31 replies to this topic

[Helene]

Renewal packages must have gone out, because renewals are being encouraged on the PNB website, with the following details on the website:

http://www.pnb.org/S...w/Overview.aspx

    *  The PNB premiere of Jiri Kylian's Six Dances and the return of this season’s smash hit, Petite Mort.
    * An all Twyla Tharp retrospective.
    * The long-anticipated revival of Kent Stowell's full-length Cinderella.
    * World and PNB premieres.
    * Subscriber favorites, Lambarena and Jardí Tancat.
    * A new-to-PNB Jerome Robbins work, Glass Pieces with music by Philip Glass.

for "Afternoon Ball" and "Waterbaby Bagatelles" with "Nine Sinatra Songs", but that might be too greedy.  

"Glass Pieces" --   and

[sandik]

Helene, on Jan 29 2010, 09:38 PM, said:

*  The PNB premiere of Jiri Kylian's Six Dances and the return of this season’s smash hit, Petite Mort.
    * An all Twyla Tharp retrospective.
    * The long-anticipated revival of Kent Stowell's full-length Cinderella.
    * World and PNB premieres.
    * Subscriber favorites, Lambarena and Jardí Tancat.
    * A new-to-PNB Jerome Robbins work, Glass Pieces with music by Philip Glass.[/indent]

for "Afternoon Ball" and "Waterbaby Bagatelles" with "Nine Sinatra Songs", but that might be too greedy.  

"Glass Pieces" --   and

I'd ask for Dances at a Gathering again.  Or something with Chopin -- it's his birth anniversary next year.

At the Sleeping Beauty seminar last week, Larae Haskell said that the Jardi costumes have been lent out to a company in the Midwest for a few months -- it looks like they'll have to come hom.

[Helene]

sandik, on Jan 29 2010, 04:18 PM, said:

I'd ask for Dances at a Gathering again.  Or something with Chopin -- it's his birth anniversary next year.

That would be great!  (As would an All Robbins program that didn't include WSSS.)

[sandik]

Helene, on Jan 30 2010, 12:21 AM, said:

sandik, on Jan 29 2010, 04:18 PM, said:

I'd ask for Dances at a Gathering again.  Or something with Chopin -- it's his birth anniversary next year.

That would be great!  (As would an All Robbins program that didn't include WSSS.)

I would even agree to WSSS again if it was on the same program with Dances at a Gathering.

[Helene]

sandik, on Jan 29 2010, 06:16 PM, said:

I would even agree to WSSS again if it was on the same program with Dances at a Gathering.

The things we do for love.

[Helene]

PNB has announced the 2010-11 season, as well as the reduction of standard rep runs from 8 performances to 7:  Opening Night will move from first Thursday to first Friday, with the first Thursday performance eliminated.

http://seattletimes....6987_pnb11.html

The season consists of:

All Tharp:  "Opus 111", "Afternoon Ball" (), and "Waterbaby Bagatelles" ()
Kent Stowell's "Cinderella"

Three other mixed bills consisting of a new work by Marco ("Mopey") Goecke, "Petite Mort", Kylian's "Six Dances", Jerome Robbins' "Glass Pieces (), Ratmansky's "Concerto DSCH" (), "Jardi Tancat", Paul Gibson's "The Piano Dance" (), Morris' "Pacific", Tanner's "Ancient Airs and Dances", and a TBA.  (I've never seen the Morris.)

Season Ender:( See below)  "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

[SandyMcKean]

WOW

What's going to happen to the opening night subscribers??  Or if they move those folks to Friday, what will happen to the Friday subscribers (yikes, I'm one of those!)

I'm very glad to see Piano Dances come back.

I don't know what to make of this season.  Frankly, on first glance, it looks "revenue" driven .

[California]

Helene, on Mar 9 2010, 03:57 PM, said:

. . . The season consists of:

Three other mixed bills consisting of . . .  Jerome Robbins' "Glass Pieces (), . . .

It looks like the press release is still listing Robbins' Glass Pieces. But it seems to have been removed from the PNB web site. I printed out the 2010-11 subscription information on 1/29/2010. They were still showing an A series on Thursday nights. They were also listing Glass Pieces on the repertory page for 2010-11, but it has now disappeared. Any information on what happened? Does anyone know if it's still planned?

http://www.pnb.org/S...w/Overview.aspx

[sandik]

Hmmm, this is a big, big shift.  If they open on Friday night, it's quite possible that they won't get a print review from the Seattle Times until the Monday edition (they'd have to turn something around overnight for the Saturday edition, which is tricky timing, and the Sunday arts section is printed earlier in the week)  I wonder why they would drop the first Thursday and not the second, though there may be union issues involved.

