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Ready. Set. GO!!!
By website@pnb.org (Pacific Northwest Ballet)
Monday, Feb 08 at 10:45 AM
The gun shot sounds and we're off. It has begun.
Not only did I make it to the starting line but am now running this marathon that is The Sleeping Beauty. And what an eventful week it has been as we prepared ourselves for the initial sprint: opening weekend.
As I stated before, this is not just a ballet but a production. Nothing is glazed over; every detail is attended to. There are set changes (that involve moving giant pillars and platforms) for each act, props to be placed, costumes to be changed, and praise the Lord we have an excellent stage crew and an army of wardrobe, wig and makeup men and women that manage to transform us and the stage in only our 15 minute intermissions! We owe these unsung heroes a giant round of applause for their tireless efforts in making this production possible. And unlike us (the dancers), they don't have weeks of rehearsal to get things down pat. For most of them, they have the Monday of performance week till Wednesday night - our dress rehearsal - to get everything set up, lighting adjusted, and kinks worked out. And all this is going on while we are rehearsing on stage too.
You see with five casts of principle couples (Prince and Princess Aurora), each one needs a dress rehearsal, but with the limited time we have, unfortunately some are more "dressed" than others. This can be pretty stressful, especially when you're trying to get the full feeling of what this three hour show's going to require stamina-wise. But in these less than ideal circumstances everyone's handled them with grace and the utmost professionalism. Sometimes that's just how the cookie crumbles -so with chin up you make the best of it.
But I have to say Wednesday was quite surreal. Definitely NOT your ordinary dress rehearsal.
First of all, because Sleeping Beauty is so long, we broke up the dress rehearsal into two parts: the Prologue dress was in the afternoon, and then the last three acts were in the evening at the usual dress rehearsal time. But this pushed our class time up to 10am, which felt very early considering we'd finished rehearsing the night before at 9pm. It also required us to be ready with full stage makeup, performance hair and costumes for press photos at noon. Rushed? Just a little...
And the rehearsal was pretty rough. Not only did we struggle with orchestra tempos, but there were costume malfunctions, and special effect flubs. Well that's what dress rehearsals are for - ironing out the creases, which we most certainly did. And just as we were about to be dismissed can you guess what happened? The McCaw Hall fire alarm went off... and this was NOT a drill.
So we all, clad in our costumes of tutus, pantaloons and gold heels - the men's attire, wigs and stage makeup, marched outside to wait on the sidewalk of Mercer Street in the cold, wet weather. Olivier Wevers, dressed as Carabosse the evil fairy, began to wave at the cars that slowly drove past us. It was quite a sight to see! We looked like a freak show - or at least that was the message conveyed by the baffled and slightly horrified expressions of those people who witnessed this spectacle.It felt like the hours before the fire truck arrived, but I'm sure it was only a matter of minutes. We all filed back into the theater to finally change, only to come back hours later to do it all over again... dress rehearsal part two: Acts 1-3. Well they say bad dress rehearsal, good performance... A true statement.
Opening night came and everything went off seamlessly. The production glittered and sparkled and everyone in it radiated excitement and energy. The audience was packed and I never felt more proud to be a part of such a tremendous company of beautiful and talented dancers. Two more shows remain this weekend and then we have five more performances the following one before the spell is finally broken and the Sleeping Beauty awakes for the for good. I would highly recommend coming to see this awesome production - it's definitely one you don't want to miss! Buy your tickets here before they all sell out! - Jessika Anspach, PNB corps de ballet dancer
Opening Night Notes from Artistic Director Peter Boal
By website@pnb.org (Pacific Northwest Ballet)
Thursday, Feb 04 at 1:27 PM
Dear Friends,Tonight the curtain rises on Ronald Hynd’s wonderful production of The Sleeping Beauty. After eight weeks of preparation, we are ready for performance. There are as many as five casts of some roles and many premieres. Try to catch as many as you can. Here are a few interesting facts I thought you’d like to know:
This is the largest production that PNB does as far as number of performers, size of orchestra and number of costume pieces. There are 900 individual costume pieces used in each performance and our wardrobe department manages to get them all on the right people.
The Queen’s Act III costume weighs 35 pounds.
Kaori Nakamura wears three or four pairs of pointe shoes for each performance of Aurora.
In the original 1980 production of The Sleeping Beauty, Italian dancer/teacher Enrico Cecchetti danced the roles of both Carabosse and the Blue Bird.
Emil de Cou, associate Conductor of the National Symphony orchestra in Washington, DC, will be a guest conductor for three performances of Beauty. Four guest conductors joined us during Nutcracker as part of our search for a new Music Director.
All Sleeping Beauty matinees begin at 1PM and are dress-up matinees for boys and girls, with plenty of activities planned for them before the performance and at intermissions.
