The Bros. Landreth and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB)’s collaboration Next of Kin will run March 28 to 30 at the Club Regent Event Centre.
Juno award-winning alternative rock band Bros. Landreth and choreographer Philippe Larouche have created a piece that tells a story of the intergenerational impacts of addiction. Next of Kin is one of three pieces to be featured at the RWB’s Ballet and the Band showcase.he Bros. Landreth and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB)’s collaboration Next of Kin will run March 28 to 30 at the Club Regent Event Centre.
The Bros. Landreth worked with Larouche in 2017, when he choreographed a duet for the opening of the 50th Canada Games to one of the band’s songs.
This collaboration between the Bros. Landreth and Larouche began about a year ago.
“We gave [Larouche] all the music we’ve ever recorded, and we said, ‘Here’s everything that we’ve done, listen through and see what resonates with you,’” said David Landreth, bassist for the Bros. Landreth.
Larouche picked seven of the band’s songs and wove them together into a narrative for Next of Kin. Almost all of the songs are off of their upcoming unreleased record, “with one old favourite snuck in there,” explained Landreth.
“He used the music that we recorded and choreographed this whole story around it.”
To develop the story, Larouche met with a group of people attending Tamarack Recovery Centre to discuss their struggles with addiction.
“When I got the songs and the lyrics, I had to build the set list and find a through-line that would make a strong narrative between the songs,” said Larouche.
“Once the story came into light, I met with collaborators to research our themes.”
Larouche also met with local deaf performer and ASL interpreter Jordan Sangalang to help develop a deaf character for the piece and the accompanying English to ASL interpretation.
“I wanted to tell a strong story without being literal with the lyrics, which affected the choreography,” said Larouche.
The Bros. Landreth will be playing music on the stage beside the dancers. Joey Landreth, guitarist and vocalist, and Dave Landreth will be moving onstage throughout the set.
Joey Landreth will improvise a part of the score in order to add an organic feel to the production.
According to David Landreth, the best part of working with the RWB “was getting to know the dancers and choreographer.”
“Getting to work alongside these people, who are so deeply dedicated to their craft and so incredibly artistic and creative, has been really inspiring for us,” he said.
“We see our own music in a different light.”
Ballet and the Band will also feature Bare, choreographed by Jera Wolf with music by Luke Howard, and Miroir, choreographed by Mark Godden with music by Maurice Ravel.
Ballet and the Band will run March 28-30 at the Club Regent Event Centre. Tickets can be purchased online at rwb.org, in person through the RWB customer service office or by phone at 204-956-2792.
