Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

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Aerial Downtown Vancouver Photo – False Creek North, just across from the Olympic Village.

National Presentation and Touring Program highlights Canadian talent in dance, theatre and music

Vancouver, BC— In celebration of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, up-and-coming Canadian musicians, dancers and actors involved in the Cultural Olympiad are hitting the road with a national touring program featuring over 40 shows in cities large and small.

For the second time in two years, the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bell, is stretching beyond British Columbia to communities across Canada to connect the entire country in the culture, spirit and excitement of Canada’s Games. The performances in some locations start on January 19 and carry on into March during the Paralympic Winter Games.

Performers and artistic companies involved in the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad National Presentation and Touring Programinclude: The Alberta Ballet and its presentation of Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and The Drum, Quebec-based Compagnie Marie Chouinard and Cirque Éloize, as well as musical performances by Nova Scotia’s Jenn Grant, Saskatchewan’s Jason Plumb & the Willing, Yukon’s Spring Breakup, and Alberta’s John Wort Hannam. For tour dates and information on how to purchase tickets see below or visit www.vancouver2010.com/culturalolympiad.

“We want all Canadians to feel they can share in the cultural celebrations surrounding the 2010 Winter Games in their own hometowns,” said Burke Taylor, vice president of culture and celebrations for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

“For our second and final Cultural Olympiad National Presentation and Touring Program, we’ve worked closely with our corporate, government and artistic partners to create an exciting lineup of Canadian projects that include ballet, theatre, up-and-coming musicians, and even puppetry. We invite everyone to come out when they stop in your area and enjoy a taste of the cultural excitement of the Games.”

The performers will travel widely and visit the country from coast to coast to coast, with stops, ranging from Victoria, BC, Medicine Hat, AB, Wolfville, NS, to Yellowknife, NWT, supported by their home provinces and territories (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon) together with the Government of Canada and Canada Council for the Arts.

The tours will coincide with hundreds of free and ticketed performances and exhibitions that make up the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad festival, which kicks off January 22, 2010 in Metro Vancouver and British Columbia’s Sea to Sky corridor. The festival features almost 200 incredibly diverse projects by artists from across Canada and around the world in music, theatre, visual arts, dance, and digital programming projects. Tickets and information are available at www.vancouver2010.com/culturalolympiad.

The Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad National Presentation and Touring Program acts are:

Where the Blood Mixes — Playhouse Theatre Company

Emerging Canadian playwright Kevin Loring goes beneath the surface of the Aboriginal residential school system and celebrates its survivors. Visiting Victoria, BC, (January 19 to 24, 26 to 31, February 2 to 7, 9 to 14, and 16 to 21), followed by Winnipeg, MB, (March 11 to 14, 16 to 20) and Ottawa, ON, (March 23 to 27, March 30 to April 3).

Nevermore —Catalyst Theatre

Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, the great master of the macabre, this whimsical, chilling musical fairytale by Edmonton’s Catalyst Theatre reveals the psychology of a man whose haunting writings continue to resonate. Playing in Edmonton, AB, from February 12 to 21.

The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan —The Old Trout Puppet Workshop
The ghost of the infamous Spanish seducer Don Juan comes back from hell to harangue the audience in the name of cosmic love. Is he a sinner or a saint? With puppets! Visiting Vernon, BC, (February 20), followed by Whitehorse, YT, (March 24 to 26) and Edmonton, AB, (March 30 to April 4, April 6 to 11 and 13 to 18).

Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and The Drum —Alberta Ballet

This extended, full-length collaboration production of the dazzling ballet features four additional Joni Mitchell songs, illuminated by her latest artwork and the choreography of Alberta Ballet’s artistic director Jean Grand Maître. Visiting Vernon (January 19), Victoria (January 27 to 28) and Nanaimo (January 30) in British Columbia.

Compagnie Marie Chouinard —World Premiere

This newly-commissioned group piece by Canada’s reigning queen of contemporary dance is based on the notion of time recaptured. For the first time, Marie Chouinard will create an accompanying vocal score. Visiting Victoria, BC, on March 16.

