Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2026-27 Season-Opener spans from classical to contemporary: SERENADE.
September 25 – October 4, 2026
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center
Seattle, WA 98109
Seven Performances Only!
Friday, September 25 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, September 26 at 2:00 and 7:30 pm
Friday, October 2 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 3 at 2:00 (audio-described performance) and 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 4 at 1:00 pm
SEATTLE, WA – McCaw Hall’s sparkling curtain rises on one of ballet’s most memorable images as Pacific Northwest Ballet launches its 54th season with George Balanchine’s ethereal early masterpiece, Serenade.
“Now regarded as a cornerstone of dance in America, Serenade is an iconic masterpiece,” said PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal. “The ascendant notes of the strings, 17 blue tulle tutus billowing in the air, stretching arms shielding blinding moonlight – the rush is unmatched.” Not seen in a PNB season line-up since 2010, Serenade will be joined by Pages, the world premiere of resident choreographer Jessica Lang’s newest work; and Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
SERENADE runs for seven performances only, September 25 through October 4 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $47 (fees inclusive). (The program will also stream digitally October 8 thru 12; Digital access is available by subscription only. See TICKET INFORMATION, below, for details.) For tickets and additional information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org.
PERFORMANCE LINE-UP
Serenade
Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Serenade in C for string orchestra, Op. 48, 1880)
Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Staging: Dana Hanson and Carla Körbes
Costume Design: Karinska
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli
Running Time: 35 minutes
Premiere: June 10, 1934, School of American Ballet (White Plains, New York)
PNB Premiere: September 29, 1978
Serenade is the first work George Balanchine created for American dancers. The story of its origin has often been told: Deciding one day that “the best way to make students aware of stage technique was to give them something new to dance,” Balanchine began to choreograph a new work on his students at the recently-founded School of American Ballet, improvising with whatever students were available – seventeen that first day, varying numbers on succeeding days, eventually a few men; and incorporating chance happenings, such as a dancer’s fall or late arrival, into the overall design of the piece. He also gave unprecedented importance to the ensemble rather than to individuals, and infused the work with a freshness and candor that have struck many as the first expression of a distinctively American style. Although Balanchine continued to revise Serenade for many years as he adapted it to the developing abilities of his dancers, the ballet has always retained the unique – even idiosyncratic – character that was determined by those early circumstances. Romantic in form and feeling, it also has tantalized audiences with its hints of a mysterious narrative, though Balanchine consistently refused to define what that narrative might be.
[Excerpted from notes by Jeanie Thomas, edited by Doug Fullington.]
Pages
[WORLD PREMIERE]
Music: David Lang
Choreography: Jessica Lang
Scenic Design: Libby Stadstad
Costume Design: Jillian Lewis
Lighting Design: Brandon Stirling Baker
A co-production of PNB and Ballet Sun Valley Summer Festival (Sun Valley, Idaho)
Inspired by a week-long residency in the cabin of Ernest Hemingway in Ketchum, Pages explores the private landscape of artistic creation – the isolation, repetition, and relentless internal dialogue that accompany the act of making art. Surrounded by books, unfinished thoughts, and the physical presence of language, the work became a meditation on the contrast between silence and inner noise. Through the wordless medium of ballet, Pages embodies the hesitation, repetition, obsession, interruption, and memory that shape the creative mind, reflecting on what happens to consciousness when a person devotes themselves to making something. [Notes by Jessica Lang]
Pictures at an Exhibition
Music: Modest Mussorgsky (1874)
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Costume Design: Adeline André
Lighting Design: Mark Stanley
Projection Design: Wendall K. Harrington (using Wassily Kandinksy’s Color Study, Squares with Concentric Circles, 1913)
Running Time: 35 minutes
Premiere: October 2, 2014, New York City Ballet
PNB Premiere: June 2, 2017
Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, set to Mussorgsky’s signature work in its original version for solo piano, “is surely the most casually diverse work Mr. Ratmansky has created, but it gathers unstoppable momentum.” (Alastair Macaulay, The New York Times) Ratmansky’s team of collaborators included renowned projection designer Wendall K. Harrington, whose visual musings on Wassily Kandinsky’s watercolor, Color Study. Squares with Concentric Circles (1913), provide animated counterpoint to the dancers’ moves. Fashion designer Adeline André’s costumes echo Kandinsky’s colors and shapes, while Mark Stanley’s lighting joins all of these components to create a vibrantly colored unified whole.
