Helene

I saw him when National Ballet of Cuba performed "Don Quixote" in Vancouver, and I loved, loved, loved his big, plush movement. His last name in the program was "Gounod," so it was very easy to remember

I've only had the privilege of seeing her live a couple of times during visits to NYC, but I loved her in both of them

The writing's been on the wall for several seasons: the Company needs taller men, and great, but shorter, talent has gone elsewhere.

Nor have her past experiences retroactively changed because she was promoted.

And, once again, she was asked, and she told about her experience from her point of view.

That is a legitimate viewpoint, but not the only one. There are a lot of dancers who excel in solo roles -- "Swan Lake" pas de troi, Peasant pas de deux, Amor in "Don Q," soloist in "Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2," "Scotch Symphony," not to mention a myriad of demi-soloist roles -- who can't translate that into the lead or have the ability to create a dramatic arc and develop a character through a full length. For years, Royal Ballet had a touring company: they took the best of the best, like Sibley, directly into the corps, but the rest spent their first year or two on road. It was those young dancers who performed the classics throughout Great Britain. A great description of this is in Lynn Seymour's memoir and Barbara Newman's "Striking a Balance." That was where they got their stage experience, learned pacing, developed stamina, and strengthened their technique. Occasionally, there's a dancer with preternatural gifts and/or who's been trained at The Barn, but, on the whole, dancers don't spring from the head of Zeus. Some dancers debut major roles out of town, like Copeland's DC appearances with Washington Ballet, and with ABT in Australia. NYCB has, for over half a century, thrust young dancers into lead roles. I prefer to see the growth of a dancer over time, and, in Seattle, I can. I also prefer thoughtfulness over technique -- sandik often writes about choices -- and seeing that the dancer has thought through what he or she is doing, and seeing the wheels in the brain turning and learning something new from that, even if it's just in part of a ballet, particularly a full-length.

First, I'd like to make the distinction between a Principal Dancer and a ballerina. Sometimes there's overlap, and sometimes there's not. In many ways, promotions depend upon the company. Sometimes it's a matter of structure, sometimes it's a matter of money for the more expensive contract, sometimes it's personal relationships -- boards, generals/politicians -- sometimes it's the Artistic Director and/or a powerful member of staff, sometimes it's for company morale, or a dancer is somehow recognized -- but that's usually when a long-time corps member is promoted to soloist, more than a long-time soloist promoted to principal, although that happens, too -- sometimes it depends on the company's structure. For example, Peter Boal at PNB has said that with company size in the mid-range (45-50), he can't have 20 soloists, because he needs people to dance in the corps. Often dancers languish in the soloist ranks in companies like NYCB or ABT, because they aren't dancing all the time in the corps, and the principals get their share of the leads. I remember reading Arlene Croce saying that Nichol Hlinka was promoted to principal at NYCB -- she spent a long time in the soloist ranks, not getting cast much -- after she lost those few extra pounds. (Which did not make a difference in her dancing, but in the company's perception of her as a dancer. Which is why we got Carla Korbes in Seattle.) One example of the first is Paris Opera Ballet. To be promoted through principal -- Etoiles are chosen by the head of the Opera -- dancers have to compete, and only if there are open spots. An internal jury decides who gets the spot(s). Many US companies have three levels: principals, soloists, and corps. In AGMA (union) companies, the working conditions and pay scales for at least corps and soloists are covered by the union contracts. However, some have more ranks, and most European companies have at least five. Somova and Skorik were given top billing long before they got the principal rank. Novikova and Osmolkina, for example, are still in the First Soloist rank. There are only three companies in the US with rosters over 70 in those ranks: NYCB, ABT, and SFB. SFB, for example, has 41 corps members on its updated roster. PNB has 51 principal, soloist, and corps dancers on its 2016-17 (not yet updated) roster. SFB has 31 principals and soloists. PNB had 20 at year-end, with similar proportions at both companies. Houston Ballet has 59 in those ranks. PNB needs to keep the ranks balanced, as well as needing to find the money to promote dancers, which was particularly acute when the company was deeply hurt financially when the Opera House was closed for seismic renovations -- it re-opened as McCaw Hall -- and the ballet and the opera performed in Mercer Arena, in which the permanent seating was fixed toward the "ice," not a stage. Plus the dot-bomb and the 2008 financial crisis. There are a lot of moving parts that translated into confusion among the audiences when it comes to how dancers are promoted. Sometimes it's promise, which means you'll see the dancer grow into a rank, sometimes it's having spent a long time proving him or herself, sometimes its usefulness -- size, being a great partner, learning fast, being a good team player, staying healthy, reliability in all ways -- sometimes it's being a particular type that the AD loves, sometimes it's a change in rep, etc. For me, a principal has to be able to carry whatever ballet she is in. There's a dancer in Seattle who has been carrying full-lengths since her second season in the company, yet doesn't have the rank, and others over the years in a number of companies who have the rank, but not the ability.

