Compagnie Hervé Koubi
Where: Royal Theatre, 805 Broughton St.
When: Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $80.75 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or rmts.bc.ca
Why: The long-awaited local debut of French dance troupe Compagnie Hervé Koubi takes place at the Royal Theatre this week, with a program that blends music by Mozart and Wagner with traditional Algerian tunes. An in-the-flesh-appearance has been a long time coming: The acclaimed outfit from Calais, France, kicked off Dance Victoria’s Virtual Home Season online in 2020, before seeing scheduled performances in 2022 cancelled due to COVID-19 challenges. It will undoubtedly be worth the wait as the company’s namesake has put together a program, entitled The Barbarian Nights, that features 13 acrobatic street dancers from Algeria, Morocco, France and Burkina Faso. C’est magnifique.
The Bankes Brothers, Vox Rea, and Nicky Mackenzie
Where: Upstairs Cabaret, 15 Bastion Sq.
When: Friday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m.
Tickets: $21 from eventbrite.ca
Why: The friends and family performing Friday at the Upstairs Cabaret have all been very active of late, which ups the appeal of this brothers-and-sisters bash. The Bankes Brothers (led by Morgan and Nelson Bankes), Vox Rea (which includes Kate and Lauren Kurdyak), and singer-songwriter Nicky MacKenzie have all been writing and recording new material that is due at various points in the coming months, and early indications are positive. Great things are incoming, and this show will give fans their long-gestating first look.
Toni Onley
Where: Madrona Gallery, 606 View St.
When: Feb. 1-10
Admission: Free
Why: Madrona Gallery worked with the estate of master watercolourist Toni Onley on this exhibition of never before seen work, which covers the period between 1976 and 2003. Onley, who was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1999, died in 2004 at the age of 75, while flying one of his beloved float planes. But he left behind a legacy with deep ties to Victoria, where he arrived in 1966. He remains an icon around these parts, and the exhibit of his work — 18 pieces in all, more than half of which have already been sold — is a momentous occasion, indeed.
