Tag Archive Year of the Rabbit

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Love and Ballet: Passionate Rabbit at PNB

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Elizabeth Murphy and Karel Cruz in Benjamin Millepied’s Appassionata, which PNB is presenting as part of LOVE & BALLET, June 1 – 10, 2018. Photo © Angela Sterling.

Elizabeth Murphy and Karel Cruz in Benjamin Millepied’s Appassionata. Photo © Angela Sterling.

Last weekend I took my daughter to see the final program in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2017-2018 season. It was the mixed rep “Love and Ballet.” The program began with Christopher Wheeldon’s “Tide Harmonic” and the pas de deux from “After the Rain,” which I wrote about earlier this week. The other pieces in the program were Benjamin Millepied’s “Appassionata” and Justin Peck’s “Year of the Rabbit.” There were several reasons I was excited to for this program of non-narrative ballets. Read More

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Omakase at Pacific Northwest Ballet

Photo © Angela Sterling c/o PNB

Photo © Angela Sterling c/o PNB

Omakase, written with the character for trust, is the word you use when you order chef’s choice at a sushi restaurant. It shows that you trust the skill of the chef to know better than you what is in season and what will taste best together. When you say omakase, instead of giving an order, you are trusting the chef to create the best experience for you, like a DJ controlling the atmosphere of a party by selecting the right beats. You are likely to be served dishes outside of your comfort zone, and while you might not like all of them, a good chef will create a more delicious and memorable meal than you could have selected for yourself.

Each spring, Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Director’s Choice program is ballet omakase. The mixed rep program is Director Peter Boal’s opportunity to express his own taste and to stretch the audience and the dancers with dances that are more challenging or unusual than the regular season fare. Read More