When I arrived in Seattle, I knew many of the dancers at PNB, but I didn’t know Carrie Imler or Batkhurel Bold. I entered Studio A in May of 2004 and settled on the floor to watch a rehearsal of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Carrie was Titania. She was engaged in the required custody battle with Oberon as penned by Shakespeare. She wasn’t as tall as the Titanias I had seen before, and my first thought was that she might be more suited to the role of Hermia. The following scene, known as the “Athalie”, is where Titania and her cavalier execute challenging choreography among their court of fairies. She simply devoured the space around her even if was the air above. She made the musical score come to visual life, seeming to conduct an entire orchestra with each step. If ever there was a dancer’s dancer, it is Carrie Imler. Through pristine technique, laser-focused musical phrasing, and sheer zest for movement, Carrie refined the role of Titania for me in just one sitting. Not long after, I saw Bold perform as Prince Ivan in Firebird opposite the diminutive Kaori Nakamura. In a way, it was a perfect role for Bold. He loomed over Kaori with a back twice the width of hers and legs that seemed not to know the limits of flexibility. He moved like a panther (and still does), but this animalistic dancer demonstrated a rare sensitivity in his handling of his partner. It was more than just lifting her with ease or making sure she could execute pirouettes successfully. He approached Kaori with true tenderness, care, and humanity. This was not the role; this was Bold. Bold and Carrie have spoken about the privilege they have known in every season and every role of their careers. I heel a similar privilege has been afforded me in working with these two. Retirements aren’t easy. Careers aren’t easy. PNB is a tight-knit community and the analogy to a family is spot on. Balancing highlights and glory are plenty of scars and bruises along the way. On the other side of the curtain, we run the gamut of emotions and with each incident the bonds between all of us grow deeper. I am so proud of Carried and Bold—particularly for the strength and maturity they have demonstrated. The onstage triumphs are easy to recall. For Carrie it’s Aurora, Swan Lake Titania, Myrtha, Kitri, Vespers, Waiting at the Station, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, and now La Source. It’s also how she managed a challenging hip injury and returned to the stage so triumphantly in Square Dance (at 9,000 fest above sea level in Vail Colorado. Thanks, Peter!) It’s her successful balancing of “Ballerinadom” and motherhood and how giving she is as a teacher, coach, friend, and daughter. She is an inspiration and will continue to be so in so many ways, but especially in our School as she teaches the next generation. Your may have noticed Bold starting to smile a few years ago. It may have something to do with his marriage to Lesley, but I suspect that was just part of it. The smiling has become chronic. He even started chatting, joking, and laughing—a lot. He is such a pleasure to have in the room and so supporting and encouraging of every dancer in our Company, from the newest apprentice to veteran principals. His heart is big and seems to be growing. Bold would literally throw himself in front of a bus for any of his partners or peers. I’d be worried for the bus—this guy is strong. He’s come into my office injured, on more than one occasion, and offered to dance so his partner would not miss a performance. This was often Carrie. His devotion to those around him completely outweighs his concern for himself. In planning this farewell performance, he wanted the spotlight on Carrie and only begrudgingly allowed us to honor him as well. I came to him with a long list of roles I wanted to see one more time: Rassemblement, Moor’s Pavane, Diamonds, Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven. Can’t we have just a few more multiple turns and gravity defying leaps? We will savor the roles Carrie and Bold dance tonight, but remain even more grateful for the wealthy of spectacular performances we have witnessed over the past twenty-one years. Thank you, Carrie and Bold, for giving so generously to our company and to our lives. You will continue to inspire, and we are all so pleased to know you and to have experienced your rare gifts on stage and off. Congratulations on your extraordinary careers. Take a bow. Peter Boal

