Tag Archive ballet

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The Comfort of Swan Lake

The ballet Swan Lake needs no introduction. But a blog post does. So by way of introduction let me start by saying that if you are only going to see one ballet in your lifetime, it should probably be Swan Lake, and Pacific Northwest Ballet is one of the best places to see it. I’m not going to do a full review because I’ve done that before, and except for the person sitting behind me who told his friends, “I didn’t look at the booklet, like at all, because I didn’t want any spoilers,” I think most people have a pretty good idea what to expect anyway. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything to say about it.

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Leta Biasucci and Kyle Davis with company dancers in Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake, on stage April 15 – 24, and streaming digitally May 12 – 16, 2022. Photo © Angela Sterling.
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Beyond Ballet at PNB

PNB dancers in Alonzo King’s The Personal Element. Photo © Angela Sterling. c/o PNB

Beyond Ballet is Pacific Northwest Ballet’s second post-lockdown in-person program and the third in McCaw Hall, which also hosts Seattle Opera. I’ve attended all three programs, so by now you’d think watching shows in person would be back to normal. Or at least the new normal. It is not. But that does not mean it isn’t worth it. And it does get easier.

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Ballet in Music Videos

A Venn diagram of music videos and ballet would have pretty small overlap. Music videos of the MTV-type often rely on dance, but it’s usually popular styles. Ballet film projects are rare outside of a pandemic, and usually rely on classical music. But where pop music, film, and ballet come together is a very happy place for me. So I’ve rounded up some ballet music videos for this post. Only after I put the list together I realized how Iceland-heavy the list is. That’s strange, because ballet is one of the few art forms I don’t particularly associate with Iceland.

PNB soloist Dylan Wald in The Calling. Photo © Angela Sterling c/o PNB
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Sculptured Dance

One of the first times I visited Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park was for a special performance of site-specific ballets commissioned by Pacific Northwest Ballet. The event, called Sculptured Dance was such a big hit that it became an annual event for several years. I’m not sure if I’m remembering correctly, but I think this was also the first time I saw Donald Byrd’s choreography.

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PNB’s Digital Season Rep 6

The sixth program of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s digital season is here. It’s a mixed program with three filmed performances of ballets that are new to PNB. Two of them are world premieres. Rep 6 is the final program of the regular season. Not that there has been anything regular about this season, with McCaw Hall closed to the public and everything produced for film. But it has been a wonderful season nonetheless, filled with beautiful performances of exquisite ballets. So far I’ve enjoyed everything so much more than I expected. So, in their bold leap into digital production, did PNB stick the landing with their final program?

Lindsay Thomas photo c/o PNB
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