Dance – Page 15 – Gemma D. Alexander

Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist Price Suddarth in Alejandro Cerrudo’s Little mortal jump, which PNB is presenting as part of EMERGENCE, April 13 – 22, 2018. Photo © Angela Sterling.

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Alejandro Cerrudo, Little mortal jump, Pacific Northwest Ballet

Little Mortal Jump at Pacific Northwest Ballet

PNB soloist Price Suddarth in Alejandro Cerrudo’s Little mortal jump, 2018. Photo © Angela Sterling.

It’s been a few days now and I’m still thinking about Little mortal jump, the opening piece in the Emergence mixed-rep ballet I saw at Pacific Northwest Ballet last weekend. That’s odd, because it wasn’t the first time I’ve seen it. When I look back at what I wrote then, it’s obvious that I liked it. But somehow that first viewing faded in my memory and I completely had the wrong idea about it going in for the second view. Read More

Pacific Northwest Ballet company dancers in Crystal Pite’s Emergence, which PNB is presenting as part of a mixed rep with two other works, April 13 – 22, 2018. Photo © Angela Sterling.

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Alejandro Cerrudo, Crystal Pite, Emergence, Little mortal jump, mixed rep, Noelani Pantastico, Pacific Northwest Ballet, RakU, Yuri Possokhov

Emergence Mixed Rep at Pacific Northwest Ballet

The ballet has left me breathless before, but breathless and speechless? That’s new. There is so much to say about the current mixed rep at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Emergence, that I’m paralyzed before I begin. The title comes from the final piece in the rep, Crystal Pite’s Emergence. It’s an audience favorite capping off Little Mortal Jump and the Seattle premiere of RakU. I always go on about how Director’s Choice is the best rep of the season, but this one is so powerful. I wanted to go to the artist Q&A after the performance, but I was too wiped out and had to go straight home. Emergence left me exhausted and wrung out, like I had been through something. But in a good way. Mostly. Anyway, it felt more like an experience than a performance. Read More

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ballet, ballet education, classical ballet, contemporary ballet, modern dance, Pacific Northwest Ballet

Ballet 101: Contemporary Ballet at Pacific Northwest Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballet company dancers in William Forsythe’s One Flat Thing, reproduced, which PNB is presenting as part of DIRECTOR’S CHOICE, March 16 – 25, 2018. Photo © Stacy Ebstyne.

Forsythe’s not-a-ballet One Flat Thing, reproduced, 2018 PNB. Photo © Stacy Ebstyne.

This season Pacific Northwest Ballet launched an audience education program called Ballet 101. It was great timing for me. It coincided with my decision to give up on my hippie-dippy pure experience approach to ballet and start learning about the art form that I enjoy so much. But the timing wasn’t perfect – I couldn’t make it to the first two sessions. But this week I finally attended my first Ballet 101 event, Contemporary Ballet: New Works and Current Trends in Ballet. Read More

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One Flat Thing, One Flat Thing reproduced, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Robert Falcon Scott, Thom Willems, William Forsythe

One Flat Thing, reproduced at Pacific Northwest Ballet

The Director’s Choice program at Pacific Northwest Ballet this year comprised four outstanding ballets. But let’s face it, the one everybody wants to talk about is William Forsythe’s “One Flat Thing, reproduced.” It’s one of the most divisive ballets ever performed at this company (spoiler alert: I love it). Some people question whether it is even ballet. They doubt that the score qualifies as music. The questions are valid, but the answers are a resounding “yes!” This is the best kind of music and ballet – the kind that confuses us, makes us uncomfortable, and makes us think.

Red Angels at Pacific Northwest Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Lesley Rausch and Lucien Postlewaite in Ulysses Dove’s Red Angels, which PNB is presenting as part of DIRECTOR’S CHOICE, March 16 – 25, 2018. Photo © Angela Sterling.

Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers Lesley Rausch and Lucien Postlewaite in Ulysses Dove’s Red Angels, 2018. Photo © Angela Sterling.

When I watched part of the rehearsal for Director’s Choice at Pacific Northwest Ballet, my attention was captured by another piece (more on that one later). But during the performance, “Red Angels” was the one that stood out. When the piece ended and the lights came up, my nine-year-old (who usually prefers a more traditional style of ballet) turned me wide-eyed and said, “That was amazing.”

Category Archive Dance

Little Mortal Jump at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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Emergence Mixed Rep at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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Ballet 101: Contemporary Ballet at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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One Flat Thing, reproduced at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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Red Angels at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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Category Archive Dance

Little Mortal Jump at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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Emergence Mixed Rep at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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Ballet 101: Contemporary Ballet at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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One Flat Thing, reproduced at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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Red Angels at Pacific Northwest Ballet

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