There were two essays, one by Francia Russell and Kent Stowell, and the other by Peter Boal, in the Encore booklet: As painful as it is to see Carrie & Bold retire, there is a sense of inevitability about them ending their wonderful careers together. What a great artistic partnership this has been! More than twenty years together, in the studio and the stage. And it all began at the Kennedy Center, where each of them first saw PNB and was inspired to audition for us. CARRIE has that rare gift of putting audiences at ease. With both exciting and secure technique, sumptuously beautiful line, engaging warmth, and intelligent musicality, she guarantees her public a great performance, as her colleagues marvel in the wings. We first saw Carrie on the opening day of PNB School’s 1994 Summer course and knew instantly that she was ready for the Company. Waiting a year for a contract, she was the ideal student and a role model for her colleagues, who included Jodie Thomas and Maria Chapman. It was clear that she was destined to be one of the most important dancers PNB would ever have. In a recent conversation, Carrie first said she had no favorite roles, that her career was full of favorites. But three that stood out were Ronald Hynd’s Merry Widow and Kent’s Juliet and Carmen, her first role after being made a principal. We also talked about her first Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. Carrie was an understudy in the back of the studio with no private rehearsals. When Louise Nadeau suffered an injury, and other dancers were exhausted, we asked Carrie if she thought she could perform one of classical ballet’s most daunting roles the next afternoon—without a stage rehearsal. Her instant reply was: “Sure. I think I can do that.” Her calm seemed surreal, but we knew how deep and strong her emotions are. And we knew her abilities. As expected, her performance was a triumph. Only Carrie! In our minds’ eyes we can still picture BOLD, a handsome, painfully shy, 18-year-old doing his triple tours in a corner of the studio at the Kennedy Center. We didn’t even know he was there to audition, and that was the only way he knew how to impress us. It worked, and our hearts went out to him forever. Several years ago, Bold, Le Yin, and Karel Cruz described what it had been like for them to leave their families at very early ages to study ballet. In each case, their parents were doing what they thought best for their son: an opportunity for education and training in a respected profession—Le Yin’s in China and Karel’s in Cuba. Bold’s story seemed the most dramatic. Perm, in the Soviet Union, was a long way from Ulan Bator in Mongolia—in distance, culture, and language. Bold was just seven years old, on a four-day train journey with some other students and a chaperone, watching his homeland disappear. These dancers’ love for their families is deep in ways we can only attempt to understand, but it’s good to note that each has had a stellar career, married a fellow PNB principal dancer, and has a new family in America. Bold would be the first to agree the was a bit of a handful at first, but his great gifts as both dancer and partner were never in doubt. Astonishing technical feats, huge, easy jumps, and a magnetic presence made him an instant attraction, and, as he matured, he became a mainstay of the Company, partnering every ballerina—most frequently Carrie—and dancing leading roles form strictly classical to wildly contemporary. A partnership like Carrie & Bold’s is a rarity in our world of dance. All the roles they have danced—a vast number of them together—display more varied and exciting careers than any young dancer in the world would dare to dream. Now neither of them is in any doubt that they are making the right decision at the right time. Carrie’s new life really began when she and her husband Hans Miller welcomed little Markus Miller into their family. And Bold’s began last June when he and Lesley Rausch were the radiant stars of their wedding by the beach in Honolulu. Carrie is an experience and superb teacher, so we know how she will continue. Bold says his relationship with ballet ends this evening, but we hope he will change his mind in time. Knowledge like theirs, characters like theirs, will contribute to whatever they decide to do. Tonight we applaud their two brilliant careers and feel proud to know them, to love them, and to be in the audience to see them dance one last time. Kent & Francia

