Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn
May 1 + 2, 2026 / Kelowna Community Theatre
Friday at 7:30 PM / Saturday at 1:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Choreography: Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe
Composer: Cris Derksen
Projection and Lighting Design: Andy Moro
Costume Design: Asa Benally
“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
Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe returns with his newest work for the company, Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn, a full-length narrative contemporary 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 [tseekiLAHkwum] 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.
Thanks to the generous support of Odlum Brown, Ballet Kelowna will offer 150 accessible “Pay-What-You-Wish” seats at each performance of Cikilaxʷm: Controlled Burn.
Other Partners Include: BC Arts Council’s Arts Impact Program, Deux Mille Foundation, The Hamber Foundation, and Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund.
