Sansei

"It was my vision," Bruzina said of "Sansei," outlining how she employed a classical ballet vocabulary to flesh out that vision in three movements, lasting a total of about 15 minutes.

unknown title 2009

At its center, "Sansei" is bound up with the three generations of women in Bruzina's family: grandmother, mother and daughter.

unknown title 2009

For Mikelle Bruzina, whose grandparents grew up in Japan before being interned in Canada during World War II, "Sansei" has become a deeply personal journey expressed through dance.

unknown title 2009

At its center, "Sansei" is bound up with the three generations of women in Bruzina's family: grandmother, mother and daughter.

unknown title 2009

"Sansei," which is set to an original score by cellist Ben Sollee, is her newest work.

unknown title 2009

Although she'll "leave room for tweaking here and there," Bruzina said that "Sansei" is fundamentally complete.

unknown title 2009

From here, "Sansei" moves to what Bruzina describes as "the death of the loved one - the grandmother," closing with a section that "brings back the family and the joy of celebrating life."

unknown title 2009

"He has such a soulful way of playing and singing," she said, explaining how she'd send him videos of "Sansei" in development, and he'd respond with ever-increasing bits of score.

unknown title 2009

"It was my vision," Bruzina said of "Sansei," outlining how she employed a classical ballet vocabulary to flesh out that vision in three movements, lasting a total of about 15 minutes.

unknown title 2009

While she emphasizes that "Sansei" isn't a story ballet with explicitly named characters and plot lines, Bruzina acknowledges how the piece is fundamentally linked to her own family.

unknown title 2009