Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe returns with his newest work for the company, Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, a full-length narrative ballet that blazes across time and tradition and is set to original commissioned music by Cree cellist and composer Cris Derksen. Projections by Euro/Omushkego Cree artist Andy Moro will bring to life sterile cities and scorched forests, while costumes by Navajo/Cherokee designer Asa Benally layer each character with rich histories.
Set in a dystopian future where wildfire season has no end, a young Indigenous firefighter’s beliefs are challenged when he meets Mothkʷ, a fierce protector of ancestral knowledge who carries out cultural burns.
The word cikilaxʷm [tseeLAHkwum] means “prescribed fire” in nsyilxcən, the language belonging to the syilx (Okanagan) People. It relates to traditional burning practices that nourish the land and community, bringing healing and rejuvenation.
Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn is co-produced by the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund
Ballet Kelowna gratefully acknowledges our 2025/26 season sponsor: The Thomas Alan Budd Foundation.