Rain —Cirque Éloize

Montreal’s Cirque Éloize brings the wonder of childhood to vivid life in this amazing circus arts performance. The company expresses its innovative nature by combining circus arts with music, dance and theatre. Visiting New Brunswick (Saint John and Fredericton) on February 23 and 25; Charlottetown, PEI, on February 27; Medicine Hat, AB, on March 5 to 7; Edmonton, AB, on March 10 to 11; as well as Vernon, BC, on March 14.

Drumheller

Toronto’s Drumheller defines the inside and outside of that city’s contemporary jazz scene. This five-piece often sounds twice its size. Drummer Nick Fraser and bassist Rob Clutton supply a nearly old-fashioned chromatic swing that permits alto saxophonist Brodie West, trombonist Doug Tielli, and guitarist Eric Chenaux to chase unpredictable squiggles and swirls. Visiting Toronto (ON) on February 6; Regina, SK, on February 19; Brandon, MB, on February 24; Winnipeg, MB, on  February 25; Edmonton, AB, on February 26; and Calgary, AB, on February 27.

Spring Breakup andJohn Wort Hannam

Spring Breakup is a new band with very old souls. It is the lovely but unlikely marriage of Yukon singer-songwriter Kim Barlow and Mathias Kom, singer and songwriter for the Ontario folk orchestra The Burning Hell. John Wort Hannam, the winner of three grand prizes at the 2009 Calgary Folk Festival songwriting contest, delivers roots music straight from Alberta’s southern prairies. Visiting Yellowknife, NWT, on January 26; Winnipeg, MB, on February 10; Regina, SK, on February 11; Medicine Hat, SK, on February 12; Saskatoon, SK, on February 13; and Whitehorse, YT, on February 14.

Jenn Grant and Jason Plumb & the Willing

Jenn Grant writes and performs complex folk-pop with hints of jazz and swing. Her 2009 album Echoes earned three East Coast Music Awards nominations. Jason Plumb was one of the driving forces behind `90s alternative band The Waltons and has been crafting signature solo albums and soundtracks for over 20 years. He will be backed by The Willing. Visiting Wolfville, NS, on January 28; St. John’s, NL, on January 29; Charlottetown, PEI, on January 30; Fredericton, NB, on January 31; Québec, QC, on February 3; Wakefield, ON, on February 4; Sudbury, ON, on February 6; Winnipeg, MB, on February 9; Regina, SK, on February 10; Saskatoon, SK, on February 11; Edmonton, AB, on February 13; and Calgary, AB), on February 14.

About the Cultural Olympiad
The Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bell, is a series of multidisciplinary festivals and digital programs showcasing the best in Canadian and international arts and popular culture. Launched in 2008, the program culminates in the 60-day Cultural Olympiad 2010 (January 22 to March 21, 2010), which begins before and continues throughout the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. CODE is the Cultural Olympiad’s digital edition, a series of programs developed to creatively engage national and global audiences through the use of digital technology.

Partnerships

About Bell
Bell is Canada’s largest communications company, providing consumers and business with solutions to all their communications needs, including Bell Mobility wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite television, Bell Home phone local and long distance, and IP-broadband and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Bell is proud to be a Premier National Partner and the Exclusive Telecommunications Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For information on Bell’s products and services, please visit www.bell.ca. For corporate information on BCE, please visit www.bce.ca.

CanadaCouncil for the Arts

The Canada Council for the Arts is a federal Crown corporation created by an Act of Parliament in 1957. The role of the Council is to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. To fulfill this mandate, the Council offers a broad range of grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations in dance, integrated arts, media arts, music, theatre, visual arts, and writing and publishing. It also promotes public awareness of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities. Visit www.canadacouncil.ca for more information.

Government
The Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad is grateful for the support of the Government of Canada and the governments of all of Canada’s provinces and territories and their respective cultural agencies: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon. In addition to the Cultural Olympiad’s government and corporate partners, CODE is proudly supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Film Board of Canada. New Media BC and Wavefront Innovation Society are also both active participants in the project. The National Presentation and Touring Program is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.

