Crystal Pite’s The Seasons’ Canon by the Numbers
By Leta Biasucci Each dancer’s preference for what they most enjoy dancing varies as much as their taste in food, books, and fashion. While some dancers relish the classicism of Swan Lake and Giselle, and perhaps find comfort in revisiting the familiar, others would prefer to spend their days working on a world premiere. And then there are […]
Artistic Director’s Notebook: Duo Concertant, Catching Feelings, The Seasons’ Canon
The three works presented in this program span the same lifetime as our Company. George Balanchine’s Duo Concertant, one of 34 offerings in a landmark New York City Ballet Stravinsky Festival in 1972, is 50. Crystal Pite’s The Seasons’ Canon is six, and Dwight Rhoden’s new creation Catching Feelings is either newborn or in its first 10 days of existence, […]
Artistic Director’s Notebook: Carmina Burana, Allegro Brillante, and Wartime Elegy
Guess who’s turning fifty? Not me, that happened already. It’s PNB. In 1972, a small but committed group of extraordinary individuals envisioned a great classical ballet company based here in Seattle. Several years of blood, sweat, tears, and triumphs followed. In time, their dream became our reality and, fifty years later, we couldn’t be more grateful […]
Artistic Director’s Notebook: Swan Lake
Swan Lake defines a classical ballet company. It offers the epitome of cohesion for a corps de ballet, the apex of artistry for principal dancers, a challenge and a triumph for an orchestra, and an opportunity to lay claim to greatness. It certainly helped to elevate the reputation and expectations of a fledgling Pacific Northwest Ballet […]
Romeo and Juliet: The Timeless Story of Young Love
By Noel Pederson While it is one of the most famous examples in modern Western culture, Romeo and Juliet is just one of many tales of young love thwarted that have been told in many cultures across the world for thousands of years. From the Persian tale of Layla and Majnun, to the Chinese legend of The […]
Executive Director’s Notes: Roméo et Juliette
Dear Friends, As I write this, we are in the homestretch of 37 performances of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®. Without a doubt, this was our most complicated production in many years, with Covid protocols alone requiring multiple PNB teams to implement. And yet, what a joy it has been. Enthralled audiences back in festive holiday attire, […]
The Enduring Popularity of Romeo and Juliet
By Leah Dooley The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s second most popular play. It is one of the most produced and most depicted in the visual arts, and it’s the only Shakespeare play referenced in Taylor Swift’s discography. But did you know that ever since the 16th century, Romeo and Juliet has been a hit? While […]
Artistic Director’s Notebook-Roméo et Juliette
The story of Roméo et Juliette offers many takeaways: humor, drama, tears, and passion, to name a few. From my first read of the play in Mr. Crosby’s seventh-grade classroom to a recent viewing of the new Steven Spielberg film version of West Side Story, I’ve enjoyed a lifetime of different perspectives. Now in my sixth decade, I […]
Leaping from Caricature into Character
By Phil Chan, co-Founder, Final Bow for Yellowface As a Chinese person, the second act of The Nutcracker has always bugged me. Looking more broadly at the historic depictions of “Chinese” people on the Western performing arts stage, we see fantasy elements of what Europeans thought Chinese people looked like handed down to us from the baroque era. Sallow “grotesque” […]
A Historical Look at George Balanchine’s Jewels
Explore the history of Balanchine’s groundbreaking three-act ballet Jewels—Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds—and its significance at Pacific Northwest Ballet.