Helene

I am still floating on air from having seen the 3:30pm performance this afternoon. Doug Fullington based this production on a series of sources, including Henri Justamant's 1857 choreographic notation of "Le Corsaire" and the Stepanov notations -- PNB's "Giselle" is similarly strongly based on a combination of these sources -- as well as his research into the musical scores, including the original score, again, similar to his approach with "Giselle," in which he also collaborated with Marian Smith. Unlike in an earlier production in which Doug was a consultant, this collaboration with the students is a mine that has yielded gold. In my opinion, the commitment that these students, from the youngest to the Professional Division, gave to the style and purpose of this production was equalled by PNB in classical ballet only in Ratmansky's "Don Q." Even "Giselle" took more time to settle and get in the Company's bones. They imbued the allegedly simpler steps and phrases with acceleration and stillness, and with unceasing energy and articulation. The extensive mime blended thoroughly with the dancing, and I was especially impressed with Isaac Bate-Venueza's character acting as Lanquedem and Jesse Newman's affectionate portrayal of Pasha in a time where references to Kos invoke feelings of desperation and mourning, not a sunny place to have a palace. The performance excerpts were framed by the engaging narrator, Tim Hyland, who was dressed as a pirate, and who was able to fill in gaps that couldn't be shown, due to the 80 minute length of the Family Matinee, and to provide clarity when there was too much to take in in one viewing. (There was one, 15-minute intermission. The line to buy cookies stretched deep into the lobby.) The ballet was beautifully cast. Roland Spier's Conrad was elegant and loving. Matt Gattozzi had energy to burn as Birbanto, and he was wonderfully matched with Madeline McMillin as his dancing partner, and their Forbans Dance, with demis Madeline Davis, Mackenna Pieper, Raum-Aron Gens-Ostrowski and Eric Zynko, was one of the highlights. I'm generally not taken by bad boys, but even though he's a turncoat and schemer, there's something industrious about him, and Gattozzi never fell into comic book villain characterizations: he played it straight. Another highlight was the exquisite Dance of the Fans, which the captive women perform in the Grotto Act, to convince Conrad to free them, creating image after image between gestures and groupings, finally setting Medora like a jewel. Especially in this format, the ballet belongs to Medora, here portrayed by Madison Abeo, and, boy, did she own it: she's got presence, and the kind of presence that sustains. There's a lot of protesting stomping, pouting, and stubbornness in the role, and comedy is difficult enough to play, yet she modulated each one, and like the repetitions of the steps, in which she changed up the dynamics, she did the same with the mime. She also had a wide range of solos, including the stunning Petite Corsaire, which, because of time constraints, she danced in her tutu, instead of having the time to change into a pirate's costume. The corps was lovely, vibrant, and excellent throughout. One of the young townswoman kept catching my eye, a dark-haired dancer in the rust-colored dress. Her legs and feet were articulate and immaculate, and she had that wonderful Bournonville quality of connecting the phrases musically. Erika Crawford had a similar quality dancing on point as Gulnare, whose role was comparatively short in this version, which ended with the pirates running off with Medora and avoided the shipwreck at the end. Le Jardin Anime, took its rightful place as the center of the work, here performed after the sole intermission, and it got the biggest ovation of the afternoon, using everyone from small girls to the PD's, plus I think I counted twelve boys. The flowing and weaving patterns and the choreographic invention are just sublime. The excellent Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra played under Stephen Rogers Radcliffe's direction, and there are professional companies who would be grateful to have an orchestra of this quality. The PNB Costume Shop created a coherent set of costumes -- I'm not sure if there is any other ballet in which there are so many dancers in one costume in one piece like in Le Jardin Anime -- maybe Symphony in C? -- so that was quite a feat. The sets were especially beautiful and inventive, and the Grotto scene in particular was low-tech in the best way. Everyone who can should see this. This is the real deal. I can't wait to see this again next Saturday.

Re: a now-missing post: official news only.

In Justin Peck's "Year of the Rabbit," which closed the program, Sarah Ricard Orza was stellar. The corps is the star of the ballet interns of inventive response to the excellent score, and among the terrific dancers, Nicole Rizzitano and Matthew Renko were especially vibrant. Price Suddarth had a great afternoon, and it was a pleasure to see Benjamin Griffiths' seamless, expert partnering.

In "little mortal jump," not only did James Moore dance as if the role was made for him, he danced as if he could join Crystal Pite's company tonight in "Betroffenheit" at the Moore Theater. I write that as the highest praise.

