PNB@Home Rep 1

This is the post where I put the cart before the horse. Between paid work and keeping up with Seattle Opera’s weekly online releases, I haven’t had a chance to preview Pacific Northwest Ballet’s virtual season. But PNB@Home Rep 1 posted last night, and it’s only available until Monday, so I have to write about it now or anyone who reads this won’t have a chance to see it. And missing this program would be a shame.

I’ve watched a lot of art online since the pandemic started, and while virtual performances are better than nothing, they are rarely better than live ones. But I rank this first program of PNB’s online 2020-2021 season among some of my favorite nights of ballet since that fateful Nutcracker in 1992 that hooked me on the art form.

Rep 1 As a Whole

Putting together a mixed rep is an artform in itself, like a DJ set or a dinner menu. (Cue the Beastie Boys sample “Mmm, the wine does go well with the chicken.”) Mixed rep programs usually have a theme, like local choreographers or new works. And artistic directors always have to balance works that challenge audiences with ones that satisfy them, while still creating a cohesive experience. In a virtual season, you also must consider the requirements of physical distancing – a smaller orchestra or solo musicians and a limited number of dancers on stage.

One of the things I like best about Peter Boal’s programming is that his mixed rep programs also usually have recurring motifs. In this program the starkly lit back muscles of dancers and sung poetry occurred across multiple excerpts. In putting together an entire evening of excerpts, he also chose parts of dances that you wouldn’t expect. Even under the restrictions of these weird times, Boal is a master of the playlist.

I usually can’t fit all my thoughts about a mixed rep ballet into one blog post, and this 70-minute program has even more pieces than usual. So here are my impressions of PNB@Home Rep 1 Act 1.

Dances at a Gathering

Opening Solo Filmed August 2020
Choreographer: Jerome Robbins
Composer: Frederic Chopin
Dancer: Lucien Postlewaite

I saw Dances at a Gathering at PNB’ Jerome Robbins festival in 2018. It was an interesting choice. The full ballet is all about interactions – the awkwardness of trying to find a partner or getting away from one. A major source of tension in the original was that, for a long time, there was an odd number of dancers on the stage, and one man was stuck by himself. I think that this solo was his part. But without a party to be left out of, the solo lacks that tension. Now we can just appreciate it for a beautiful dance.

Except that during a pandemic, everything has a COVID angle. So it feels like there is a statement in the choice of this solo. Is Boal saying that when the party is cancelled you just have to keep dancing? Without the pressure of trying to join in, you are more free to enjoy and find beauty in doing your own thing? I’m going to take it that way, because that’s what I need to hear now.

F O I L

Filmed August 2020
Choreographer: Eva Stone
II – Be Still
Composer: Nadia Boulanger
Dancers:
Amanda Morgan
Cecilia Iliesiu
Juliet Prine

IV – Wait
Composer: Clara Schumann
Abby Jayne DeAngelo

F O I L premiered in 2019 as part of PNB’s Locally Sourced program. At the time, the titles of the movements seemed obscure. Now they are almost eerily prescient, as the best thing we can do to outlast the pandemic is be still and wait.

Back then, I noticed the lighting and how it fit the theme of illuminating the works of unseen female artists. Watching it on video, the lighting effects were even more dramatic. This time around, I was also struck by similarities to some of the ballet I saw in Oslo back when travel was still a thing.

One Body

Filmed October 2020
Choreographer: Albert Evans
Composer: John Kennedy
Dancer: Christopher D’Ariano*

This 5-minute solo was new to me (and also to PNB). I’ll try not to read too much into the timeliness of the title or the lyrical theme of gratitude in the music. I’d rather focus on just how pretty Christopher D’Ariano looked. I first noticed D’Ariano in Donald Byrd’s Wake the Neighbor, where he reminded me of the anime character Spike. Maybe that’s why I’ve always associated him with more contemporary, aggressive movement. Whether my own prejudices filtered what I saw, or he’s matured as a dancer, it was a refreshing change of pace to see him in such a gentle piece. One Body was the iyashikei counterpoint to Cowboy Bebop action.

Swan Lake

Filmed October 2020
Choreographer: Kent Stowell
Composer: Tchaikovsky
Pas de Trois Variation
Kyle Davis*

Odette Variation
Elizabeth Murphy*

Black Swan Pas de Deux
Angelica Generosa*
Steven Loch*

There is so much history in a classic like Swan Lake, anyone who has watched ballet for any length of time is likely to have seen it more than once. That makes it a great meter stick for a lot of things – how a company’s priorities have shifted over time, how your own tastes have evolved, and for comparing the style and technique of different dancers.

I like seeing excerpts taken out of the story context where it’s easier to just appreciate the dancing. This is especially useful for a character like Siegfried, who is such a dick I often forget to appreciate the dancers’ technique. I have seen pieces of Swan Lake before, but I think this was the first time I’ve seen a collection of excerpts from the ballet. With no real time lapse (and subsequent blurring of memory) between the performances, it was even easier to see the unique characteristics of different dancers in the same roles. Beloved as it is, Swan Lake is a marathon, and it was especially nice to get a chance to see new dancers in the roles without committing to multiple long evenings.

Jewels

Choreographer: George Balanchine
Emeralds
Filmed August 2020
Composer: Gabriel Faure
Solo
Leta Biasucci*

Rubies
Filmed October 2020
Composer: Stravinsky
Pas de Deux
Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan*
Kyle Davis

Diamonds
Filmed September 2020
Composer: Tchaikovsky
Scherzo
Lesley Rausch
Jerome Tisserand

Jewels is not a story ballet (or even technically a ballet, I guess, since it’s more a collection of short ballets). But it’s just as classic as Swan Lake. Especially here at PNB, it’s one of those standards in the repertory that creates a baseline for experience. Seeing it in excerpts like this made me realize how easy it is to let an experience get stale. When you’ve seen a ballet a few times, you can start to think of roles belonging to a particular dancer and forget to really look at what new dancers bring to them. You start to look forward to favorite parts and forget to really watch the rest.

I always think of the ensemble part of Emeralds. But in this recording, Leta Biasucci was so at home in that soft and floaty solo I couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone else do it. On the other hand, I had forgotten Rubies had a pas de deux because I’m always looking forward to the solo. This time I couldn’t miss it; that’s the only part they performed. Similarly, everyone remembers the majestic finale of Diamonds. But the scherzo is actually lovely. (It did stress me out a little bit to see so many people on the stage near the end). It was a treat to zoom in on these parts of familiar ballets that I often overlook. When I go back to watching live in the theater, I’m going to make more of an effort to watch old favorites with fresh eyes.

Details

Rep 1 is available through full-season subscriptions ($190) and individual tickets ($29-$39) exclusively through the PNB Box Office only through Monday, October 19. Rep 2 will post November 12.

I’ll write about Act 2 tomorrow.

{I purchased season tickets for access to PNB’s virtual programming, and after watching the Rep 1, I highly recommend that you do, too. You can do that here.}