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Pages

Music

David Lang selections: “When I am Alone” (edited), “Wed”, “Short Fall”, “These Broken Wings Part 2 “Passacaille””

Choreography

Jessica Lang

Scenic Design

Jessica Lang

Costume Design

Jillian Lewis

Lighting Design

Brandon Stirling Baker

Premiere

World Premiere: Pacific Northwest Ballet, September 25, 2026

The 2026 world premiere of Jessica Lang’s Pages was generously supported by Bob Benson.

Jessica Lang’s Pages was created as a co-commission with Ballet Sun Valley.

calligraphic border by ProSymbols from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)

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.

Note by Jessica Lang

Artist Biographies

Brandon Stirling Baker

Brandon Stirling Baker is an award-winning lighting designer working internationally in the world of dance. His work can be seen on Broadway, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl, New York City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Australian Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Miami City Ballet, Boston Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Houston Ballet, PNB, Dutch National Ballet, and many others. Baker has designed over 30 premieres worldwide for choreographer Justin Peck, and works frequently with William Forsythe, Jamar Roberts, and Pam Tanowitz among others.

David Lang

One of America’s most performed composers, David Lang’s catalogue includes works for dance, opera, orchestra, chamber ensemble, voice, and film. Lang has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, a Grammy Award, and has been nominated for an Academy Award, among many others. Lang is a Professor of Music Composition at the Yale School of Music, and is co-founder and co-artistic director of New York-based music collective Bang on a Can.

Jessica Lang

A celebrated choreographer of her generation, Jessica Lang is Resident Choreographer of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Artist in Residence at Sarasota Ballet. She has created over 115 original works on companies worldwide including American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, PNB, The Royal Ballet, Vienna State Ballet and her eponymous company Jessica Lang Dance of which Lang was Artistic Director from 2011-2019. For opera, Lang has directed and choreographed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater for Glimmerglass; choreographed Aida for San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera (WNO), Seattle Opera, LA Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago; and choreographed Salome for Des Moines Metro Opera. In 2024, Lang co-choreographed with Kanji Segawa WNO’s new production of Turandot, directed by Francesca Zambello.

Jillian Lewis

Jillian Lewis is a high-end fashion and costume designer based in New York City. She has been working in the fashion industry for almost two decades, and has a history of collaborations in the dance community. She has costumed productions at The Royal Opera House, American Ballet Theater, PNB, The Washington Ballet, The Guggenheim Museum, The Joyce Theater, and Baryshnikov Arts Center. She has designed costumes for Jessica Lang, Stephen Petronio, Pam Tanawitz, Brian Reeder, and Liz Gerring.