Director's Notebook Archives |

Executive Director’s Notes: Coppélia

Welcome to Coppélia, PNB’s final repertory program of the 2023/24 season. It’s been several years since we last presented the luminous, lighthearted world of Coppélia, and it’s a joy to bring this beautiful production back to life. If you joined us for our most recent two programs, you may find it hard to believe that the company of classical dancers onstage before you could possibly be the same group of artists who so totally committed to the contemporary choreography of Crystal Pite, Alejandro Cerrudo, Matthew Neenan, Twyla Tharp, and Jessica Lang in March and April.

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2024-05-24T16:43:03-07:00May 24th, 2024|Categories: Director's Notebook, Performances|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Coppelia, Ellen Walker|Comments Off

Artistic Director’s Notebook: Coppélia

Almost fifty years ago, I attended a New York City Ballet performance of George Balanchine’s Coppélia. Somewhere in the middle of the first act, I decided I wanted to dance. You know the rest of this story. Coppélia is all about the dancing, and the music, and the laughter, colors, costumes, and scenery. It may have the same effect on you as it did on me all those years ago.

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2024-05-24T16:40:52-07:00May 24th, 2024|Categories: Director's Notebook, Performances|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Alexandra Danilova, Coppelia, George Balanchine, Judith Fugate, Otto Neubert, Peter Boal|Comments Off

Artistic Director’s Notebook: Sweet Fields, The Calling, The Seasons’ Canon

"What goes into planning a season? There are more factors to list than my word count allows."

Maris Antolin2024-04-04T14:37:21-07:00April 8th, 2024|Categories: Director's Notebook, Performances|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Crystal Pite, Jessica Lang, Peter Boal, Sweet Fields, The Calling, The Seasons' Canon, Twyla Tharp|Comments Off

Artistic Director’s Notebook: Bacchus, One Thousand Pieces

"We all have our harrowing stories from mid-March of 2020. Naturally, mine involves PNB. On the morning of March 12th Executive Director Ellen Walker informed me all theaters on Seattle Center campus had been asked to suspend any further activity. I told her I needed twelve more hours. That night we were scheduled to take the stage for the dress rehearsal of David Dawson’s Empire Noir and Alejandro Cerrudo’s One Thousand Pieces. Though we were able to run and film the dress rehearsal before retreating to our homes, PNB has never performed the complete One Thousand Pieces for a live audience. How grateful we are to finally bring this piece to the stage with you in the audience.

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2024-03-18T12:30:34-07:00March 7th, 2024|Categories: Director's Notebook, Performances|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Alejandro Cerrudo, Bacchus, Matthew Neenan, One Thousand Pieces, Peter Boal|Comments Off

Executive Director’s Notes: Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake

Welcome to Swan Lake, one of Kent Stowell’s most stunning contributions to PNB’s repertoire. This production of Swan Lake and I arrived at PNB at the same time, in the summer of 2003. I was struck by the magnitude of the physical production, and still find new details in Ming Cho Lee’s magnificent sets and Paul Tazewell’s opulent costumes. For a new-to-PNB arts administrator, I could not have encountered a more beautiful ballet beginning.

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2024-01-29T09:13:23-08:00January 29th, 2024|Categories: Director's Notebook, Performances|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Ellen Walker, Kent Stowell, Rico Chiarelli, Swan Lake|Comments Off

Artistic Director’s Notebook: Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake

Just over twenty years ago, in September 2003, a theater called Marion Oliver McCaw Hall opened in Seattle. Built on the site of the Seattle Opera House, which dated back to the 1962 World’s Fair, the new hall was the realization of years of dreaming, planning, fundraising, and building. With Seattle Symphony’s recent relocation to Benaroya Hall, McCaw Hall was tailored to the needs of its two primary tenants, Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet. After a joint gala celebrating the new digs and the dawn of a new era for each arts organization, PNB offered another unveiling – a completely redesigned version of Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake.

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2024-01-29T09:07:04-08:00January 29th, 2024|Categories: Director's Notebook, Performances|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Francia Russell, Kent Stowell, Ming Cho Lee, Paul Tazewell, Peter Boal, Rico Chiarelli, Swan Lake|Comments Off

Executive Director’s Notes: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® 2023

On behalf of everyone at PNB, thank you for choosing to celebrate the season with us. Over the years we’ve heard from many in our audience about what this production means to you. It may mark the official start of your holidays, be the destination for a much anticipated annual outing with visiting family, or offer a nostalgic antidote to a too-busy time of year...

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2023-11-20T15:22:37-08:00November 20th, 2023|Categories: Director's Notebook, Performances, The Nutcracker|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Ellen Walker, George Balanchine, The Nutcracker|Comments Off

Artistic Director’s Notebook: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® 2023

Ask anyone what their introduction to ballet was – most will tell you it was a performance of The Nutcracker. They probably attended as small children. I was five. PNB expects to welcome about 85,000 people of all ages to our performances this year alone. Many will attend for the first time, starting a new tradition of enjoying this timeless holiday classic...

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2023-11-20T15:05:03-08:00November 20th, 2023|Categories: Director's Notebook, Performances, The Nutcracker|Tags: 2023/24 Season, george, George Balanchine, Ian Falconer, Peter Boal, The Nutcracker|Comments Off

Executive Director’s Notes: The Window, Wartime Elegy, Love and Loss

Welcome to PNB’s November program and the place in our season we often mark by presenting new and contemporary work – a very PNB counterpoint to The Nutcracker immersion already taking place in our studios. This program is also an excellent expression of the interconnectedness of the dance world.

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2023-10-30T14:06:49-07:00October 30th, 2023|Categories: Choreographers, Director's Notebook, Performances|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Alexei Ratmansky, Dani Rowe, Donald Byrd, Ellen Walker, Inspire Washington|Comments Off

Artistic Director’s Notebook: The Window, Wartime Elegy, Love and Loss

When we think of storytelling, we think of words – spoken, signed, sung, or written. Recall a favorite novel or poem. Words illuminate plots and plays bringing them to vivid existence. How does dance tell a tale without words? Classical ballets have relied on two methods of communication – mime and program notes. But storytelling has changed in ballet.

Zoe Meadows-Sahr2023-10-27T16:11:46-07:00October 30th, 2023|Categories: Choreographers, Director's Notebook, Performances|Tags: 2023/24 Season, Alexei Ratmansky, Dani Rowe, Donald Byrd, Love and Loss, Peter Boal, The Window, Wartime Elegy|Comments Off