See 'la vie en rose' in Atlantic Ballet's 'Piaf'

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The Atlantic Ballet of Canada is bidding a fond adieu to one of its longtime dancers, with a pair of performances of one of its landmark original works of the past decade.

Piaf, a dramatic retelling in dance of the life of legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf, will take to the stage of the Capitol Theatre in Moncton on May 1, and at the Fredericton Playhouse on May 16. The show uses the songs that the singer made famous, such as “La vie en rose,” to tell a story of love and tragedy.

The Atlantic Ballet of Canada was founded in 2002 by artistic director and choreographer Igor Dobrovolskiy and CEO Susan Chalmers-Gauvin. Piaf is an original creation by Dobrovolskiy.

The company, based in Moncton, is home to dancers from around the world.

One of them is Olga Petiteau, a native-born Parisian who has been dancing with the company since 2012 and who will be dancing the leading role.

Dobrovolskiy and Petiteau used all of their creative resources to create the ballet and to portray Piaf accurately as an homage to the former singer, Chalmers-Gauvin said in an interview, adding that  Dobrovolskiy created the main role with her in mind.

“It was a beautiful process because there’s so much information on Edith Piaf,” said Chalmers-Gauvin. “There’s movies, books and videos. Olga and Igor really dug into all of that.”

Petiteau, who started dancing when she was two and a half years old, said Piaf is special to her because of her and Piaf’s shared Parisian roots.

“I’m really happy,” said Petiteau. “I’ve got this great opportunity to be able to perform a role that is very meaningful to me.”

The two upcoming performances will also be Petiteau’s final bow with the Atlantic Ballet of Canada. She is retiring after the May 16th performance in Fredericton.

“To be able to bow out on stage, to really give everything I’ve got, it’s going to be my way to thank Susan Chalmers-Gauvin and Igor Dobrovolskiy,” she said.