Director's Notes on The Sleeping Beauty
By website@pnb.org (Pacific Northwest Ballet)
Thursday, Jan 28 at 2:46 PM
As frequent visitors to this company will know, I love new work. I love to commission work when we can find the resources to pay for it. And at the same time, I am continually struck by the pleasure we all have in revisiting the great traditional works on which classical ballet was founded. How fresh they can look and how enthralling they can be for wide-eyed, first-time viewers and longtime ballet aficionados. We feel the challenge of Aurora's prolonged balances and promenades on one pointed foot and the brilliant spectacle of the Bluebird's batterie. We are rendered blissfully childlike in rooting for Prince Florimund and Little Red Riding Hood. We are equally passionate in our disdain for the Wolf and the villainous Carabosse. There's nothing like a heartpumping story of the triumph of good over evil.
The challenges I have thrown at our dancers over the past five seasons are a tall order. The Sleeping Beauty is perhaps the greatest technical challenge of any ballet in our repertory. Work on The Sleeping Beauty began in November as the first Nutcracker snow began to fall. Precision of technique, stamina, portrayal of character, and demonstration of musicality and stage presence are only the beginning. You will want to catch as many casts as you can. Each is remarkable in its own way.
Savor our orchestra's mastery of Tchaikovsky's grand composition. Sixty talented musicians fill the hall with drama and delight. Take a trip down to the edge of the orchestra pit at intermission and learn more about this key component of our company. You can also enjoy PNB's orchestra during a live broadcast on King FM on Friday, February 5 at 7:30 pm.
I'm guessing that after today's performance of The Sleeping Beauty, you are going to want to come back and see us again. We have another classic coming up this spring that you might want to catch. PNB will perform George Balanchine's delightful Coppélia for the first time with all-new sets and costumes by Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno. We've been working on this one for more than a year and I've been talking about it for five. With three new scenic designs and 125 new costumes, it's quite an undertaking. It's also the reason I fell in love with ballet. You may already be in love with ballet, but this one's a winner you won't want to miss. It's going to be a great spring at PNB and we look forward to seeing you back at the ballet.
Peter Boal
Artistic Director
Pushing Toward the Starting Line: Jessika Anspach on The Sleeping Beauty
By website@pnb.org (Pacific Northwest Ballet)
Tuesday, Jan 26 at 3:51 PM
This week, last week, next week - they all are, have been and are going to be an absolute blur of cabrioles, ballonnes, ice-baths and Tchaikovsky. Did I forget to mention ballet pantomime? Yes. Sleeping Beauty has arrived.
And I hurt.
You would think that since I am a professional ballerina, having trained since I was five years old to do this it would be a cinch - you know, piece of cake, right? Not to mention the fact that I just came off a grueling Nutcracker season... I mean what else are 43 shows of "holiday magic" good for than to get my butt in shape? Well it would appear that Nutcracker just didn't cut it.
The Sleeping Beauty is an entirely different kind of monster.
This ballet brings a whole new meaning to the word "production." Complete with wigs and heels in all four - yes, I did say four - acts, the costumes alone are works of art. And I haven't even mentioned the sets and scenery. It's quite a sight to behold! And I must admit this lavish extravagance was never more necessary as this enduring classic endures for two and a quarter hours - three if you include intermissions...
So 135 minutes - and I'm onstage and in character for probably 120 of those. To be fair, I'm not dancing full-out that entire time, but generally speaking I don't stop for very long before I start again. Off-stage isn't much different either. Intermission's consumed by changing costumes, hair, hair pieces, shoes... you get the picture.
In other words it's a marathon.
The question is will I make it to the starting line?
Classical ballet is really hard on the body, and The Sleeping Beauty is really as classical as it gets. The movements and steps are technical, precise and utterly unforgiving. It utilizes every muscle in your body - muscles you didn't even know existed, until the next morning they make their cranky, tight and pulsing presence known.
This week my best friend has been the ice bath. The ice bath and I, we have a love-hate relationship.
Imagine submerging your leg in a bucket of slushy ice-water, heavy on the ice. Painful? Well let's just say it's not all sunshine, rainbows and lollipops. But after a couple minutes when your leg goes completely numb, it's actually quite nice, in a sick masochistic sort of way... This week I have done this every day, multiple times a day in order to make it to that starting line. Not only have my feet been suffering the wrath of Sleeping Beauty - they look like they went through a belt sander - but my left calf muscle has as well. Like a stubborn cranky child it decided it had had enough. I believe the technical diagnosis is "strained." At any rate, I've managed to coax it out of it's tantrum through rest, prayer and of course, ice baths. Praise the Lord for that!
Wow... I sound pretty insane to put myself through all of this. And I probably am. But even with all the pain, oh man is there ever gain!
And just in case you'd like to come and see me not only make it to the starting line, but victoriously run this marathon, you can buy tickets here.
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