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PNB dancer Leta Biasucci (center), soprano Christina Siemens, and company in A Dark and Lonely Space. Photo © Angela Sterling c/o PNB.
All Premiere is the second program of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2018-2019 season. Like Director’s Choice, you can count on All Premiere to feature some of the most interesting and innovative contemporary ballet available. This year started out with a (big) bang: Kyle Davis’ A Dark and Lonely Space.
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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.”
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PNB’s Jerome Tisserand and Leta Biasucci in Perpetual State. Photo © Angela Sterling.
Every year, Director’s Choice is my favorite rep at Pacific Northwest Ballet, but this year, Peter Boal knocked it out of the park with his selections. I’ve described Director’s Choice as omakase in the past. Boal himself says he chooses pieces he “wants audiences to understand are worth their attention and exploration.” He has also said that this year, a theme emerged after he chose the four pieces: each piece was choreographed by a dancer who was “given a chance” by their ballet director. The first piece of Director’s Choice, appropriately, was choreographed by one of PNB’s own dancers, Ezra Thomson. Read More
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Milestone birthdays inspire reflection. Especially when the milestone in question is 50 years, and Jewels are being reflected. This year, Jewels, the collection of three gemstone-themed ballets by George Balanchine, turns 50. I’ve been watching Pacific Northwest Ballet for nearly half that time – I fell in love with ballet at PNB’s Nutcracker in 1993. Read More