Helene

Many thanks for posting your impressions, Dorkon, and welcome to Ballet Alert!

Doug staged this for the PNB School, and the numbers couldn't always match the originals, but the program lists: Seyd Lanquedem Conrad Medora Birbanto Gulnare Act I: Merchants: 3 Buyers: 2 Pirates: 8 Townswomen: 8 Servant Women: 10 Pasha's Court at the Marketplace: 16 men Act II: Fan Dance: Medora plus 2 demi women and 8 more women Forbans Dance: Birbanto and his girlfriend plus 2 couples Act III: Pasha's Court: 6 plus 8 women Dance of the Arab Boys: 8 boys Travellers: Conrad and 8 men Le Jardin Anime: Medora and Gulnare plus 6 and 24 women and 16 men/boys

More detailed info from PNB: Tuesday, May 24 6:00 pm (Doors open at 5:30) Olympic Sculpture Park 2901 Western Ave.​ Seattle, WA 98121 As part of The Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability (BAS) initiative, and in partnership with Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Northwest Ballet will present an evening of new dance works during the Summer at SAM series. This event, titled Summer at SAM: Sculptured Dance, will be held in the Olympic Sculpture Park on August 11, 2016 and is free and open to the public. PNB has commissioned new works from five local choreographers, created in conversation with sculptures on-site at the park: Untitled Choreography by Donald Byrd Danced by Pacific Northwest Ballet Wake Choreography by Kiyon Gaines Danced by Pacific Northwest Ballet Stinger Choreography by Ezra Thomson Danced by Spectrum Dance Theater Split Choreography by Kate Wallich Danced by Whim W’Him The Eagle Choreography by Olivier Wevers Danced by PNB School Professional Division

Funny how memory plays tricks: I don't remember a pas de trois at all, just a pas de deux. In DC, due to overtime rules, we got the very abridged last act. That meant no fan dance, which we got to see in Seattle in March, thanks to doug's work on the Family Matinee, the highlight of the season.

I'm not Amy, but I saw it a couple of times, and my favorite parts were "Jardin Anime," "Petite Corsaire," no Ali, and no bare chests.

It wasn't just the visceral beauty of Gregg's "Into you I go willingly," which seemed over in a second last night, or the neverending inventiveness of Lopez Ochoa's "Delicious Pesticides" that brought me back: it was the sense that I needed to see Wevers' "A Disagreeable Tale of Duplicity" again to absorb the layers of the work: the movement, the relationships between the dancers, and the relationships between the characters and the movement, all of which are inseparable. Performances are different from night to night, and so are viewers. One of the last sections for Tori Peil and Justin Reiter struck me as particularly powerful, vivid, and affecting last night. After "Delicious Pesticides," I will never see "Son of a Preacher Man" the same way again. And maybe neck ties. In a work in which the entire company shines, Justin Reiter was on fire. This has been my favorite Whim W'him program so far. Last chance to see it is tonight.

"Square Dance" is also a ballet that dancers dance up to, in my experience. Porretta was very clean in his zestiness. The PDD has Bournonville-like aspects in the balance between the man and woman, with mirrored dancing side by side, and the male not primarily behind and supporting the woman. It was made for Patricia Wilde

Oops, I confused right from the audience's perspective with the opposite "stage" side.

When I get home, I'll check my program. I remember Angeli Mamom being downstage right for some of "Square Dance." I think Rizzitano was her mirrored shorter front dancer. Casciano is taller. That's the corps cast that I believe had one performance last weekend, which featured many new or new-to-the-company dancers. The other corps cast had more senior dancers in it, including soloists. Square Dance, like Barocco, is one of the jewels of the neoclassical corps rep. Both bring out the best in their dancers.

Yes, the two Principal couples in "Waiting at the Station" in 2013 were Laura Tisserand and Jonathan Porretta and Carrie Imler and Kiyon Gaines. Watching Mullin, what struck me was how beautiful her arms were in the adagio. Pantastico was very fluid in it too: I thought the adagio was the highlight of her performance last weekend.

Thank you! It's fixed.

PNB sent an email promo today announcing a "flash sale" on tickets to Season Encores: 50% off until noon on Saturday, June 11. There's no promo code in the email. I'm having issues reaching the PNB site, but I'd guess that the discount is included in the ticket prices on the website.

