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PNB Returns to New York City Center Feb 2013


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Today I received the press release for the New York performances, which include casting!

Casting Announced for Pacific Northwest Ballet at New York City Center, February 13-16

First Full-Company NY Performances Since 1996

New York, NY, January 28, 2013 -- New York City Center will present Pacific Northwest Ballet in its first full-company performance in NYC since 1996, February 13-16, 2013. PNB, celebrating its 40th Anniversary season, will present two programs featuring a mixed repertoire of Balanchine ballets and Jean-Christophe Maillot's full-length Roméo et Juliette. The troupe will be accompanied by the PNB Orchestra, led by Music Director and Principal Conductor Emil de Cou.

Balanchine Mixed Bill

Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m.

The works of George Balanchine are central to the history of Pacific Northwest Ballet, which has 38 of his ballets in its repertory. The three works selected for City Center span the first 30 years of Balanchine's choreography: Concerto Barocco (1941) and Agon (1957) staged by PNB Founding Artistic Director Francia Russell, and Apollo (1928) staged by PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal.

Ms. Russell worked closely with Balanchine as a dancer in numerous works, including Concerto Barocco and Agon, the latter in which she was a member of the original corps de ballet and later performed in the First Pas de Trois, re-choreographed for her by Balanchine. Ms. Russell's staging of Agon is unique in that it predates later changes Balanchine made to the ballet. She also worked as a ballet master for Balanchine. Mr. Boal first performed Apollo with New York City Ballet in 1989 and later danced it for his retirement performance in 2005.

Concerto Barocco

Choreography: George Balanchine © New York City Ballet

Music: Johann Sebastian Bach

(Double Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043)

Staging: Francia Russell

Conductor: Allan Dameron

  • Laura Gilbreath - Lindsi Dec
  • Karel Cruz
  • Chelsea Adomaitis - Jessika Anspach - Amanda Clark - Emma Love - Elle Macy - Margaret Mullin - Elizabeth Murphy - Leah O'Connor

Apollo

Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust.

Music: Igor Stravinsky

Apollon Musagete, 1927-1928)

Staging: Peter Boal

Conductor Emil de Cou

Apollo
: Seth Orza

Terpsichore:
Carla Körbes

Calliope
: Maria Chapman

Polyhymnia:
Lesley Rausch

Agon

Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust.

Music: Igor Stravinsky (1953-1956)

Staging: Francia Russell

Conductor Emil de Cou

  • Lesley Rausch - Batkhurel Bold
  • Kylee Kitchens - Elizabeth Murphy - Jonathan Porretta
  • Andrew Bartee - Maria Chapman - Jerome Tisserand
  • Chelsea Adomaitis - Jessika Anspach - Emma Love - Leah O'Connor

Roméo et Juliette

Friday, February 15 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, February 16 at 2 & 8 p.m.

Roméo et Juliette

Pacific Northwest Ballet was the first American ballet company to perform choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot's contemporary interpretation of Shakespeare's great love story. In an unconventional version of the classic tragedy, Maillot (artistic director of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo) has taken inspiration from Prokofiev's classic score, structuring the action in a manner akin to cinematic narrative.

Roméo et Juliette

Music: Sergei Prokofiev (Op. 64, 1935-1936)

Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot

Staging: Gaby Baars, Bernice Coppieters, and Giovanna Lorenzoni

Conductor: Emil de Cou

Juliet
: Carla Körbes (Feb. 15, 16 eve), Kaori Nakamura (Feb. 16 mat)

Roméo
: Seth Orza (Feb. 15, 16 eve), James Moore (Feb. 16 mat)

Friar Laurence
: Karel Cruz

Mercutio
: Jonathan Porretta (Feb. 15, 16 eve), Ezra Thomson (Feb. 16 mat)

Tybalt
: Batkhurel Bold

Lady Capulet
: Laura Gilbreath (Feb. 15 eve), Maria Chapman (Feb. 16 mat), Lindsi Dec (Feb. 16 eve)

