Tag Archive Lesley Rausch

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Pacific Northwest Ballet Season Encore

Pacific Northwest Ballet corps de ballet dancers Amanda Morgan and Sarah Pasch with company dancers in Diamonds from Jewels, choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. PNB is presenting Jewels, with new sets and costumes designed by Jerome Kaplan, September 22 – October 1, 2017. Photo © Angela Sterling.

Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers Amanda Morgan and Sarah Pasch with company dancers in Diamonds from Jewels, 2017. Photo © Angela Sterling.

This is the first season that I’ve attended any of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “extra” events – like performance previews, lectures, and now the Season Encore performance. Although it’s called a season encore, it’s not just a highlights reel of the past season. As I wrote yesterday, it’s also a farewell to departing dancers. In fact, several pieces performed at Season Encore were not even from the last season.

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Kaleidoscope 101

Last Saturday was all about dance. In the afternoon I went Pacific Northwest Ballet’s final Ballet 101 presentation of the season. That evening I finally got to see Kaleidoscope Dance perform their annual spring concert in the Broadway Performance Hall. Pairing the two events worked out very well.

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Slingerland Duet at PNB Director’s Choice

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Laura Tisserand and Karel Cruz in William Forsythe’s Slingerland Duet, which PNB is presenting as part of DIRECTOR’S CHOICE, March 16 – 25, 2018. Photo © Angela Sterling.

Pacific Northwest Ballet dancer Miles Pertl and Lindsi Dec in Slingerland Duet 2018. Photo © Lindsay Thomas.

“Slingerland Duet (Pas de deux)” is only eight minutes long. But what wonderful minutes they are. “Slingerland Duet” is the second of four pieces presented at this year’s Director’s Choice at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Director’s Choice is my favorite rep of the season most years, but this year was the best yet. Artistic Director Peter Boal says he chooses pieces that he wants audiences to understand “are worth their attention and exploration.” That is certainly true of “Slingerland Duet.” Read More

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The Evolution of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Swan Lake

Lesley Rausch as Odette© Angela Sterling

Photo by Angela Sterling c/o PNB

Swan Lake is almost the definition of “canon” for classical ballet. What could be more rigid and tradition-bound than the most famous ballet? It turns out, a lot of things can. Swan Lake has changed a lot from its premiere in 1877, and even today, every performance is a little different. Since it’s also performed every three or four years in Seattle, we can actually watch the evolution of Swan Lake.   Read More