Casting is up for the second weekend. Here is the spreadsheet: Directors Choice Wk 1-2 15 Mar.xlsx There's a new cast second weekend for "little mortal jump", except for Steven Loch. Leah Merchant switches roles, and Emma Love Suddarth takes her original role in the new cast.

Seattle Opera just concluded its run of Donizetti's "Mary Stuart" last night. I saw it and Friday's performance, with two casts for Elizabeth and Leicester. It really should have been called "Mary and Elizabeth," because Elizabeth owns much of the first act and the first part of the second. Two Mary's were cast, and while I knew Joyce El-Khoury had replaced Serena Farnocchia opening night and then performed it again the next day for the Sunday matinee, I didn't realize she'd be singing all seven performances in fifteen days. On Friday she had a two-day rest, and I'm not sure if was also the difference between sitting in the first row of the Second Tier (Friday) vs. under the overhang of the First Tier (last night), but her tone was brighter on Friday. However, it was far from a "Take one for the team" performance: it was a tour de force by a singer with top-notch technique. The nuances and and range of emotion expressed that were present on Friday were integral to her performance on Saturday. She sounded like her voice did exactly what she wanted. Alone, either performance was a privilege to hear without any back-story. She's singing Desdemona at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, and how I wish I could hear her sing in my favorite opera. Lucky people in Amsterdam, where she sang two roles recently. Talbot doesn't have a lot to sing -- he's in and out as the plot needs him -- but especially in Weston Hurt's last scene with El-Khoury before Mary is led to her death, he spanned a wide emotional range. He was particularly imposing when he confronted Mary about Babington with the sternness and directly that I'd expect from Cecil, which had to have cost him, given how much he loved her, and they sounded great together. Soprano Keri Alkema sang Elizabeth on Friday night, and sang beautifully. It's a hard role, because the singer has to fight the petty, willful character that's written -- as Elza van den Heever, who sang the role at the Met, said in an interview that her music is so angry -- but she was always engaging and had full command of her voice. (She's singing the role in Edmonton in April.) I know that Seattle audiences are especially loyal to graduates of the now-defunct Young Artists Program, but I've never felt the Mary Elizabeth Williams love. I find her voice unwieldy and without a lot of technical control. She was at her best and exciting, though, in the trio with Hurt and Michael Todd Simpson (Cecil), another former Seattle Young Artist with a beautiful, deep, resonant baritone voice. (If I had only heard him in this, I would have thought he was a bass.) We were again blessed with two wonderful tenors. Andrew Owens sang on Friday night with great ardency in a beautiful, ringing tone. John Tessier, who sang on Saturday night, is a more refined, Mozartian singer with a lot of vocal subtlety and nuance. For the role, while Evans was a joy to hear, as a character, while I could see both queens being smitten by him while he was in the room with that Cherubino- or Octavian-like engagement with the present, but with a man's virility, it was harder to imagine that he'd survive very long without doing something really stupid impetuous and falling directly into a trap, a male Mary. (If Babbington had been a role, he would have made a great Babbington.) On the other hand, it was very possible to imagine Tessier playing all of those subtle intrigues among the courtiers and standing up to Cecil and living to talk about it. He was a very believable adult. The chorus was magnificent, one of the musical jewels of the city. Carlo Montanaro led the orchestra in a driving performance that sometimes covered the singers. I think the stage director, Kevin Newbury, hates tenors, because they often seemed to land downstage middle-left, just behind the brass section. The staging was on the static side: it was built around two wheeled staircases with a balcony of sorts: an ornate wooden one for Elizabeth and a metal one with bars that also served as Mary's prison under the staircase, with Elizabeth ascending the stairs and lording over her. That kind of approached worked fine for Rinaldo at the Met in the '80's, but for this opera, the larger-than-life aspect lost its bloom and the opportunities for intimacy were lost. I was very happy to have heard some great singing. It was also lovely to see Alkema applaud El-Khoury at the curtain calls, and to see El-Khoury kiss her hand before they joined hands to take their bows and to see Evans do the same for El-Khoury.

I thought you meant this bio originally published in Danish and translated by her son to English. It's an ebook, and appears to be about 30 pages: http://ninitheilade.com/ The sales page for the Danish version lists the publisher as "Art People/People's Press" https://riidr.com/forlag/artpeoplepeoplespress/ Link to the Danish version: https://riidr.com/ebog/nini-theilade_nini-theilade/ It was an "As told to" book, and the writer was Lone Kulhmann https://riidr.com/forfatter/lone-kuhlmann/ There's a Support email, and it's possible if you write to them, they might be able to put you in touch with Ms. Kulhmann: support@riidr.com

Does the biography have a publisher listed? You may be able to contact her through them.