The Nurse
: Rachel Foster (Feb. 15, 16 mat), Carrie Imler (Feb. 16 eve)

Benvolio
: Benjamin Griffiths (Feb. 15, 16 eve), Kyle Davis (Feb. 16 mat)

Paris
: Joshua Grant (Feb. 15, 16 eve), William Lin-Yee (Feb. 16 mat)

Rosaline
: Maria Chapman (Feb 15), Kylee Kitchens (Feb. 16 mat), Lesley Rausch (Feb. 16 eve)

Pacific Northwest Ballet, one of the largest and most highly regarded ballet companies in the United States, was founded in 1972. In July 2005, Peter Boal became artistic director, succeeding Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, artistic directors since 1977. The company of nearly 50 dancers presents more than 100 performances each year of full-length and mixed repertory ballets in Seattle and on tour. The company has toured to Europe, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada, and throughout the United States, with celebrated appearances in New York City and Washington, D.C. www.pnb.org

Pacific Northwest Ballet's appearance at New York City Center is made possible, in part, by New York City Center Dance Season Sponsor Frederic and Robin Seegal. Raisbeck Engineering is Principal Sponsor of PNB's 2013 New York City Center tour.

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As always, casting is subject to change.

There is plenty of superb casting to go around, and New York audiences are in for a treat. Interest in former NYCB dancers, especially Carla Körbes and Seth Orza, who perform Roméo and Juliette on Friday and Saturday nights as Apollo and Terpsichore in the Balanchine program is high and understandable, but I would also urge people to see the Kaori Nakamura/James Moore cast at the Saturday matinee. For those planning to see two, a Saturday double-header will let you see the most combinations of casting.

Seth Orza's Apollos in Seattle were superb.

Laura Gilbreath and Lindsi Dec, who are paired in "Concerto Barocco," are two tall dancers with beautifully articulate legs and feet, and as a bonus, Karel Cruz will give a partnering workshop in it. Lesley Rausch and Maria Chapman are strikingly different dancers, but they will make a lovely pairing as Polyhymnia and Calliope. I wish there was more Jerome Tisserand than in the second "Agon Pas de Trois," but it's a short tour.

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Imler is dancing the Nurse in the Saturday evening performance. In this production, Nurse is a bigger role than usual, and Friar Laurence is huge, because he's the frame of the story: his madness and guilt about having engineered the pairing.

It's a shame you won't get to see her dance Balanchine.

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Carrie Imler is woefully underutilized in NYC. It may just be the nature of casting dancers. Someone is always underutilized. But her jumps and articulation are amazing to behold. Nurse is a comic role and she will do it justice (she has flair in all her roles), but it's a shame she's not in Concerto Barocco or Agon.

Some day I'd love to see her perform Cortege Hongrois, which was made for another technical powerhouse: Melissa Hayden.

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Seth Orza's Apollos in Seattle were superb.
Based on recent complaints about the dearth of tall partners for tall ballerinas at NYCB, I'm worried Peter Martins is going to offer Seth a generous contract to return to NYCB as a principal starting February 17!
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James Moore, who will dance Romeo to Kaori Nakamura's Juliette at City Center at the Saturday, 16 February matinee, was just promoted to Principal Dancer tonight. Since the promotion machine at PNB is about a decade behind, you can be sure that this is well-deserved and in the "It's about time, already" category, and he's brilliant in the role and Nakamura's a divine Juliette. So go see them.

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Thanks for this Helene. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be seeing Carla Korbes, Seth Orza, Carrie Imler at the R&J matinee - only because those are names I recognize and have never seen dance. But it sounds like the Sat. matinee will be fabulous too! Looking forward to it.

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James Moore, who will dance Romeo to Kaori Nakamura's Juliette at City Center at the Saturday, 16 February matinee, was just promoted to Principal Dancer tonight. Since the promotion machine at PNB is about a decade behind, you can be sure that this is well-deserved and in the "It's about time, already" category, and he's brilliant in the role and Nakamura's a divine Juliette. So go see them.

Helene, would you say the matinee casting is the one to see? Is it superior to what is being offered on Fri and Sat nights?

