Dear Friends,
As summer days bow to autumn nights, and brisk gusts send fall leaves swirling, PNB proudly presents GHOST STORIES. If you’ve been itching to put on that Halloween costume one more time, tonight’s the night. Our November program is full of atmosphere and intrigue. You’re about to see shadowy interiors, misty scapes, and castle courtyards. Expect the unexpected—it’s going to be fun.
Our program opens with the aptly titled Silent Ghost, by Alejandro Cerrudo, Artistic Director of Charlotte Ballet. Alejandro served as Resident Choreographer for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and PNB. Silent Ghost was created for Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. We are truly grateful for support from Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Foundation for these performances. Danced to one of Alejandro’s trademark playlists, we are lured in by tight twists and torques of ten bodies. Unison and physicality are instantly appealing. Alejandro takes us deeper with a series of duets. Undulating bodies, connected lifts between disconnected individuals, the soft ascension of arms suddenly sucked downwards by gravity. These gestures mirror human emotion and experience through movement. PACOPEPEPLUTO follows Silent Ghost as part palette cleanser, part amuse bouche. Three charming solos celebrate music, dance and life to songs by Dean Martin and Joe Scalissi. Clad in, well, basically not clad in much, the abandon of the dances embodies freedom, joy, wit and whimsy. Pablo Piantino, a PNB favorite, staged both works with his signature clarity.
The centerpiece of the program is a world premiere by PNB Principal dancer, Kyle Davis—an unplanned but fitting moment in what will be Kyle’s final season as a dancer with PNB. Kyle’s talents as a dancer and choreographer are myriad, and The Raven further builds on a stellar reputation. Based on Edgar Allen Poe’s poem of the same name, Kyle tells the tale of grief and madness with intricate choreography, nuanced musical phrasing, and plenty of drama. Jim French contributes a brilliant set design enhanced with atmospheric lighting. Emma Kingsbury (who also designed for Dani Rowe’s The Window) designed lavish costumes in a striking palette. Kyle selected music by Alexander Dreyshock that has not been performed in decades. By all reports it’s fiendishly challenging, but of course, we have Christina Siemens. You’re in for a treat with The Raven. Buckle up.
La Sonnambula was originally created by George Balanchine in 1946 for the Ballets Russe de Monte Carlo under the title Night Shadow. It was revived for New York City Ballet in 1960. PNB programmed the ballet once in 2007, and now welcomes it back into the repertoire. Our story opens with masked ball in the courtyard of the Baron’s castle. He and all guests delight in the presence of his mistress, the Coquette. The dancing pauses with the arrival of the Poet. We learn the Baron not only has a romantic relationship with the Coquette, he has a wife upstairs who appears as ghostly sleepwalker at night. When the poet is shunned from the Baron’s dinner, a chance encounter with the sleepwalker leads to a tragic end.
It’s nearly impossible to define Balanchine’s choreography in one or two sentences. How would one pick a work or two or three that capture the essence of Balanchine’s contribution (Serenade? The Four Temperaments? Jewels?). Though Balanchine delved successfully into story ballets, they are the outliers. La Sonnambula is more theatrical than what we expect from Balanchine. The dances are more Bridgerton than ballet and the story is operatic in nature. Balanchine took a sidestep into plot, acting, and intense drama like he did two decades earlier with Prodigal Son. The more we know of Balanchine’s sweeping catalogue of works, the more we recognize a master’s ability to excel in any type of dance and theater. La Sonnambula leaves a lasting chill on a cool autumn night. Be careful out there.