I kept waiting for the casting link to show up, only to find that PNB hsa done a jiggle with the website, and casting is now displayed at the bottom of the program's main page: https://www.pnb.org/season/15-16/directors-choice/ For first weekend, there are two principal couples for Paul Gibson's "Rush", with the second couples the same for all three performances, one cast for Cerrudo's "little mortal jump" and two casts for most of the principal roles for Peck's "Year of the Rabbit," with one role danced by three different men: Renko, Suddarth, and Davis. Here is the spreadsheet: Directors Choice Wk 1 12 Mar.xlsx

Ever since I heard Terry Gross' interview with Bob Gaudio, I've been hoping "Jersey Boys" would tour to Seattle, and when I learned it would be here this March, I started to stalk Goldstar. Happily, it was listed on this week's newsletter, and I grabbed a ticket for opening night last night. The structure is that each of the Four Seasons took the narrative for a stretch, with many, mostly quick scenes -- the direction was fast-paced and the coordination of the scene changes was spot on -- and lots of the Four Seasons' glorious music in between. There were the four main leads, and a half dozen or so men and three women who played all of the other parts, some of them recurring, including Joe Pesci, who was a jazz musician Gaudio played with and who introduced Gaudio to DeVito. Tomasso Antico, who normally plays a bunch of smaller characters, replaced Drew Seeley as Gaudio, and while he wasn't quite channeling his inner Joisey, was especially engaging and played Gaudio with a lot of charm. He had a voice of gold, just beautiful. Aaron de Jesus portrayed Frankie Valli. That is kind of like playing Pavarotti, a very tough road to hoe, but the four men, including Matthew Dailey as Tommy DeVito and Keith Hines as Nick Massi, blended really beautifully, and de Jesus really shone harmonizing with and soaring over the ensemble. He was also a terrific actor. Dailey didn't sugar-coat DeVito: he was a thug, with a heart of brass. There was nothing particularly likeable about him -- he was the type of guy who would disagree -- which made Valli's loyalty to him brutal. For the first act, Massi is in the background; it wasn't until partway through the second act, when he addressed the audience and said (something like), "I haven't said much until now." He was the observer, and given what Gaudio said about Massi, he drew the short straw and wasn't really given his due in the narrative. Hines was broad and very funny in the role as written. What I found most fascinating was the extent to which each of the men expressed characterization through dance and movement. The star of that aspect was Matthew Dailey: in all of the mostly synchronized musician dancing, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Every move was right in the pocket. The music was divine. The only downside was the sound system and/or the sound mixing. Maybe I'm too old, but amplified music should not drown out the singers, which it did on occasion.

There is a discussion on this topic here: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/41197-silicon-valley-ballet-formerly-ballet-san-jose-has-folded/#entry367756 Sad news, indeed.

We're not talking about a dancer that inexperienced teenage boys in training and whose musculature is not fully developed would partner. Merrill Ashley was partnered. Suzanne Farrell was partnered even when she was younger and considered dancer-heavy. Kyra Nichols was partnered. Martine van Hamel was partnered. Cynthia Gregory was partnered. Patricia Barker was partnered. When the Bolshoi claimed that Volchkova had to be fired because she was too fat, Tsiskaridze said he had no trouble partnering her. Some male partners are on the record that they'd much rather partner a bigger dancer who has the core strength and who knows how to hold herself in lifts than some smaller dancers who thought they didn't need to help and were like lifting deadweight. A dancer who can stay on her leg in supported promenades and supported pirouettes is prized regardless of weight.

Tonight Doug Fullington and dancers from the Pacific Northwest Ballet School presented a lecture/demo about the upcoming 80-minute family matinee performances of "Le Corsaire" on Sunday, March 20 at 12:30 and 3:30pm and Saturday, March 26 at 3:30pm. Doug's sources were from a range of materials, from Stepanov notation to notebooks from a staging a little over a year after the Paris premiere, much like the notebooks used as a basis for PNB's "Giselle," to reviews to photos to film clips by the Russian dancer-filmmaker Shiryaev, who filmed the "Petite Corsaire" solo for Medora, to scores. He consulted with a 19th century dance expert who could interpret what the steps would have been in mid-19th-century France. Doug emphasized several times that this was a collaboration with the students, who, for example, helped to develop the mime gestures for their characters to convey the emotions and detailed story described in the French notebooks. The length, dictated by the family matinee format, is the only concession: the students face the same choreographic and mime challenges as dancers who danced for Mazillier and Petipa. The results is a coherent whole that carefully considers and respects the choreographic and music sources. Two casts for the leads were represented, with excerpts presented through the scene where Medora convinces Conrad to release the women, much to the consternation of the pirates. The students' commitment was palpable. These performances will be among the highlights of PNB's season. If you are in town, do not miss this! https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shiryaev+ballet

