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Boal Interview in Seattle Weekly


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Thank you for posting these, harpergroup!

I disagree with Roger Downey's assertion that, "Stowell's choreographic style...is an idiom in which grace, fluidity, charm, and personality count for a lot; in which music functions more like a backdrop than a design for dancing. It is in the strongest possible contrast to the musically rigorous, technically exacting, understated elegance of Balanchine's work and in the long run, the stretch to accommodate two masters has left PNB's company stylistically ill defined and out of focus."

While I'm not a great fan of Stowell's one-act ballets, I think that Nutcracker, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and large parts of Cinderella were were sensitive responses to the music. And grace and fluidity were key to most Balanchine works, and, regardless of Balanchine's "no acting" policy, a number of Balanchine dancers exuded charm and personality, if not Personality. La Source and Tarantella are two ballets that become tedious exercises without charm. And while it is arguable that the Company's stylistic approach to Balanchine's and Stowell's works differed -- Russell's stagings were rooted in the versions she knew from the 1950's-1960's, where the ideal was Diana Adams more than Suzanne Farrell, while Stowell's was current -- the Company's approach to both choreographers was technically clean and sound and direct.

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