I'll see what I can find out tomorrow morning, and post what I learn...

[SandyMcKean]

I just got off the phone with the box office. I got some of the logistical information, but "the other end of the phone" person didn't know much about the reasons for anything (hopefully sandik you will get some info on that).

As I understood the phone call:

1. PNB is smashing series A (Thurs night - was opening night) and series B (the next day, Friday) subscribers together.

2. You have to re-subscribe without any guarantee of seats to "get on the list".

3. You must pay for your subscription when you renew.

4. Subscribers who will lose their seats will get a phone call to discuss what's available.

5. Priority in terms of "who gets the seats they want" is almost certainly going to be determined by how much you contribute to PBN beyond ticket costs (BTW, this is what PNB did when they moved into the re-built opera house -- basically money counted for everything, loyality almost nothing -- it was my understanding at the time of that move that they arranged subscribers 1st by how much money you gave; if there was a tie, for example you and I both gave exactly $50,000 , then and only then, was number of years as a subscriber taken into account.  (My advise is to give $50,001 instead of $50,000 )

6. If you choose to not accept the offered new seats, your full payment will be refunded (a special policy just put in place to handle this unfortuate overall situation).

[GTucker]

Hi, Helene -

The Seattle Times didn't quite get the line-up right and I haven't had the time to ask them to correct it online: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is not closing the season, but will be the second-to-last program.  The sixth and final offering of the season willl be Alexei Ratmansky's "Concerto DSCH" and a title to be announced.

Of course, as I always like to say, "Subject to change"!  Cheers,
--Gary

[sandik]

Glad to see Gary here -- he's been working extra time on all of this hullabaloo.  

Here's the release that came out today

Pacific Northwest Ballet announces 2010-2011 season line-up.
--Plus--
Reduction in performances per program.  Thank you, economy!

PNB 2010-2011 Season Line-Up

Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal has unveiled his proposed line-up for the company’s 2010-2011 season.  Highlights include the return of Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort paired with the PNB premiere of Six Dances, both from Kylian’s “Black and White” series; company premieres of works by Jerome Robbins and Alexei Ratmansky, an all-Tharp program; a world premiere by Mopey choreographer Marco Goecke; Kent Stowell’s magical Cinderella; and the return of PNB’s renowned production of George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.


2010-2011 SUBSCRIPTION SEASON LINE-UP*

Rep 1 – DIRECTOR’S CHOICE
September 24 – October 3, 2010

Six Dances – PNB Premiere
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Choreography: Jiri Kylian
Staging: Roslyn Anderson

Petite Mort
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Choreography: Jiri Kylian
Staging: Roslyn Anderson

Jardí Tancat
Music: Maria del Mar Bonet
Choreography: Nacho Duato
Staging: Hilde Koch

Glass Pieces – PNB Premiere
Music: Philip Glass
Choreography: Jerome Robbins

Rep 2 – ALL THARP
November 5 – 14, 2010

Opus 111
Music: Johannes Brahms
Choreography: Twyla Tharp

Afternoon Ball
Music: Vladimir Martynov
Choreography: Twyla Tharp

Waterbaby Bagatelles
Music: 20th-century bagatelles (Anton Webern, Kevin Volans, John Lurie, David Lang, Astor Piazzolla, Mickey Hart, John Adams)
Choreography: Twyla Tharp
Staging: Shelley Washington

Rep 3 – CINDERELLA
February 4 – 13, 2011

Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Choreography: Kent Stowell
Staging: Kent Stowell and Francia Russell
Scenic Design: Tony Straiges
Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli

Rep 4 – ANCIENT AIRS/MODERN DANCES
March 18 – 27, 2011

Ancient Airs and Dances
Music: Ottorino Respighi
Choreography: Richard Tanner

World Premiere
Choreography: Marco Goecke

Pacific
Music: Lou Harrison
Choreography: Mark Morris
Staging: Tina Fehlandt

The Piano Dance
Music: John Cage, Frederic Chopin, Alberto Ginastera, Bela Bartok, Gyorgy Ligeti
Choreography: Paul Gibson

Rep 5 – A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
April 8 - 17, 2011

Music: Felix Mendelssohn
Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Staging: Francia Russell
Scenic and Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli

REP 6
June 3 – 12, 2011                            

A ballet to be announced, and

Concerto DSCH – PNB Premiere
Music: Dmitri Shostakovich
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky

And don’t forget:

Stowell/Sendak NUTCRACKER
November 26 – December 27, 2010

Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Kent Stowell
Scenic & Costume Design: Maurice Sendak
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli

*Schedule and All Programming Subject to Change.

