19 replies to this topic

[sandik]

KUOW broke this story

here

Marcie Sillman is an excellent interviewer, and I'm glad she got the scoop.

But what do you think this will do to the balance of women in the company?

[glebb]

What a gorgeous Ballerina!
I saw her last season as Lady Capulet and she was stunning!
Sorry I didn't get to see more of her career.

PS - I'm a newbie to PNB but I think Maria Chapman is a beauty to watch.

[Helene]

KUOW broke this story

here

Marcie Sillman is an excellent interviewer, and I'm glad she got the scoop.

But what do you think this will do to the balance of women in the company?

I read the interview last night when I got the Google alert for PNB ("Louise Nadeau Retires From Pacific Northwest Ballet KUOW NPR - Seattle,WA,USA After 18 years, a mainstay of Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is hanging up her toe shoes. PNB announced today that principal dancer Louise Nadeau will")
but the link is coming up "Page Not Found", and there is no longer a reference on the main page, both of which are referenced in a Google site search on the KUOW site.

I think part of the answer to your question lies in one of the answers Nadeau gave Sillman, which is that she was never the "IT" girl for the company. I think she was unlucky in timing to have been overshadowed by Barker during the Russell/Stowell years. I think if Barker had been out with injury/on maternity leave for prolonged periods, which she wasn't, or if Paul Gibson had made more works with Nadeau as his muse, as I dearly hoped after "Piano Dance", or Anne Derieux hadn't been second ballerina in the 90's, to use an NYCB analogy, she would have been McBride to Barker's Farrell. As much as Boal has given her opportunities over the last few years, he came five years too late, and he's moving the rep in a different direction.

I think there are a lot of PNB fans who will be heartbroken by this news, but I also think the real impact will be after she's retired, and suddenly people will realize that an exquisite flower in the garden is no longer there. There really is no one like her in PNB now among the women.

[Helene]

RM Campbell's article in the Seattle PI:

http://seattlepi.nws...7_nadeau15.html

On June 7, the season's last day, the company will stage a "Celebration of Louise Nadeau." Also, the Louise Nadeau Endowed Fund has been established in her honor.

In it she talks about why now, her experience at SAB, her transition from Kansas City Ballet to Pacific Northwest Ballet, her relationship with Russell and Stowell, and plans after retirements. There are quotes from Boal and partners Jeffrey Stanton and Olivier Wevers.

[bart]

A very good article. Thanks, Helene. Peter Boal -- who knew her from SAB days -- gives two of the finest, deepest compliments you can give to any dancer:

She is irreplaceable, [ ... ] She makes you go beyond herself to see the entire work.

[sandik]

Well, I went to the Emeralds coaching session today, and watched Verdy work with Nadeau. I'm glad we'll get the chance to see her in a few more roles this season, but I'm feeling quite sad about her leaving.

[SandyMcKean]

I think there are a lot of PNB fans who will be heartbroken by this news......

Put me in that camp. Just as Boal said "She is irreplaceable....".

There are many superlatives being used in connection with Louise, but I've always liked the word Helene uses above: "exquisite". That's Louise Nadeau....exquisite. Other thougths that come to my mind which perhaps don't get mentioned as often are her acting abilities and her humor. No one at PNB is more willing and more able to throw away all inhibition to become a character like Louise does. Remember her in Robbins "The Concert" last year?? I defy anyone to do ironic humor with the convincing abandon than Louise mustered then. Someone mentioned Lady Capulet in Maillot's R&J......WOW, that performance still sends shivers down my spine.

Yes, I'm heartbroken especially since I know just as PeterB said, she can't be replaced. Exquisite.

To quote her from Campbell's PI story:

"I began thinking about retirement two years ago," Nadeau said. "I could see it coming, especially with my recurring hip problems, but I wasn't ready yet. I am now. I have physical limitations I didn't used to have, and I didn't want people to say about me, 'I wish she had left the company last year.' I wanted to go out in good form and loving what I am doing. Also, Peter is bringing in some very contemporary ballets not suited to older ballerinas."

First Noelani, now Louise......OUCH.

[Helene]

The program for Nadeau's retirement program on 7 June has been posted to the PNB website:

The Program:

Serenade—Opening
Music: Peter I. Tchaikovsky
Choreography: George Balanchine

La Valse—Pas de deux**
Music: Maurice Ravel
Choreography: George Balanchine

Emeralds—Solo
Music: Gabriel Fauré
Choreography: George Balanchine

Chaconne—Pas de deux
Music: Christoph Willibald von Gluck
Choreography: George Balanchine

West Side Story Suite—"Cool" and "America"**
Music: Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Choreography: Jerome Robbins

Rubies—First movement
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Choreography: George Balanchine

Urlicht—PNB Premiere**
Music: Gustav Mahler
Choreography: William Forsythe
Staging: Otto Neubert

La Sonnambula—Sleepwalker pas de deux
Music: Vittorio Rieti
Choreography: George Balanchine

In the Night—Third pas de deux
Music: Frederic Chopin
Choreography: Jerome Robbins

Swan Lake—Act IV**
Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Kent Stowell

**Danced by Louise Nadeau
Program subject to change.

Wow -- a world premiere, and we'll get to see Nadeau's Anita!

http://www.pnb.org/season/nadeau.html

[Helene]

On the back of last night's cast insert was a list of pieces for Nadeau's tribute program, and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is listed between "In the Night" and "Swan Lake". No indication of what excerpt or whether Nadeau will dance it, though.

[sandik]

And we see her In the Night, which is a great role for her. If only Christophe Maraval would come back to dance it with her...

[Helene]

"In the Night" isn't asterisked to show that she'd be dancing in it. A typo?

[sandik]

Oh dear -- I hadn't noticed that. I hope it's a mistake -- I love the other sections of the work, but it's Nadeau's night really, and she just shines in that part.

[Helene]

According to Boal in the Q&A tonight (Friday), Nadeau chose all ten ballets, and she wrote a paragraph about why each was meaningful to her. She will be dancing in four sections. (Four are asterisked above.) He said that all principals and soloists would have roles.

[sandik]

As I understand it, Midsummer won't be performed live, but will appear in the guise of the film.

[Helene]

That's a great touch!