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[dirac]

Reviews of Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Reviews of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in ‘Giselle.’

The SunBreak

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Yet, to my eyes, much of the dancing was tentative, with notable exceptions: Carrie Imler, Jonathan Porretta. Porretta performed with such insouciance that it seemed like he could have been gripping a pipe between his grinning teeth as he guided Chalnessa Eames through her pirouettes. (In fairness to the rest, Porretta did have the luxury of “just” dancing–his part as a peasant dancer on opening night didn’t require any heights of characterization.)

The fine PNB dancers seemed not to have the choreography living in them yet, so they concentrated on performing the steps rather than their emotional expression. Even the orchestra led by Emil de Cou seemed less sure-footed when it came to tempi. In sum, there was much that was pretty (especially in Peter Farmer’s scenic and costume designs) and lowercase romantic, but not much truly Romantic, or as emotionally resonant, as you might hope.

The Woodinville Weekly

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PNB’s staging also incorporates several elaborate mime sequences, which were an integral part of the original production and used as storytelling devices. In this timeless and moving tale, Giselle, a young, innocent peasant girl, falls for a philandering prince named Albrecht. When she learns of his deception, she goes mad and succumbs to an early death of a broken heart. She comes back as a Wili, a member of a sisterhood of spirits, all would-be-brides doomed to dance men to death in the forest at night. When her lover appears, she defies her supernatural orders and saves him from his cruel fate.

[dirac]

Photo gallery from Pacific Northwest Ballet's 17th annual DanceChance observation day.

[dirac]

An interview with Bob Crowley, the costume and set designer for Christopher Wheeldon’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

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Crowley has designed costumes and sets for numerous plays and musicals, but he says ballet presents a unique set of challenges.

“A lot of the materials have to be able to stretch,” he says. “And that’s not something you’d normally be doing with costumes. Everything has to stretch; everything is very body formed … whereas with clothes you’re just dressing the actor’s physique, you’re not necessarily spray-painting them with lycra.”

[Helene]

Michael Popkin reviews American Ballet Theatre in "Giselle" for danceviewtimes.

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Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes' partnership is becoming a great one and their "Giselle" - the last of ABT's week long run - elevated to the level of poetry in Act Two, with Vishneva laying out her nearly mystical extensions and the orchestra taking the tempi at the slowest of paces in the pas de deux. Gomes was the strongest of partners and a powerful Albrecht in his own right. Conductor Charles Barker's ability to relate to what is happening on stage and vary not only the orchestra's tempi, but also its dynamics and sonority in response made him an equal participant in the pas to an unusual degree. I've rarely if ever seen better ballet conducting and no other conductor in New York does this nearly as well at the moment.

[dirac]

A review of the National Ballet of Canada by Gary Smith in The Hamilton Spectator.

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As designed by Broadway designer Bob Crowley, set in motion by Wheeldon, and blessed with a satisfying scenario by Nicholas Wright, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a dance extravaganza to seduce the most curmudgeonly balletomane.

For one thing, Wheeldon has placed his cards on the table. Though passionate about forwarding the art of ballet, he has no desire to trash the treasures of the past.

[dirac]

A review of PNB's 'Giselle' by Marcie Sillman for seattlepi.com.

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For the past few seasons, PNB’s female corps has been its weak link, often out of synch with one another, sometimes lackluster.  In Act II of Giselle, the dancers redeem their reputations.  In unison, they hop across the stage on one foot, heads tucked forward into one outstretched arm, the other arm extended straight back behind their bodies.  It’s an image both beautiful and terrifying as the dancers meld together into malevolent force.

The Wilis’ powerful vengeance is more than matched by Giselle’s emotional, loving  plea to spare Albrecht.  Karel Cruz is a technical marvel as his feet scissor in the air.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite project the emotional depth of a man pleading for his life, and despairing over his lost love.  Carla Korbes, on the other hand, communicates both a tender love and a fierce protectiveness as she pleads Albrecht’s case to the Wili Queen.  When Korbes moves across on the stage en pointe, or executes a continual chain of small jumps, you hold your breath and marvel at her control.