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I saw Korbes with Postlewaite and the Nakamura/Moore pairing the last time the ballet was performed in Seattle, and I wouldn't have missed either of them for the world.

I'm assuming everyone has read Macaulay's accolades for Korbes, and she is a goddess. In Kourlas' interview in the NYT yesterday, she spoke about wanting to become a guest dancer at NYCB. (I don't know what Martins will do about that.) She's danced in galas in NYC, but that's different from taking on a full-length role, especially Juliette, especially by a dancer in the beginning of her prime. (Her lead-up to her prime was pretty spectacular, too.)

A number of people on Ballet Alert! have spoken about how they like to see mature ballerinas. Kaori Nakamura is in her early 40's, and unless PNB makes an exception and does R&J right away -- next season has not yet been announced -- it's unlikely that she will be dancing when it's next presented in Seattle, as she's making those heart-breaking noises about retirement. Nakamura is the perfect combination of a dancer in her 40's with the maturity of a dancer in her 40's, and the technique of a dancer in her 30's, a rare gift to see. There are no "buts" about her dancing. She will be a different Juliette than Korbes: as great as she is a classical dancer, she's been doing fantastic work in Olivier Wevers' contemporary choreography, and that's R&J's genre.

This is a new role for Orza; Lucien Postlewaite, now with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, was Korbes' partner in the last run. Postlewaite and Moore were very different, but I loved them both. I'm sure Orza will be a great Romeo, too. He'll have a different dynamic with Korbes. Not that Orza isn't a handsome fellow and all, but to be perfectly superficial, James Moore is pretty gorgeous.

So as much as it rips my heart out to suggest to anyone, especially NYers, that they might consider skipping Korbes' Juliette -- and this is like choosing between your children -- if you have the intestinal fortitude to listen to your friends tell you what you missed -- because you'll never convince them that they haven't missed something equally great -- you won't go wrong seeing Korbes dance Terpsichore in the Balanchine program and Nakamura/Moore in R&J.

The best thing would be to see the Balanchine program and both casts of R&J. I know, I'm very good at spending other people's money, but PNB doesn't tour very often.

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Just back from the matinee with Nakamura / Moore and it was pretty amazing. Nakamura doesn't have the ethereal quality of Korbes. But she offers an earthier character for Juliet: a spunky, sometimes socially awkward teenager who falls in love for the first time, and blossoms into a young lady. The chemistry between James Moore and Kaori Nakamura is very believable.

One thing to keep in mind: this production is not just about 2 dancers, in fact the scenes that most remain in my mind involved the entire corps. You will get your money's worth at the matinee.

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A number of people on Ballet Alert! have spoken about how they like to see mature ballerinas. Kaori Nakamura is in her early 40's, and unless PNB makes an exception and does R&J right away -- next season has not yet been announced -- it's unlikely that she will be dancing when it's next presented in Seattle, as she's making those heart-breaking noises about retirement. Nakamura is the perfect combination of a dancer in her 40's with the maturity of a dancer in her 40's, and the technique of a dancer in her 30's, a rare gift to see. There are no "buts" about her dancing. She will be a different Juliette than Korbes: as great as she is a classical dancer, she's been doing fantastic work in Olivier Wevers' contemporary choreography, and that's R&J's genre.

"There are no "buts" about her dancing."

Damn -- that's good!

Your comments about Nakamura remind me of the observations that people made about Ulanova later in her career -- that as she aged, her portrayal of Juliet got deeper and deeper.

Edited to add -- Nakamura danced with the Winnipeg company when Evelyn Hart was there, who also had a long career, so she's had that example in her experience.

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This is an "extra" level of refinement to the excellent recommendations above, but in case someone needs one extra bit of incentive to choose one performance over another: Lindsi Dec's performance of Lady Capulet on Sat evening is spectacular. Not that Maria Chapman and Laura Gilbreath's are not, but Lindsi was made for this role. All three are terrific, but Lindsi will add just a extra bit of spice on Sat night.

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