Las Estrellas

Music

Pablo de Sarasate
(Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25, 1882)

Choreography

Kyle Davis

Costume Design

Elizabeth Murphy

Lighting Design

Reed Nakayama

Videography & Editing

Lindsay Thomas

Violin

Michael Jinsoo Lim

Piano

Christina Siemens

Premiere

May 2021
Pacific Northwest Ballet (Digital Release)

The 2021 world premiere of Las Estrellas is generously supported by PNB Governing Trustees Jon Conte, Aya Stark Hamilton, Toni Hoover, Mariana Keller, Megan Kirley, Maria Mackey, Dr. Joe G. Norman, Jr., and Barbara Ries.

Angelica Generosa. Leta Biasucci. Laura Tisserand. Noelani Pantastico. Lesley Rausch. As individuals, they inspired every step I choreographed. As artists, they gave life to the dance we made. These are artists who have shown a command of dance time and time again and have proven they are stars.

Elizabeth Murphy. Her dancing and performance qualities are reflected in every costume she designs and constructs – strong, comforting, thoughtful, stunning.

Michael Jinsoo Lim. Christina Siemens. At every performance, I listen to the sounds emanating from the orchestra pit and immediately know who is leading the strings and who is seated at the Steinway. When I hear these two musicians performing, I know the show will be brilliant. Working with them on this new piece was a must.

Reed Nakayama. When an artist steps onstage it is not only their natural radiance making them shine, but the finessed work of an immensely skilled lighting designer who elevates a performance from good to great – something the common viewer may not be able to describe but knows.

People were the inspiration for this piece – and there are many more than I have listed above. Skilled and talented people, both behind the scenes and in-front of the camera. People, and a desire to feel camaraderie and togetherness with my fellow colleagues during a season of necessary separation, were the driving inspirations for this piece. Creating a piece during the pandemic is challenging. As a creator you must accept, embrace, and use the challenge to spur you on.

The collaborative team on this piece was anchored by two creators I look up to and love working with – Elizabeth Murphy and Reed Nakayama. I have worked with Elizabeth and Reed separately on a number of projects, and together on A Dark and Lonely Space, for PNB’s mainstage, and Variegated Voices and Make It So, for PNB’s Next Step performances. I will find any reason to work with them again and again.

As well as Elizabeth and Reed, all five dancers were extraordinary collaborators. Communication during the creative process was of utmost importance to me. Very few dancers around the globe have had consistent dancing opportunities throughout the pandemic, so having open conversation in every rehearsal was paramount to ensuring the process was paced appropriately for each dancer and allowed for a back-and-forth that gave each dancer the control to actively sculpt the choreography to their own needs. Without their input these solos would just be a series of nearly meaningless steps. With their input these solos are small tributes and representations of their individuality, making the experience truly one of a kind.

Program notes by Kyle Davis.

Artist Biographies

Kyle Davis

Kyle Davis is currently a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, Washington, a faculty member of the PNB School, and a freelance choreographer.

Davis began choreographing for PNB’s Next Step program in 2012. After the premiere of his Sylvia Pas de Deux and Sylvia Fanfare & Waltz, he was commissioned to present the entire third act of Sylvia for the school’s annual performance. He created additional new works for NEXT STEP in subsequent years, and then choreographed A Dark and Lonely Space on the company to the world premiere symphony performance of music by Michael Giacchino.

Additionally, Davis has choreographed works for smaller companies as well as schools and dance festivals, and served as Artist in Residence at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2017 and Gonzaga University in 2020.

As a dance educator, Davis has been teaching since 2010. In addition to teaching for the PNB School, he teaches masterclasses, company class, private lessons, and has been brought in as guest instructor for multiple summer courses.

Davis received his initial dance training at the Makaroff School of Ballet in Wisconsin and attended the Rock School for Dance Education and the North Carolina School of the Arts on scholarship. He also attended summer courses on scholarship at the Milwaukee Ballet, School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School.

In addition to being a prize winner at the 2008 Prix de Lausanne competition in Switzerland, Davis had won various awards in the Youth American Grand Prix Regional and Finals.

Davis joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2008 and rose through the ranks to principal dancer. He has performed principal and featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Donald Byrd, Alejandro Cerrudo, David Dawson, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Jessica Lang, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Justin Peck, Crystal Pite, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp – among others.

Davis also performs as a guest artist with various companies, schools, festivals, and independent projects.

,h6>Bio courtesy kyledavisdance.com.