Ballet Kelowna Explores Indigenous Land Stewardship and Climate Change

Ballet Kelowna Explores Indigenous Land Stewardship and Climate Change in Full-Length Contemporary Ballet World Premiere of:

Indigenous dancemaker Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe returns to Ballet Kelowna to choreograph Canada’s first Indigenous-led, two-act narrative contemporary ballet

Kelowna, BC – Ballet Kelowna presents the world premiere of the company’s second commissioned, full-length work, Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, co-produced by the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund. The evocative contemporary ballet will be on stage at the Kelowna Community Theatre on May 1 + 2, 2026 and features choreography from Ballet Kelowna Associate Artist Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe, an original score by award-winning Cree composer and cellist Cris Derksen, immersive digital projections from Euro/Omushkego Cree artist Andy Moro, and costumes by Navajo/Cherokee designer Asa Benally. 

“We are thrilled to share this world premiere with Kelowna audiences, which represents the culmination of many years of working closely alongside Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe, in support of his growth as a visionary artist and leader,” says Simone Orlando, Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Kelowna. “It has been an honour for Ballet Kelowna to provide the sustained support necessary for the development of his choreographic career, informed by his distinctive worldview as a classically trained, Indigenous dancer, and has since taken him to major ballet companies across Canada. As he returns to his original choreographic home with his first two-act narrative contemporary ballet, Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, Kelowna audiences will be inspired by the work’s artistic integrity and athleticism, underscored by a powerful and urgent message about the perils of climate change and wildfire mismanagement.”

Set in a dystopian future where wildfire season has no end, the piece follows the journey of a young Indigenous firefighter, whose beliefs are challenged when he meets Mothkʷ, a fierce protector of ancestral knowledge who carries out cultural burns–a traditional Indigenous practice that nourishes the land by proactively clearing debris, and thereby protecting trees, wildlife, and communities from the ravages of wildfire. The word cikilaxʷm means “prescribed fire” in nsyilxən, the language belonging to the syilx (Okanagan) people.

Fraser-Monroe was inspired by many sources in the creation of Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, including Derksen’s original 13-minute composition, Controlled Burn, which simulates the signature crackle and pop sounds of a controlled fire–a practice used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. This seminal piece will be featured in the final culminating scene of Fraser-Monroe’s work, along with more than an hour of original composition by Derksen to accompany the 75-minute performance.

Fraser-Monroe’s contemporary ballet is also informed by the research and work of Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson, a senior fire advisor who works with Indigenous Nations across Canada on fire stewardship practices; Indigenous playwright Yvette Nolan’s The Unplugging, where two women are forced to revitalize the knowledge of their ancestors as they try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world; and B.C.’s own Forest Act of 1912, which represented a devastating shift in forest management, centralizing fire control, and criminalizing the act of burning leading to the ban of Indigenous practices that had been used for millennia.

Adds Fraser-Monroe, “Indigenous Peoples don’t need to turn to a dystopian future to understand the government confiscating and banning cultural property and practices–we’ve lived it.”

Both of the work’s Indigenous roles will be embodied by Indigenous dancers who work full-time for Ballet Kelowna. McKeely Borger will dance the role of the Knowledge Keeper, Mothkʷ, and MacKye White will dance the role of Nathan, a rookie Firefighter who rediscovers the traditional practices of his ancestors. Additional roles will be performed by the full company of Ballet Kelowna dancers.

This project represents a model of Indigenous-led production within a ballet infrastructure, with an artistic collaboration rooted in Indigenous values of knowledge-sharing, trust, and reciprocal exchange. Fraser-Monroe partnered with several Cultural Advisors in the creation of Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, including two elders from his own Tla’amin Nation–Betty Wilson and Dr. Elsie Paul, the oldest living Tla’amin Elder–and two Syilx Knowledge Keepers–Tara Montgomery and Elliot Tonasket, whose support focused on the cultural significance, protocols, and practices of cultural burning in syilx traditions.

A member of the Tla’amin First Nation, Fraser-Monroe was Ballet Kelowna’s first Artist in Residence (2022/23) and a Choreographer in Residence with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (2023/24), where he created T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods. In his role as Associate Artist with Ballet Kelowna, Fraser-Monroe has created five works for the company: taqəš, ʔɛmaxwiygə, payɛčot yɛχət, The Cowboy Act Suite and Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn.

In addition to support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund, the development of Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn has been made possible through the following partners: BC Arts Council’s Arts Impact program, UBCO’s Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, Deux Mille Foundation, The Hamber Foundation, Troy Life & Fire Safety LTD., and Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund.

Ballet Kelowna’s 2025/26 season is presented by the Thomas Alan Budd Foundation.

Thanks to the generous support of Odlum Brown, Ballet Kelowna will offer 150 accessible “Pay-What-You-Wish” seats at each performance of Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn. To access these tickets, visit balletkelowna.ca or call 250-469-8940.

For tickets and information, visit balletkelowna.ca

About Ballet Kelowna (balletkelowna.ca)

Founded in 2002, Ballet Kelowna is the sole professional dance company in B.C.’s Interior. The organization is committed to its role as a leader in the region through encouraging, promoting, and developing Canadian dancers and choreographers. The company performs annually for more than 12,000 audience members in Kelowna and on tour, and provides unique dance training opportunities and outreach programs. Its Artistic Director and CEO, Simone Orlando, is an award-winning choreographer and former dancer with Ballet BC and The National Ballet of Canada. Under Orlando’s direction, Ballet Kelowna was named the 2024 Artistic Company of the Year by the BC Live Performance Network (formerly the British Columbia Touring Council) and was an organizational recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Arts and Music Award in 2022.