For NYCB dancer Kathryn Morgan posted a photo to Twitter:

I have a note in my calendar that this evening begins carbro's yahrzeit. I still can't believe she's not here with us, and I often wonder what she'd think of a performance I saw. I know how much she loved Ashley Bouder's dancing, and she'd be kvelling to know that there will be a Baby Bouder.

PNB is giving away five pairs of tickets to the 25 March (7:30pm) show. To enter the draw, go here: https://www.pnb.org/win/dc/ Deadline is 17 March at midnight Pacific Daylight Time. (Yes -- it will be PDT by then!)

I love Leta Biasucci's dancing, but I've noticed since last season that she has crossed the line on occasion to mugging. It's great to read recognition for James Moore's work, especially Prodigal Son, one of his best roles. I thought he was stellar in it when I saw him.

Looking at the "Agon" video with Diana Adams, it becomes clear that big extensions in the role, particularly the pdd, were not part of the original but developed over time. I prefer the precise geometry of Adams above all, but everyone has his or her own preferences.

Ballet means different things to different people. Respect that by not discussing the discussion here.

That is great news if Rachel Foster danced: she's been recovering from surgery for quite a while. While by no means an easy role, it not a pointe role and might be a transition to a full roster of roles.

SPECIAL EVENTS FRIDAY PREVIEW Friday, March 11, 6:00 pm The Phelps Center, 301 Mercer St., Seattle PNB’s popular Friday Previews are hour-long studio rehearsals hosted by Artistic Director Peter Boal and PNB artistic staff, featuring Company dancers rehearsing excerpts from upcoming ballets. Tickets are $12. (Note: These events usually sell out in advance.) Friday Previews are sponsored by U.S. Bank. BALLET PREVIEW — FREE Tuesday, March 15, 12:00 noon Microsoft Auditorium, Central Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Avenue, Seattle Join PNB for a FREE lunch-hour preview lecture at the Central Seattle Public Library. Audience Education Manager Doug Fullington will offer insights about DIRECTOR’S CHOICE, complete with video excerpts. FREE of charge. LECTURE SERIES & DRESS REHEARSAL Thursday, March 17 Lecture 6:00 pm, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall Dress Rehearsal 7:00 pm, McCaw Hall Join Artistic Director Peter Boal in conversation with Year of the Rabbit choreographer Justin Peck during the hour preceding the dress rehearsal, discussing the creative process involved in the development of a new ballet. Attend the lecture only or stay for the rehearsal. Tickets are $12 for the lecture, or $30 for the lecture and dress rehearsal. Tickets may be purchased through the PNB Box Office. PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURES Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall Join Audience Education Manager Doug Fullington for a 30-minute introduction to each performance, including discussions of choreography, music, history, design and the process of bringing ballet to the stage. One hour before performances. FREE for ticketholders. POST-PERFORMANCE Q&A Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall Skip the post-show traffic and enjoy a Q&A with Artistic Director Peter Boal and PNB dancers, immediately following each performance. FREE for ticketholders. YOUNG PATRONS CIRCLE NIGHT Friday, March 25 Join members of PNB’s Young Patrons Circle (YPC) in an exclusive lounge for complimentary wine and coffee before the show and at intermission. YPC is PNB’s social and educational group for ballet patrons ages 21 through 39. YPC members save up to 40% off their tickets. For more information, visit PNB.org and search for “YPC.”

