As has been discussed on this blog before, Company dancer Ezra Thomson’s interests are diverse to say the least. In addition to dance and music, Ezra enjoys cooking, working on his family’s Gig Harbor farm, fixing up his 1965 Mustang, and creating goods to sell in the Etsy shop he runs with his girlfriend […]
Company soloist and NEXT STEP choreographer Margaret Mullin sat down with me recently to discuss her upcoming premiere of Rorshach, a contemporary duet for two women based on the famous psychological test. Moving to music by Bartók, the two dancers command the audience’s attention as they mirror each other’s movements while staying true to their own […]
Company dancer and NEXT STEP choreographer Matthew Renko has been choreographing for several years, but his upcoming premiere will provide a new experience for him: working with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, who will accompany his piece at this Friday’s performance.
Before departing Seattle to join Ballet BC this summer, PNB Company dancer and seasoned choreographer Andrew Bartee will premiere a new work, Peace Out Girl Scout, on this year’s NEXT STEP program. The piece will be his fourth for PNB’s annual choreographic showcase.
As Seattle dance audiences know, Andrew is […]
Jahna and Angelica not only have great synergy as a directing team, but off-stage are great friends. Both are twenty years old and in their third season as members of PNB’s corps de ballet. They also share the ability to do “crazy […]
Company dancer and NEXT STEP choreographer Price Suddarth is premiering his third piece with PNB School Professional Division this year. While each of his premieres has been different, Price’s singular style has emerged: his goal is to create a space in which the audience can have an experience and depart from the ordinary […]
The curtain opens in a dark and gloomy forest on the banks of a pond. Giselle’s tombstone can be seen at the left; the bluish gleam of the moon gives a cold and misty appearance to the scene. Several gamekeepers arrive, hoping to set up an observation post, but Hilarion warns them away: […]
As the curtain rises on a picturesque scene in a small German village, vinegatherers depart for the harvest. Hilarion the gamekeeper arrives, hoping to see the lovely Giselle. He hides when his rival Albrecht—really a Duke disguised as a peasant named Loys—emerges from his cottage, with his squire Wilfride. Wilfride begs his master […]
Though it’s now been three years since the premiere of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Giselle, the idea for staging our own production was presented to me almost five ago. I had been unsuccessfully shopping for the right Giselle when Doug Fullington came to me with the suggestion that I look closer to home. Doug knew not […]
Peter Boal’s radiant staging of Giselle returns with all-new scenery and costumes by award-winning designer Jérôme Kaplan (above) who is best known to PNB audiences for his designs for Don Quixote, Roméo et Juliette.
Q: What steps were critical to your process in creating designs for sets and costumes for PNB’s Giselle?