Paris (AFP) – The long-running rivalry between South Korea’s Kim Yu-Na and Japan’s Mao Asada is set to spice up the women’s figure skating competition at the Olympic Winter Games.

The fact that world champion Kim has dominated the season so far and Asada, the 2008 world champion, has struggled takes nothing away from the much-anticiplated clash between the 19-year-old rivals.

Kim is the hot favourite having lost just twice in the past two seasons, both times to Asada at the 2008 worlds and the 2008-2009 Grand Prix final.

And she opened this season in impressive fashion, winning the Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris by beating Asada with the highest-ever women’s total score with 210.03 points.

Although Canada’s Joannie Rochette will be hoping to rise to the occasion in front of her home crowd, the battle for gold in Vancouver looks set to be an Asian one between Kim, Asada and Japan’s Miki Ando.

Kim, Asada and Ando have won the last three world titles.

And of the nine medals on offer over the last three world championships, the trio have won seven, with Ando leading a sweep ahead of Asada and Kim in 2007.

Asada failed to qualify for the Grand Prix final after finishing fifth at the Cup of Russia.

But she has come back, sealing her berth to Vancouver by winning the Japanese championships, scoring a personal best in the free skate and overall with 204.62 putting her closer to Kim’s world record.

Asada admits that the rivalry has helped her over her poor year.

“(Kim) has been a good source of inspiration for me,” said Asada.

Both will be competing in their first Olympic Games after missing the 2006 Torino Games because they were too young to be eligible to compete.

Ando competed at the Turin Olympics where she finished a disappointing 15th.

This year she has won the Cup of Russia and the NHK Trophy but was runner-up behind Kim at the Grand Prix final.

Once best known for her jumps, Ando, who landed the first and only quad by a woman in competition back in 2002, has become a more rounded skater and coached by Russian Nikolai Morozov, who helped Shizuka Arakawa to a surprise gold in Torino four years ago, is hoping to emulate her countrywoman.

The third member of the Japanese team is Akiko Suzuki, who won the Cup of China, placed second at nationals and third at the Grand Prix final, and is also eyeing a podium spot.

The 22-year-old finished third at last year’s worlds behind Kim and Rochette, who is hoping to put the hosts on the women’s podium for the first time in 22 years, despite a mixed season.

Meanwhile, former giants the United States could find themselves off the women’s podium for the first time since the 1964 Innsbruck Games.

Olympic silver medallist Sasha Cohen, who has not skated internationally since 2006, has returned to competition but was forced to pull out of Skate America and the Trophee Eric Bompard with tendinitis in her right calf.

She is nevertheless hoping to qualify, meaning Vancouver would be her first major competition in four years.

But the Olympic Games can always spring surprises with the last three women’s champions – Tara Lipinsky, Sarah Hughes and Arakawa – not the favourites.

Los Angeles (AFP) – Canada and the United States are the Olympic gold medal favourites as the rest of the world continues to play catch-up in women’s ice hockey.

It’s virtually certain that the two nations will clash in the championship game on February 25 at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games as history is on their side.

In the previous three Olympic Games, the two teams have a combined 23-1-0 record and outscored opponents 168-17.

Team USA coach Mark Johnson says anytime the US and Canada meet you can expect fireworks.

“It is incredible end-to-end action and pure hockey from a skills standpoint,” said Johnson, son of former Calgary Flames coach ‘Badger Bob’ Johnson and a member of the US men’s 1980 gold medal winning team in Lake Placid.

The success of Canada and the US also highlights what’s wrong with the women’s tournament which has trouble being taken seriously because of the huge parity gap between the top two teams and the rest of the field.

Because they are playing at home, the pressure on two-time defending champion Canada will be just as heavy on the women as the men.

Canada is 10-0 in its last two Olympic Games and once again they will be led by 31-year-old veteran Hayley Wickenheiser, forward Caroline Ouellette and goaltender Kim St. Pierre.

Canada is preparing for its run at an Olympic three-peat by playing non-checking games against 16-year-old boys teams while the US players are warming-up by playing against Minnesota high school boys’ teams.

