As I boarded the shuttle, I didn’t have high hopes for the evening. I was being driven to Susan Chalmers-Gauvin’s oceanside home in Grande-Digue, N.B., 20 minutes from Moncton, where the CEO and co-founder of Atlantic Ballet Atlantique Canada (ABAC) hosts the Ballet by the Ocean series each summer.
From the clichéd descriptions I’d read, I had braced for the standard dinner-and-a-show. I’ve attended my fair share of amateur performances and run-of-the-mill dinner theatres across Atlantic Canada — but this was by no means amateur, nor simply a dinner.
I ate my words — and a fantastic choux pastry swan, too.
One can’t help but roll their eyes at the phrase “immersive experience,” but Ballet by the Ocean is exactly that. The two-hour event, backdropped by waterfront views and heightened by salty breezes, is threaded with a three-course feast from renowned Dieppe, N.B., restaurant Atelier Tony.
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It takes place in a private setting on a protected wetland, and as birds soared in and out of sight — around 100 species call this area home — I realized this event is not only for the ballet enthusiasts or the gourmets but also for the wildlife watchers. Totally immersive, and unexpected.
Ballet dancer Eldiyar Daniyarov performing during a dress rehearsal.
Wes Perry
The event’s inception was also unexpected for ABAC co-founders Chalmers-Gauvin and Igor Dobrovolskiy, the company’s choreographer. The idea was born in 2020, when the province’s pandemic restrictions prevented them from offering their usual programming; Ballet by the Ocean originated as a fundraiser.
“Like many performing arts organizations, we were managing a crisis. All the venues were shuttered as a public safety precaution. We wanted to find a way to keep performing — not just to keep our company going, but to support our dancers who depend on their work for a living,” says Chalmers-Gauvin.
ABAC, the only professional ballet company in Atlantic Canada, was founded in 2002 and employs a global roster of dancers, from Kyrgyzstan to Japan, and it was essential to continue operating.
“We also wanted to support others in this crisis impacted by the closing of restaurants. That is one of the reasons we incorporated food and wine,” explains Chalmers-Gauvin.
She suggested her own oceanside estate as an alternative venue — she and husband Andre Gauvin own 43 acres of land, including a two-kilometre stretch of wetland, where the first summer series took place in 2020.
Dancer Thomas Badrock, backdropped by waterfront views.
Ben Champoux
Last summer, as my shuttle pulled up to the house, with its greyed shaker siding and white trim, the scene felt like something out of the Hamptons. The weather that evening was ideal, just windy enough to keep away the bugs. Sun hats were passed around as people took seats facing the minimalist stage, constructed so as not to damage the wetland.
Magnetic Hill Winery’s co-owner, Zach Everett, circulated small buckets of ice filled with bottles of wine to sample as the first course arrived: a beautifully plated salmon mi-cuit, with thinly sliced cucumber meshed over the fish to imitate scales, served with cucumber yoghurt sauce, dill cream and compressed cucumber. It was the perfect entrée as the cellist and pianist began to play and dancers performed Prelude to Summer.
Last summer was Atelier Tony’s first season of service, but they’ll return this year, and they’ve found new ways to be creative with local ingredients. “With the backdrop of the ballet being the Atlantic Ocean, we knew it was important to showcase the beautiful products that we source from our ocean and terroir,” says chef Jordan Holden.
Atelier Tony, which will return for this summer’s ballet series, showcased local ingredients in a three-course feast.
Dale Dale Preston
Once our main course was served — braised P.E.I. beef with sorrels that Holden foraged on the property, along with asparagus, baby potatoes and truffle sour cream — it was time for the grand pas de deux, set to the sounds of Mahler’s “Adagio.”
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As the sun set, casting new shadows onto the stage, the wildlife scenes changed with the birds zigzagging the wetland — first the swallows, then the herons as the tides went out, making for an ever-shifting (and jaw-dropping) backdrop.
Our dessert was the aptly named “Swan Lake,” a choux pastry swan with Chantilly cream feathers on a berry coulis lake. Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” and Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna” accompanied the grand finale, an ensemble dance, as I relished my choux swan.
Ballet by the Ocean was meant to be a pandemic one-off, but it has since become an annual hot ticket for showcasing the best that New Brunswick has to offer: internationally acclaimed talent, fantastic dining and a setting you won’t soon forget.
Dancers Laura Flydorf and Thomas Badrock at Ballet by the Ocean.
Ben Champoux
Getting to the pointe
This summer, Ballet by the Ocean (balletbytheocean.ca) will run from July 3 to August 10, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tickets are $225 each (and since ABAC is a registered charity, guests will receive a charity receipt in the amount of $100 per ticket). The evening includes a three-course dinner by Atelier Tony, a wine sampling (you’re also welcome to bring your beverage of choice) and a post-show dancer talk.
Grande-Digue is about a 20-minute drive from the Moncton international airport; guests are shuttled to the venue from the nearby Grande-Digue visitor information centre, to ensure the wetland stays protected.
Gabby Peyton travelled as a guest ofTourism New Brunswick, which did not review or approve this article.
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