According to the 2017 graduation program, the PDs and Level VIII's are doing this next year: New apprentices for Pacific Northwest Ballet: Christopher D’Ariano Clara Ruf-Maldonado Genevieve Waldorf Congratulations to them, and I look forward to seeing more of them this coming season Among the Level VIII's, two will join the Professional Division at PNBS: Annika Greenig Grace Rookstool 2017 graduates of the PD program will be joining these companies or attending these universities: Alberta Ballet, Apprentice: Kuu Sakuragi Ballet Austin: Dallas Finley Caroline Ballet: Luke Potgieter Colorado Ballet: Camille Reaux Ballet Idaho: Anissa Bailis Ashley Baker Oregon Ballet Theatre II: Christopher Brown University of Oregon: Madeline Davis University of Southern California: Juliette Ochoa

I got a postcard the other day from Ronald McDonald House Charities: "[W]e raised a record breaking $89,000, which will provide 2,966 nights of housing for seriously ill children and their families."

With four leads, the entire ballet doesn't even rest on the shoulders of that dancer.

Or, to look at it another way, when a major publication asks her about her experience, she describes it.

She's in her mid-thirties, and even were she amping up to be a competition dancer, none is a multi-billion dollar event with worldwide television coverage to document in prime time an off-podium finish, which is what counts in sports. Her sponsors and her sponsors' demographic aren't counting fouettes.

Did I miss an announcement that Justin Peck has left NYCB, or is "alums" (plural) a typo?:

Nowadays, he's almost certain to look more like this:

I don't know if I missed this originally, or it's my aging brain, and I don't remember, but here is a 6+-minute documentary on Batkhurel Bold in 2010 by students at what was then called Seattle Community College. It has parts of an interview with his mom, photos of him as a young boy, and short footage of him in "Serenade" with Lindsi Dec and Carla Korbes, in the 1998 competition in Jackson, and more wonderful clips in the closing credits.

I don't know the Cranko ballet or Russian, and I can't read the original Pushkin, but I'm very familiar with the opera, which I've been told is not quite true to all of the original characterizations, particularly of Olga, but that Tchaikovsky's portrayal of Tatiana is on the mark. I don't know what Cranko's intent was for the characters in his ballet. In interviews, one of the great portrayers of the opera's Tatiana, Anna Netrebko, has said that she cannot identify at all with Tatiana, but her portrayal of the shy, literary, emotional, and easily embarrassed teenager is very vivid, and sound more like what you describe of Vishneva than Ferri. I don't know if this is Vishneva reclaiming her heritage like the way Lopatkina tried to make Balanchine's "Diamonds" into after Petipa, or if that's what Cranko was aiming for or included in his range of right.

I love this:

Oh, Lindsay Fischer, I wonder how you determine who obviously wasn't born in Canada...

I just popped in to reply the exact same thing!

I wouldn't want to see "The Merry Widow" every second (or third) season, but I love the music, and saw some of the most wonderful characterizations when PNB last did it. One of my favorite PNB memories was the heart-breaking way in which Uko Gorter so graciously let Valencienne go. It makes me verklempt all over again thinking about it. Edited to Add: I've seen a number of R&J's that I've liked. One I think was by Rudi van Danzig that was on YouTube, with Juliet performed by a wonderful blond dancer from Dutch National Ballet. I would love to be able to see the Tudor. I loved Kent Stowell's "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," that was set to a Tchaikovsky score crafted by Stowell and Stewart Kershaw. I just don't like the McMillan. Or his "Manon." I've never seen "Onegin,' but I know the reverence in which Russians hold the original, as well as the opera.

To summarize the PNB participation: Noelani Pantastico and Price Suddarth will choreograph new work William Lin-Yee will compose the music for Suddarth's piece Amanda Morgan and Sarah Pasch will dance in Dani Tirrell's work Amanda Morgan and Leah Terada performed in two works in the Seattle International Dance Festival Tuesday night and last night. One was a work by newly appointed apprentice Christopher D'Ariano, along with five (?) other women. The other was a work by Miles Pertl, a delightful piece that reminded me a little of Mark Morris' "A Wooden Tree." Morgan, Terada, and Henry Cotton looked like they were having a ball. Even though I don't like the ballet, I would love to see Amanda Morgan in Tharp's "In the Upper Room."

