Director's Choice Main Page March 13–22, 2008 Director's Notes   Peter Boal (Photo: Jerry Davis) Ulysses Dove was a choreographer who breathed life from dancers. I think he created great work for the privilege of taking the front row seat in the studio and at the premiere. He infused energy into the creation process, recognizing that his return far outweighed his investment. I've never seen a choreographer admire his work in this way. Yet, remarkably, it was without ego. He was both the expert toymaker and the child at Christmas. He reveled in the sheer pleasure of energy, movement and musicality. We watched Ulysses live to the fullest, and we watched him die before our eyes each day as AIDS claimed his life. The final months of his life were spent choreographing. He lived in an apartment generously provided for him by the Actors Fund. A few dear friends helped him to the studio each day to create. First he could no longer demonstrate; then he could no longer walk. At the end, he had trouble speaking and seemed to rest peacefully while we danced. We helped Ulysses finish creating by offering suggestions of movements to which he would nod or shake his head. His doctors said there would not be another day. It wasn't possible. Ulysses said he would live to see his last work premiere. Dance literally sustained life. He died days after Twilight premiered on June 11, 1996. During those last months of his life, Ulysses' dear friend, Margaret Selby, put together an extraordinary event to benefit the Actors Fund in recognition of its remarkable assistance of Ulysses and so many others. The evening at the New York State Theater was a performance titled For the Love of Dove. Participating companies included New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Royal Swedish Ballet and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. On June 17, what was to be a tribute to a great American choreographer became his memorial service. I saw Vespers for the first time that night, danced by the powerful women of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. It made a lasting impression. Ulysses addressed the passing of his grandmother and his mother's struggles to let her go. His work often dealt with themes of heaven and hell, life and the afterlife, religion and reality. Vespers is PNB's third work by Dove, following Red Angels and Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven. It is also the first work of his that we have performed that was choreographed for modern dancers. Für Alina is a beautiful creation by rising choreographer Edwaard Liang. Ed has long been admired for his extraordinary talent as a dancer with New York City Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theater and Morphoses, The Wheeldon Company. Recently, attention has been focused on his gifts as a choreographic talent. He created a pas de deux for Peter Boal and Company's last performances in 2004. He is an artist to watch. As our 2007 Celebrate Seattle Festival reminded us, great choreographers abound right here in the Northwest and many within PNB. Former Principal dancer and treasured Ballet Master Paul Gibson is one of those. We welcome back Paul's haunting Sense of Doubt from last year's Festival. When I began to select my first program for PNB in the fall of 2005, I wanted to include a work I had seen in New York by William Forsythe. I called Bill in Frankfurt to request One Flat Thing, reproduced and received one flat "No." Bill said, "Aren't they a bit stiff in Seattle?" I still don't know if he was referring to you, the audience, or PNB's dancers. Either way, I gave him a flat "no" and described how our dancers performed In the middle, somewhat elevated and Artifact II and how the audience had responded to these works. Many embraced the controversial pieces, while others abhorred the volume of the music. With repeated runs, more and more Forsythe fans were won, with his choreography earning a reputation among our audiences for thrilling physicality and cutting-edge innovation. One Flat Thing, reproduced promises to shock and intrigue. It is one of my favorites, as is this entire program. I would go so far as to call it the director's choice. One word of thanks for the essential trust and support we receive from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation for this program and a note of appreciation to you, our audience, for your overwhelming appreciation of Roméo et Juliette. Your messages of praise for our dancers and the production are treasured by all of us at PNB. Peter Boal Artistic Director