[Excerpted notes by Doug Fullington.]
TICKET INFORMATION & DISCOUNT OFFERS
Tickets to SERENADE as well as PNB’s entire 2026-27 Season are available through the PNB Box Office:
· Phone – 206.441.2424
· In Person – 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center
· Online 24/7 – PNB.org
Subject to availability, tickets are also available 90 minutes prior to show times at McCaw Hall. Advance tickets through the PNB Box Office are strongly suggested for best prices and greatest availability.
Tickets to SERENADE are $47 – $270 (fees inclusive), with discounts available for children 14 and under. Groups of ten or more may enjoy discounts of up to 20% off regular prices (not valid on lowest-priced tickets or combined with other offers.) Visit PNB.org/season/group-sales for more information.
PNB offers select audio-described performances for visually-impaired and blind patrons at $20 per ticket. The audio-described performance of SERENADE is Saturday, October 3 at 2:00 pm. PNB’s Audio Dance Description program is generously underwritten by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. For additional accessibility info, visit PNB.org/accessibility.
PNB’s digital presentation of SERENADE (October 8 – 12) is available by subscription only. For tickets ($350, tax inclusive) and more information, click here. (Some digital season programming may vary from the onstage performances.)
PNB offers many generous ticket discount programs to make ballet affordably accessible. For information about special ticket offers including group discounts, The Pointe (for audiences under 40), Pay-What-You-Can, senior and student rush tickets, Beer & Ballet night, TeenTix, and more, visit PNB.org/offers.
Caveat Emptor: Like many other performing arts, PNB struggles with ticket resellers. At their most benign, third-party sites buy up less expensive tickets and sell them for a profit. At their most malignant, they sometimes sell invalid tickets. For ease of mind and to enjoy the show at the best available prices, always purchase tickets directly from PNB. Suspected scams should be reported to the Better Business Bureau.
The show must go on! PNB is committed to honoring its performance calendar. Shows will not be cancelled for weather, traffic, or acts of Congress. In the unlikely event that the status of a performance does change, an announcement will be posted on PNB.org.
SPECIAL EVENTS
PNB CONVERSATIONS & DRESS REHEARSAL
Thursday, September 24
Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall
Join dance historian Doug Fullington with guests for our first PNB Conversations of the season. PNB Conversations offer in-depth interviews with artists involved in putting our programs on stage. Attend the conversation only, or stay for the dress rehearsal: The conversation begins at 5:30 pm, followed by the dress rehearsal at 7:00 pm. Tickets (suggested donation of $40) may be purchased through the PNB Box Office.
BALLET TALK
Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall
Join dance historian Doug Fullington for a 30-minute introduction to each performance, including discussions of choreography, music, history, design and the process of bringing ballet to the stage. One hour before performances. FREE for ticketholders.
MEET THE ARTIST
Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall
Skip the post-show traffic and enjoy a Q&A with PNB dancers and a member of the Artistic staff, immediately following each performance. FREE for ticketholders.
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The works of George Balanchine performed by Pacific Northwest Ballet are made possible in part by The Louise Nadeau Endowed Fund. The world premiere of Jessica Lang’s Pages is supported by Bob Benson and Connie Walsh. PNB’s 2026 performances of Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition are supported by Max and Maria Schmeiser. The 2017 Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition was generously underwritten by Patty Edwards.
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2026-27 season is proudly sponsored by 4Culture, ArtsFund, Microsoft, and The Shubert Foundation. PNB’s digital season is made possible by Katherine Graubard and William Calvin. PNB media sponsorship provided by The Seattle Times.