AND NOW, SOME NEWS ABOUT BELT-TIGHTENING

As you know, the performing arts community has been hit hard by the recent economic recession.  While our loyal patrons continue to attend Pacific Northwest Ballet performances, ticket sales and donations have suffered significantly during this downturn.  In response, we have already enacted numerous measures to lessen the impact of the downturn – administrative staff furloughs, careful reduction in expenses, contract renegotiations with artists, among others.  When exploring ways to save, we always look first at what will not have an impact on the artistic integrity of our performances and school.  That’s why we continue to perform to live music, commission new works, and retain the highest quality of dancers.  In addition to implementing the aforementioned measures to continue to present outstanding ballet performances with fewer resources, PNB has concluded that we need to reduce the number of subscriber performances per program from eight to seven, beginning with the first program in the 2010-2011 Season.  Starting in September, we will eliminate the first Thursday performance and move opening night to Friday.

The first Thursday performance is one of our least-subscribed series, with the highest number of no-shows and exchange-outs, so the fewest subscribers possible are impacted by this decision.  PNB generally sells more tickets during the second week of a production, so it was important to retain the second Thursday in order to maximize ticket sales, and the second Thursday performance has good availability into which we can move first-Thursday subscribers.

For our subscribers currently attending Thursday or Friday of opening week, we are offering several options, including moving dates, seats, or switching to another series.  In all scenarios, our box office staff will make every effort to place them in their same seats, or as close as possible to the seating location of their choice.  Affected subscribers should call the PNB box office at 206.441.2424.

We deeply appreciate the loyalty of our PNB subscribers. We strive to make their experience with us as rewarding as possible, and we will make every effort to continue to present the standard of excellence that our audiences have come to expect from their ballet company.

---------------------

My understanding is that the dancers and the musicians agreed to keep their same pay rates for next season, and since they had forgone a raise for this year as well that's an extra notch in the belt.

[Helene]

I just read that Colorado Ballet is cutting a program from next season.  I happy that PNB is able to take a different approach.

This isn't the first time PNB has reduced the number of performances in a season and messed with subscriptions.  When I first subscribed in the 1994-5 season, I had a Thursday subscription.   I don't remember if the ballet opened on Tuesday -- although at that point I think they might still have shared the Opera House with the Seattle Symphony, which played Mondays or Tuesday -- or if they performed over three weeks, and opened the week/weekend before, but when my night became Opening Night, I got the "The Opening Night subscribers have first dibs on seating for your night, prepare to move" letter.  I believe the solution was to move my entire group to second Thursday, which didn't work for me, because I wanted to know early if I wanted to see something again.

I assumed it was because the Opening Night people were the big donors, not that they said "The people in row H, seats 101-2 in subscription A give more money than the people in the same seats for subscription B" -- I wouldn't want to deal with those logistics -- but that the whole subscriber night was given precedence, at least from what I remember of the notification.  That doesn't mean that PNB is handling it the same way this time, but they have taken this approach at cost savings before, and they've faced the same dilemma.

[bart]

I empathize with what you all must be feeling about this change.  However, you in Seattle remain fortunate in being offered 6 distinct programs.  

I find myself thinking that the cost per program must be high with so few performances of each.  Miami performs in 4 different cities in south Florida.  This does of course involve traveling costs.  But it also allows them to give 12-14 performances for each of their four programs.  (I'm not counting Nutcrackers, which travel as well.)  I'd love to have more programs, of course, but there are benefits to being able to focus on additional performances:  not only economies of scale, but also the chance to give different casts more chances to perform.  Miami is sometimes able to give stage time to 4-5 different casts and to do a remarkable amount of role-switching.  They can also tap into a distinct donor populations based in the 3 cities outside Miami.  With FOUR "opening nights," they increase their access to the fashionable, the party goers, and those who can right big checks.

Are there other cities or venues other than Seattle where PNB might add regular performances and try to build a subscriber (and donor) base?

[sandik]

bart, on Mar 16 2010, 11:25 PM, said:

Are there other cities or venues other than Seattle where PNB might add regular performances and try to build a subscriber (and donor) base?

Oh, you have no idea how ticklish this question is!

Russell and Stowell pursued just about every local/regional touring opportunity they could think of during their tenure, only to have them fall through.  At one point or another, they were in negotiations with presenters or other groups in Bellingham, Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Portland, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Boston and Houston, and those are just the ones I know.

They were insistent that the company travel as a unit -- if anyone went, they all went -- but they weren't able to craft any long-term relationships.  Boal is more flexible about that element, but hasn't to my knowledge pursued anything that would extend the regular programming.  They have been doing out of town gigs, but these aren't repeats of entire programs.