The women’s game is much different than the men’s because of the no-contact rules which opens the game up for smaller players.

American defenceman Angela Ruggiero said many parents wouldn’t let their daughters play hockey if there was checking.

“This way parents aren’t afraid to sign up their daughters,” she said. “I personally would love to check.”

On paper it might look like the US is heading in the wrong direction as they have gone from gold (1998), silver (2002) to bronze (2006) but, based on their recent success against Canada, some are even picking them as the gold medal favourite.

The US has won two straight World Championship titles over Canada and the team has had five months as a group together instead of forming at the last minute like previous Winter Games.

Sweden was the surprise silver medallist in Turin in 2006, beating the US 3-2 in the semi-finals.

The Swedes are led by goaltender Kim Martin, who is coming back from a knee injury that kept her out of the 2009 World Championships while Tina Enstrom is the sister of NHL defenceman Tobias Enstrom.

China’s coach Hannu Saintula has guaranteed that his team will finish at least sixth.

A handful of Chinese players like, Sun Rui, captain Wang Linuo and Jin Fengling are now training with North American players in a Canadian women’s league.

Berlin (AFP) – The current king and queen of cross-country skiing – Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic and Poland’s Justyna Kowalcyzk – will be looking to add Olympic gold to this winter’s success in Vancouver.

The pair triumphed at the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy, earlier this month, but will both face fierce competition when Olympic medals are up for grabs in Canada next month.

The 26-year-old Kowalkcyzk is the current overall World Cup leader and has been battling Slovenia’s Petra Majdic all the winter with the pair are set to resume their struggle in Whistler, high above Vancouver.

But veteran Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, who won three gold medals at the world championships last year, will be looking to add Olympic gold to her 10km Individual, Team Sprint and 4x5km relay global success with the Finland team.

Likewise in the men’s events, Bauer has silver medals in the 15km classical from both the 2006 Olympic Winter Games and the 2009 World Championships in Liberec, but will face Petter Northug on his path to gold in Vancouver.

With three gold medals to his credit from Liberec, Norway’s Northug will be amongst the favourites.

The 24-year-old, a keen poker player, will be contesting his first winter games and will be looking to add Olympic glory to his world crowns over the pursuit, 50km individual and 4x10km relay.

While the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway and Finland are traditionally strong in the region where the sport originated, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna and France’s Jean-Marc Gaillard are names to watch.

Reigning Olympic sprint champion Chandra Crawford could be set to give the Canadians something to cheer about as she looks to defend her gold on home soil.

Having switched from biathlon aged 16, in her first year on the Canadian senior team she collected five international medals in one month.

Considered an underdog in Torino in 2006, Chandra surprised herself and the experts by coming through with a gold medal performance in the women’s sprint.

In total, 12 medals will be contested in six different disciplines at the Olympic Winter Games which include the Individual, Mass Start, Pursuit, Individual Sprint, Team Sprint and Relay.

Paris (AFP) – Anglo influence is on the increase in Olympic sliding events after decades of domination by the German-speaking nations.

That domination largely continues in luge and bobsleigh – but in skeleton the Americans, Canadians and the British are making a name for themselves as they hurl themselves down icy, twisting, banked tracks in gravity-powered sleds.

If, at least for the women, skeleton is the new kid on the block it actually made its Olympic debut far earlier, in 1928.

Two years earlier the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had officially declared skeleton as an Olympic sport and Jennison Heaton promptly gave the United States gold.

Four-man bobsleigh appeared in the first Winter Games in 1924 (five-men in 1928) and the two-man variant followed in 1932, though the events were not included in 1960, while luge came in at the 1964 Games in Innsbruck.

Women made their Olympic skeleton entrance in pairs in 2002 at the Salt Lake Games, US star Tristan Gale landing gold before Swiss Maya Pedersen succeeded her four years later.

Taking silver in 2006 was Briton Shelley Rudman, who is now one of two Britons ranked in the world top ten ahead of fifth-placed Amy Williams, another regular top ten World Cup finisher.

Rudman ousted top-ranked Mellisa Hollingworth in the World Cup race at St Moritz last week to show her form with Williams fourth.

