Ballet Kelowna

Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn is a full-length narrative ballet by choreographer Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe that moves fluidly between time, tradition, and imagination. Set to an original commissioned score by Cree cellist and composer Cris Derksen, the work blends contemporary ballet with Indigenous storytelling and visual design. Projections by Euro/Omushkego Cree artist Andy Moro conjure both sterile cityscapes and scorched forests, while costumes by Navajo/Cherokee designer Asa Benally wrap each character in layers of cultural history.

Set in a dystopian future where wildfire season never ends, the story follows Nathan, a young Indigenous firefighter whose worldview is transformed after meeting Mothkʷ—a fierce guardian of ancestral knowledge who practices cultural burning. The title, cikilaxʷm [tseekiLAHkwum], means “prescribed fire” in nsyilxcən, the language of the syilx (Okanagan) People, referring to traditional fire stewardship that restores the land and revitalizes community.

“This is not a tale of apocalypse, but of perseverance. Of memory that survives and endures. Of land that remembers how to heal.” — Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe

Developed in collaboration with the National Creation Fund at Canada’s National Arts Centre,Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn is both a cultural reclamation and a vision of resilience, rooted in Indigenous knowledge and artistry.