From (most of) the presser: Pacific Northwest Ballet Announces Return of SCULPTURED DANCE Collaboration with Seattle Art Museum at Olympic Sculpture Park Free Summer at SAM event to feature site-specific dance works created by four local choreographers, performed by dancers from Au Collective, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and The YC. 5:00 pm Thursday, August 31, 2017 Olympic Sculpture Park 2901 Western Avenue Seattle, Washington, 98121 “Bringing dance to the Olympic Sculpture Park offers the brilliant backdrop of great art as inspiration for dance. Throw in a little unpredictable weather and an occasional train whistle, and you get something completely thrilling and fresh. No curtain time, no seat assignments, just art, dance and you.” –Peter Boal, Artistic Director, Pacific Northwest Ballet SEATTLE, WA— In the footsteps of the wildly successful first collaboration with Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal has announced another evening of new dance works performed in and around Olympic Sculpture Park artworks during the Summer at SAM series. As part of The Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative, PNB has commissioned works from four local choreographers, created in conversation with sculptures on-site at the park. This free public event features four new works created by Noelani Pantastico, Eva Stone, Price Suddarth, and Dani Tirrell, performed by dancers from Au Collective, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and The YC.SCULPTURED DANCE will be presented one night only, 5:00 – 8:00 pm on Thursday, August 31, 2017, at SAM’s Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Avenue on Seattle’s waterfront. For more information and to RSVP, visit PNB.org/sculptureddance or visitSAM.org/summer. “Last year’s inaugural Sculptured Dance event was awe-inspiring. Thousands of Seattleites poured into the Olympic Sculpture Park to see some of our city’s finest dancers perform among the monumental artworks in the sunshine,” said Kimerly Rorschach, SAM’s Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO. “We’re delighted to continue the partnership this year with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, featuring a new repertory of site-specific dances. It’s particularly special this year as the sculpture park celebrates its tenth anniversary.” “PNB is thrilled to return to the Olympic Sculpture Park this summer for the second incarnation of Sculptured Dance,” added Mr. Boal. “The synthesis of dance and art triggers exciting and unexpected juxtapositions. The experience is both unmatched and unforgettable. The line-up of dancers and choreographers is a perfect cocktail of Seattle's vibrant dance scene. To top it off we're adding random and startling pop-up performances by Purple Lemonade Collective. Come early, stay late, and make sure your dance card is full on August 31st.” SCULPTURED DANCE is a free event, with RSVP requested at PNB.org/pnb-presents or visitsam.org/summer/thu-aug-31. (Large crowds are expected for this program. Although we don’t anticipate reaching capacity at the park, RSVPs do not guarantee entry: They do, however, give access to PNB perks and thank-you gifts for all registrants who check in onsite.) The 2017 line-up for Summer at SAM: SCULPTURED DANCE includes: You Sleep Like You’ve Never Sinned Choreography by Eva Stone in collaboration with the dancers Music by Jyun Jyun Danced by Au Collective Performed at Richard Serra’s Wake Picnic Choreography by Noelani Pantastico Music by The Routers Danced by Pacific Northwest Ballet Performed at Alexander Calder’s The Eagle Suckle Choreography by Dani Tirrell Music performed by Kelle J. Brown Danced by Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers Amanda Morgan and Sarah Pasch Performed at Roxy Paine’s Split Untitled Choreography by Price Suddarth Music by William Lin-Yee Danced by The YC Performed at Tony Smith’s Wandering Rocks The evening will also feature live music sets by Jyun Jyun, and pop-up performances from The Purple Lemonade Collective. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Noelani Pantastico trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and attended summer courses at PNB School from 1994 to 1996. She joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 1997. She was promoted to corps de ballet in 1998, soloist in 2001, and principal in 2004. In 2008 she left PNB to join Les Ballets de Monte Carlo as a soloist and was promoted to first soloist in 2009. In 2015, Ms. Pantastico returned to PNB as a principal dancer. Picnic is her first choreographic effort. Eva Stone has created works for Spectrum Dance Theater, South Bay Ballet, and Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre among many others, and collaborated with Seattle Dance Project on the critically-acclaimed Project Orpheus at ACT Theater. Ms. Stone is the producer and curator of CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work, a contemporary