Sounds like PNB: five babies in two years, and six in three (or four). In a company of ~46.

Casting is up for the program: Sum Stravinsky 1st Movement Generosa, Griffiths The Calling Wald Year of the Rabbit Year of Our Lord Pantastico, Griffiths Mozartiana Preghiera Anspach Little mortal jump Murphy,Wald Macy, J. Tisserand Merchant, Moore Adomaitis, Davis Loch Poppe GEORGE BALANCHINES THE NUTCRACKER® Overture/Act Two Opening to Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Murphy Signature 1st Movement Clark, L. Tisserand, Rausch. Love Suddarth. Biasucci, Macy, Mullin, Ricard Orza, Adomaitis, Grant, Cruz, J. Tisserand, Wald. Thomson, Davis After the Rain Pas De Deux Kitchens, Orza Waiting at the Station Epilogue Moore Suddarth Pantastico, Lin-Yee L. Tisserand, Porretta https://www.pnb.org/season/15-16/encore/

Peter Boal is staging the Preghiera movement of Balanchine's "Mozartiana" for Jessika Anspach, and Kylee Kitchens will dance "After the Rain 'Pas de Deux;" with Seth Orza for this program. PNB posted a link to this 2013 video from Vail with Kitchens and Orza: https://www.facebook.com/PNBallet/videos/vb.21358443951/10153869192803952/ It looks like Alan Dameron (piano) and Michael Jinsoo Lim (violin) are the musicians.

The partners are back in synch for "Square Dance" this Thursday (Pantastico and Porretta) and Friday (Biasucci and Griffiths). Here is the updated spreadsheet: American Stories Weeks 1-2 7 June.xlsx

Due to illness, last Saturday's performance was postponed to this Thursday, June 9. I'm very glad the theater was available, and that whoever was ill will recover for this weekend's performances. All three pieces were enhanced by lighting (Michael Mazzola) and sets for the Wevers and Gregg (Danny Estrada) and projections for the Lopez Ochoa, and by costumes for all. It's always a joy to see what Mark Zappone will create for a work -- he did designs for Gregg and Lopez Ochoa -- and Ronalee Wear's for Wevers were also terrific. The lighting and sets made "A Disagreeable Tale of Duplicity" and "Into you I go willingly" different experiences than in the studio on a sunny day. Both are viscerally arresting in any setting, but both were substantially darker in their performance settings, with the first more biting and sharp, especially in the nearly claustrophobic space, and the second more emotionally resonant. The dancing begins and ends behind the set -- an upstage curtain of strands or a mid-stage tetris-like wall -- more or less visible, depending on the lighting, and that meant they never stopped moving. Photos below are from Bamberg Fine Arts, to contrast with the shots from the studio posted above: "A Disagreeable Tale of Duplicity" has a narrative thread: a couple is torn apart by society and tempters. most of whom are the most exaggerated and punchy in the work, with Justin Reiter's more subtle. Set to excerpts of Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" set to piano and distorted through Dylan Ward's soundscape, it is simultaneously based on Wevers' personal experience and draws parallels and comments on the original story, particularly in the juxtaposition of the music, with its programmatic references. It is also a tour de force for Tori Peil, who gives a shattering performance in the central role. Kyle Johnson, Jim Kent, Patrick Kilbane, Tory Peil, and Thomas Phelan Kyle Johnson, Jim Kent, Patrick Kilbane, Tory Peil, and Thomas Phelan "In you I go willingly," a duet for Patrick Kilbane and James Kent, exploits their contrasting, but complementary movement styles and physiques; Kilbane is pliant and plush, while Kent is generally more limby and edgy. The movement folds and unfolds, and throughout, it pauses and breathes, giving the audience a chance to soak in what has just occurred. Patrick Kilbane and Jim Kent Jim Kent and Patrick Kilbane "Delicious Pesticides" delivers exactly as advertised: gangster-like bugs romp and threaten in a range of aggressive and passive-aggressive behaviors. It's a joy and a lark, and delicious is a good way to describe the work as well. Jim Kent, Justin Reiter, Tory Peil, Mia Monteabaro, Patrick Kilbane, Thomas Phelan, and Kyle Johnson Justin Reiter I can't wait to see it again this weekend.

Luxury casting for the Princes and Cockerel! I wish I could see Part in this!

