hearing him sing in his style, and I was like, 'Wow, this is it. This is something I really want to work with.' When I came to Igor, that was where we started. We played Jeremy's new album in the studio and both of us are quiet for a good, like, two minutes after listening to one of his songs. And Igor looks at me and and I look at Igor and we both kind of nodded."
Based on a Wolastoq legend, Pisuwin is about a hero's journey to return the spirit of water, which Paul said is both a "metaphysical thing and a very real person on the stage." The ballet isn't a direct retelling of any one tale, but rather combines several elements, themes and philosophy from Wolastoqiyik culture.
"When [Possesom] started to kind of briefly tell me about the legend, my first question was, 'But what about music?'" recalled Dobrovolskiy. "He told me, 'Do you know Jeremy Dutcher? Listen.' And he put [on] this wonderful voice, wonderful, original song by Jeremy Dutcher."
After hearing the music, Dobrovolskiy said images started coming to mind for the storyline and they got to work.
As for what they hope comes out of the experience, Paul said "it's our time."
"It's the time of our people, you know. We have to look around us and see all the wealth that this nation has and all the beauty around us. And I'm looking forward to moving this way so that others can come up behind me."
The full interview with Possesom Paul and Igor Dobrovolskiy is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Possesom Paul and Igor Dobrovolskiy produced by Matt Murphy.