dance festival held annually in Bellevue, WA, which brings the best of local, regional, national, and international contemporary dance companies together for a series of performances, lectures, and master classes. Price Suddarth is a corps de ballet dancer at PNB. His choreographic career began at the School of American Ballet’s student choreographic workshop in 2007. Since then he has worked with regional companies across the country. He has participated in PNB’s NEXT STEP choreographers’ showcase and was commissioned to create a ballet for PNB School’s Annual School Performance. In 2015 PNB premiered Signature, the company’s first original work by Mr. Suddarth. He was chosen to participate in the 2016 Fall session of the New York Choreographic Institute and has presented his works at the Regional Dance America Gala, CHOP SHOP, and the Seattle International Dance Festival. Dani Tirrell is the Artistic Director of Dani Tirrell Dance Theater. He also created Color Lines Dance Ensemble for youth dance artists ages 12-18. Dance artist, performer, choreographer and dance educator, Mr. Tirrell has performed and shown work at Seattle International Dance Festival, Black Choreographers Festival (San Francisco), Velocity Dance Center, Young Tanz Sommer (Austria), On the Boards’ NW New Works, and many more. Currently his work focuses on the queer, gender non-conforming and black experience. Mr. Tirrell teaches at NW Tap Connection, Massive Monkees Studio: The Beacon, and throughout the Seattle area. Au Collective develops relatable and engaging dance art that reflects the company’s multi-faceted family of dancers. The Collective highlights the creative perspective of all its members, including people of color, queer people, and women. More at aucollective.com. Louis Chinn (Jyun Jyun) is a visual artist, multi-instrumentalist music producer, and art education specialist. His work explores the theme of transformation as both a visual quality and experience for the participants and communities involved. Through public art, activism, and education, he is deeply dedicated to the cause of making art a free and essential experience, regardless of one’s social positioning. As a musician, he creates audio-visual installation work and recordings under the moniker Jyun Jyun, where he explores the boundaries of cross cultural pollination and new forms of acoustic-electronic hybridity. More at louischinn.com. Kelle J. Brown, pastor of Plymouth Church United Church of Christ, is a woman convinced that the world can be transformed by intentional acts of compassion. Kelle earned her Master of Divinity from Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry and is completing her Doctorate of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary. Kelle shares her voice as a gift of authenticity and transformation and lives according to the wisdom of Howard Thurman: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it, because what the world needs are people who have come alive.” You are invited to come alive. The YC is dedicated to cultivating a community of artists and audience members through the creation and presentation of designed dance-based experiences, under the leadership of Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dancer, and Educator Kate Wallich. The organization’s vision is a collaborative, creative, and connected community that supports and engages with progressive, risk-taking dance projects. Founded in 1972, Pacific Northwest Ballet is one of the largest and most highly regarded ballet companies in the United States. Led by Peter Boal since 2005, the company of nearly 50 dancers presents more than 100 performances of full-length and mixed repertory ballets each year at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at Seattle Center, and on tour. The Purple Lemonade Collective is an artist group based out of Seattle. The Collective’s objective is to create art that educates, inspires, and entertains. The PLC includes choreographers, dancers, models, stylists, graphic designers, videographers, and music producers working together to make art accessible to our communities, whether across the street or around the globe. # # # Every summer, Seattle Art Museum (SAM) presents the Summer at SAM programming series at Olympic Sculpture Park. The summer programs feature a diverse range of live bands, artmaking, food trucks, and more throughout the park. All Summer at SAM programs are free, open to the public, and all-ages. For a complete schedule of events, check out visitSAM.org/summer. SCULPTURED DANCE is made possible by generous support from The Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability (BAS) initiative. Special thanks to Glenn Kawasaki. Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2016-2017 season is proudly sponsored by ArtsFund and Microsoft. Season support also provided by 4Culture, National Endowment for the Arts, and Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.