At yesterday afternoon's post-performance Q&A, Ezra Thomson told us that he'd be one of five choreographers who would be creating works on PNB, Whim W'him, and Spectrum Dance Theatre dancers to be performed during Summer at SAM: Sculptured Dance on Thursday, August 11, from 6-8pm at the Olympic Sculpture Park: http://seattleartmuseum.org/visit/calendar/events?EventId=48920 He noted that Donald Byrd and Olivier Wevers would be working with PNB dancers, and that he'd be working with Spectrum dancers. I'm sorry I didn't take notes and can't remember the other two choreographers.

A video about the American Stories project with Peter Boal, the Tisserands, and Norbert Herriges: https://www.facebook.com/PNBallet/videos/vb.21358443951/10153861227603952/

Both the website photo, from which the showcase posters were excerpted, and the cover photo of the program feature some of the company's newest and youngest members: Angelica Generosa, Dylan Wald, Angeli Mamon, Dammiel Cruz, and Madison Sugg, with Cruz and Mamon reprising the famous kiss at the end of WWII: https://www.pnb.org/season/15-16/american-stories/ These weren't just kids with time on their hands for a photo shoot -- although it worked out well for Steven Loch, Angelica Generosa, and Jahna Frantziskonis when, as Peter Boal explained, Twyla Tharp showed up a year early to choreograph "Waiting at the Station and asked for any dancers who weren't busy with rehearsals -- but they are dancing major roles in this rep this weekend. Wald just hit it out of the park with a one-off performance in "Square Dance," and is in the ensemble of "Waiting at the Station" along with Angelica Generosa and Madison Sugg. Angeli Mamon, Dammiel Cruz, and Wald were in this afternoon's "Square Dance" corps, and Angelica Generosa in this evening's; these are among the greatest corps roles in ballet. They may be in more by next weekend.

I'd never seen Bart Cook dance the solo in "Square Dance" that Balancing created for him, adding it to the ballet that had been performed for decades. But like many Balanchine works, if you've seen them enough, and, especially, if you've seen the dancer in other roles, you can imagine the original dancers pretty clearly. I've seen many fine performances in decades of viewing this ballet, but none that made me think of Cook. While making it entirely his own, Dylan Wald invoked many of the qualities and phrasing choices that so reminded me of Cook, and for that I will be forever grateful.

If Tisserand, Renko, and Thomson were friends of the circumstance of war, Porretta, and Moore were cousins who grew up and enlisted together. In the solos, Porretta, leading off, set the bar. If their names were Mark, Ben, and Roger Montgomery, they might as well have been Mercutio, Benvolio, and Romeo Montague, before Romeo got serious. Both Ezra Thomson, who was amazing this afternoon, and James Moore have been cast in the same roles in "Fancy Free" and "Waiting at the Station." I look forward to seeing Moore reprise the role that was made for him. But, first, "Square Dance," with debuts by Margaret Mullin and Dylan Wald.

I saw a remarkable performance of "Fancy Free" this afternoon. Margaret Mullin more than held her own as Red Pocketbook Lady, fending off the sailors' aggressiveness in their first encounter. Purple Dress Lady is a wonderful regular season farewell role for Kylee Kitchens, highlighting her beautiful, long legs. Sarah Pasch as the last-minute Passerby was sassy enough to inspire the sailors to start the cycle all over again. Jerome Tisserand, Ezra Thomson, and Matthew Renko were full of spirit, combativeness, testosterone, and male entitlement, each expressing it in his own way. (That women were maintaining the country while they were serving was a concept that they hadn't grasped.) It was in the solos that they each brought something unique and poignant: Renko tempering the pyrotechnics with elegance, Thomson capturing the elegance and plaintiveness built into his, and Tisserand shaping the Rhumba solo with perfect timing and nuance. It reminded me that as beautifully as Astaire danced in his movies, his American male character was often a bit of a jerk, something Robbins built into this ballet, and it's always great to see when the dancers show it. It's a big afternoon for Thomson, who is about to dance the central role in "Waiting at the Station."

From the Ballet Video forum, volcanohunter has posted an update on the performance of Le Corsaire that will be livestreamed on June 12: it has moved to the matinee (9am ET/6am PT) and will feature several of the dancers who are leaving the company. Click here for details. http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/40730-le-corsaire-live-stream-bavarian-state-ballet/?p=370541