“This season has all been about improving every performance to peak ready for the Olympics and things are going well,” said Rudman.

Returning to the US men’s skeleton line-up after missing out in 2006 after testing positive for banned substance finasteride, a medication used to treat hair loss, is 2007 world champion Zach Lund.

US bobsleigh hopes are high in the shape of Steven Holcomb and John Napier, the world’s top-ranked four-man drivers.

Holcomb and his push team of Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz will drive the USA I sled in Vancouver with Napier, Chuck Berkeley, Chris Fogt and Steve Langton in USA II.

Two-man lineups include Holcomb and Tomasevicz, Napier and Langton with Kohn’s second yet to be decided.

The women’s lineup features three pairs, Shauna Rohbock and Michelle Rzepka, Erin Pac and Elana Meyers and Bree Schaaf and Emily Azevedo.

Elsewhere, reigning two-and four-man bob champion Andre Lange of Germany is clearly one to watch as he bids for a hat-trick in the latter category.

In luge, look no further for now than Italian Armin “il cannibale” Zoeggeler, going for a third straight gold, though Russian World Cup challenger Albert Demtschenko and German world champ Felix Loch will run him close.

Among the “Doppelsitzer” (luge pairs) German World Cup leaders Andre Florschutz and Torsten Wustlich are hoping that glory beckons.

Hong Kong (AFP) – Olympic moguls champions Dale Begg-Smith and Jennifer Heil will be looking to dazzle in Vancouver as they bid to defend their freestyle skiing titles with confidence sky-high.

The top draw in snowboarding is Shaun White, the reigning halfpipe gold medallist, highly fancied to add to his huge haul of trophies as he takes to the air in a routine of acrobatic jumps, twists and tricks.

Australia’s Begg-Smith, 25, who took gold in the men’s moguls in Torino in 2006, was on a hot streak earlier this month, winning three World Cup competitions in a row until his run was snapped but he still tops the overall moguls standings.

Steve Desovich, coach of the Canadian-born Begg-Smith, said his charge was “quite pleased” with his form in the run-up to Vancouver.

“He’s feeling really good and he’s really peaking right in time for the Games, not that he will allow himself to think that way, because moguls is such a precarious event,” he told The Australian newspaper.

Canada’s Heil is also in top form heading into the Games, going one better than Begg-Smith and making it four World Cup wins on the trot to also top the overall standings in the moguls, in which competitors are required to perform two different jumps.

The 26-year-old is confident despite the inevitable pressure of defending her crown.

“I dealt with a lot of pressure in 2006. But I’ve grown up a lot since then,” she said after her recent win in Calgary.

China are targeting two golds in freestyle. Han Xiaopeng took gold last time around in the men’s aerials — in which competitors soar into the air, performing different jumps that combine back flips and twists — and three-time reigning world champion Li Nina took silver in the ladies’ event.

The freestyle programme is bolstered this year by the addition of ski cross which involves a timed qualification run before four skiers race down the course incorporating turns, flat sections and traverses as well as rolls, banks and ridges.

In snowboarding, there is no question that Shaun White will be the star attraction. White performs in the halfpipe, in which competitors perform their routine on the inside of a half-cylinder shaped snow tube or ramp.

The 23-year-old took gold in Torino in 2006, one of three snowboarding wins for the United States, matched by Switzerland, whose haul included the men’s and ladies’ parallel giant slalom.

But his task will be made a little easier by the absence of Kevin Pearce, one of the few riders to have beaten White in head-to-head competition. Pearce suffered a serious head injury in training this month.

In the ladies’ halfpipe American gold medallist Hannah Teter is expected to face competition from compatriot Gretchen Bleiler, who earned silver behind Teter in 2006.

Two-time world champion and two-time World Cup winner Lindsey Jacobellis is looking to add the elusive Olympic title to her medal collection in the snowboard cross, in which four racers bomb downhill over a series of jumps and ramps.

The snowboarding and freestyle skiing events will be held at Cypress Mountain, near Vancouver. The skiing runs were closed to the public earlier than planned to protect the course after a spell of warm and wet weather.