When silent beauty Coppélia appears on the balcony of toymaker Doctor Coppelius’ workshop, hilarious antics quickly ensue. Franz is smitten, and his sweetheart Swanilda is determined to settle this love triangle once and for all. Learn the full story of the Coppélia ballet and familiarize yourself with its comical characters in this blog!
Composer Léo Delibes, perhaps best remembered for the ballet Coppélia, greatly impacted ballet music. Even iconic ballet composer Tchaikovsky admired his work. Today on the PNB blog, learn more about his life, his impact, and his ballet Coppélia!
The Seasons’ Canon, choreographed by Crystal Pite, pushes dancers (and PNB) to the limit. With a large cast of 52 dancers, the piece requires PNB School Professional Division students (PDs) to perform alongside the Company. Isaiah Salas is one of the PDs rehearsing The Seasons’ Canon alongside the company. program. While rehearsing The Seasons’ Canon, he’s learned, “Step up. Details matter. No pain, no gain.” Keep reading to learn about Isaiah’s daily routine as he prepares to perform this challenging piece.
PNB rolls out the red carpet for our subscribers. There are a multitude of benefits PNB offers subscribers, from additional discounts on tickets to free ticket exchanges. Learn more about our subscribers' five favorite benefits below!
"What goes into planning a season? There are more factors to list than my word count allows."
Women are historically under-represented when it comes to choreographing ballets. In honor of Women's History Month, we are highlighting five women with unique choreographic points of view who have or will create works at PNB. Learn more about these women and their creative approaches in this blog post!
Crockett Johnson's 1955 book, Harold and the Purple Crayon, has proven timeless, distinguishing itself among children's favorites. With a simple plot, simple illustrations, and virtually only one character throughout-it draws out its reader's sense of adventure, creativity, and imagination. Robyn Mineko Williams, award-winning choreographer, former Hubbard Street Dance Chicago artist, and devoted mother, illuminates this similarity of dance and writing artforms by giving Harold a voice within the ballet world, knowing that if anyone could get it, kids could: "[Harold] requires imagination. It's so naturally built into Harold; it's just this kid and a crayon. It captures the beauty of kids-they don't have to be reminded to imagine; they just do."
PNB School's Professional Division Program is designed to help students transition from student to professional dancer by perfecting technique and developing artistry. Performing is an important part of the program, and many PD’s look forward to dancing alongside PNB’s Company dancers on the McCaw Hall Stage. LeeAnaca Moore is one such student, and she’s playing Harold in PNB's next show, Harold and the Purple Crayon! We sat down with LeeAnaca to chat about her daily routine while rehearsing Harold.
Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal has announced the line-up for PNB’s 52nd season, running from September 2024 through June 2025.
Costume designer Mark Zappone has created many costumes over the years for PNB, including for Matthew Neenan’s Bacchus. Peek behind the scenes with us today on the PNB Blog as Mark explains how he created these delightful costumes!