From the Press Release: Director's Choice March 18 - 19 at 7:30 pm March 19 at 2:00 pm March 24 - 26 at 7:30 pm March 27 at 1:00 pm SEATTLE, WA – For the fourth program of its 44th season, Pacific Northwest Ballet’s artistic director Peter Boal selects three contemporary ballet works: PNB’s Paul Gibson wears several hats: an essential ballet master, scheduler, and teacher. In his spare time, he’s an impressive choreographer, too. Rush premiered in the Mercer Arts Arena in 2003 and through we don’t want to revisit the venue, the ballet deserves another look. Reworked for this program, Gibson’s electrifying Rush kicks off a trio of works featuring PNB premieres by two rising stars in the world of dance – Alejandro Cerrudo’s Little mortal jump and Justin Peck’s trailblazing Year of the Rabbit. Cerrudo is Resident Choreographer for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Peck is New York City Ballet’s resident choreographer. This trio of contemporary works offers an energetic mix of speed, sculpture, and fresh musical offerings. DIRECTOR’S CHOICE runs for seven performances only, March 18 through 27 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $30. For more information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org. The line-up for DIRECTOR’S CHOICE will include: Rush Music: Bohuslav Martinu (Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Tympani, H.271, 1938) Choreography: Paul Gibson Costume Design: Mark Zappone Lighting Design: Lisa Pinkham Running Time: 24 minutes Premiere: November 7, 2002 (Mercer Arts Arena); re-staged March 18, 2016 (McCaw Hall); Pacific Northwest Ballet Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) wrote his Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Tympani in troubled times, and the moods of anger and despair that pervade this piece reflect his concern for the future of his homeland. The work was finished on September 29, 1938, a day before Czechoslovakia was signed away to Nazi Germany as a result of the Munich Agreement. Choreographer Paul Gibson knew nothing of the concerto’s historical significance when he first heard a recording recommended to him by then PNB conductor Stewart Kershaw. Instead, he was swept away by the dark force and dense textures of the score, one that began almost immediately to inspire dance imagery. Rush was Gibson’s second ballet for PNB and his most ambitious offering to date. A work in three movements, it requires an ensemble of nine couples: a pair of principal dancers, four demi-soloists, and a corps de ballet of twelve. Plotless and free of any literal statements, this abstract neo-classical ballet explores a course that Martinu’s tense and turgid music has inspired. [Notes by Leland Windreich; edited by Doug Fullington, 2015.] Little mortal jump (PNB Premiere) Music: Beirut (“A Call to Arms” and “La Banlieue”), Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire (“Beware”), Alexandre Desplat (“See How They Fall—Dans Les Champs De Ble” and “A Self-made Hero—Theme de Heroes”), Philip Glass (“Glassworks/Analog: Orange Mountain Music Archive: Closing”), Max Richter (“The Haunted Ocean 5” and “November”), Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan (“Fawn”) Choreography: Alejandro Cerrudo Staging: Pablo Piantino Scenic Design: Alejandro Cerrudo Costume Design: Branimira Ivanova Lighting Design: Michael Korsch Running Time: 26 minutes Premiere: March 15, 2012; Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Little mortal jump, resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo’s tenth piece for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, is a bubbling blend of different styles and genres that distills into a fluid, cohesive whole. As a dance, it fuses the technicality of movement, the theatricality of the stage, and the dark humor inherent in relationships. As an experience, Cerrudo aims to transport his audience—to “make them forget what they did today, and what they will do tomorrow,” he says. From cubes that serve as frames and obstructions to diversely characterized couples to vastly contrasting music, Little mortal jump is layered with unexpected twists and turns. This work is a step in the evolution of Cerrudo’s choreographic style, of which he says, “I challenge myself to create more complex works and to do things that I haven’t done before.” [Notes courtesy of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.] Year of the Rabbit (PNB Premiere) Music: Sufjan Stevens (Enjoy Your Rabbit, 2002), orchestration by Michael P. Atkinson Choreography: Justin Peck Staging: Craig Hall and Janie Taylor Costume Design: Justin Peck Lighting Design: Brandon Stirling Baker Running Time: 30 minutes Premiere: October 5, 2012; New York City Ballet Justin Peck’s acclaimed Year of the Rabbit is a collaboration with American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and is set to Stevens’ Enjoy Your Rabbit, an electronica album and song cycle based on the Chinese zodiac. The ballet features a new orchestration of the score by Michael Atkinson that was created specifically for the ballet. Year of the Rabbit is an elaboration of Peck’s Tales of a Chinese Zodiac, which was created in 2010 for the New York Choreographic Institute. [Notes courtesy of New York City Ballet.]

In the past they posted casting for tours, but I don't see one for this tour. In 2013 it was Margaret Mullin and Rachel Foster. Last season (Fall 2015) Mullin and Biasucci were cast.

I saw the Mariinsky dance "Vertiginous" at City Center in the late 00's, and thought the stage was a great size for it, but I couldn't imagine how "Emergence" would fit and I know the dancers would eat up a larger stage in "Kisses."

In Cecilia Iliesiu's blog, she posted a bunch of photos, including one of Elle Macy in a boot (scroll to the bottom): http://blog.pnb.org/2016/02/nyc-tour-a-day-in-the-city/ There were two sweet photos of each Orza with their daughter Lola.