Helene

In my experience, the front of the Third Ring seems barely higher than the back of the Second Ring because of the set back, evén though those Rings are only five rows deep, and I would always choose the front of the Third over the back of the Second. I hope others will weigh in.

My one experience with the orchestra section in this theater is that I wished I had been no closer than the sixth or seventh row, around M.

Here's the press release: Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal Announces Promotion of Elizabeth Murphy at Opening Night of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™. Seattle, WA – Immediately prior to the overture for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal announced to the opening-night audience that this evening’s Sugar Plum Fairy, Elizabeth Murphy, had been promoted to principal dancer. “Elizabeth Murphy has been turning heads on our stage since she came to us from Ballet West four years ago,” said Mr. Boal. “Like a young Meryl Streep, she brings a refreshing combination of strength and vulnerability to every role she performs. Unforgettable in Nacho Duato's Rassemblement, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Before After, David Dawson's A Million Kisses to my Skin, and as Kitri in Alexei Ratmansky's Don Quixote, we know tonight's debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy will be no exception. Please join me in congratulating Elizabeth Murphy on her promotion to principal dancer.” Elizabeth Murphy is from Chelmsford, Massachusetts. She studied at Academy of Ballet Arts and the Rock School for Dance Education, and she attended summer courses on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and Chautauqua Summer Program. She was an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theater and also danced with Pennsylvania Ballet before joining Ballet West II in 2006 and Ballet West in 2007. Ms. Murphy joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2011 and was promoted to soloist in 2013. Ms. Murphy has danced leading roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, Apollo, Coppélia (Dawn) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia); Andrew Bartee’s arms that work; Peter Boal’s Giselle (Moyna, Bathilde); David Dawson’s A Million Kisses to My Skin; Ulysses Dove’s Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven; Nacho Duato’s Rassemblement; Ronald Hynd’s The Sleeping Beauty (Gold & Silver pas de trois); Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land; Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Before After; Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quixote (Kitri); Kent Stowell’s Nutcracker (Flora, Peacock); Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs; and Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia. She originated leading roles in Alejandro Cerrudo’s Memory Glow and Mark Morris’ Kammermusik No. 3. She has also danced featured roles in Balanchine’s Diamonds and Serenade and Kent Stowell’s Cinderella and Swan Lake. At Ballet West, Ms. Murphy danced leading and featured roles in Balanchine’s Agon, The Four Temperaments, Serenade, and Stars and Stripes; William Christiansen’s Nutcracker; Nicolo Fonte’s Bolero; Jiri Kylian’s Sinfonietta; Helen Pickett’s But Never Doubt I Love; and Adam Sklute’s Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. For the remainder of the run of The Nutcracker, Ms. Murphy is scheduled to appear in numerous roles in addition to Sugar Plum Fairy, including Arabian, Dewdrop, Spanish Lead, and Mrs. Stahlbaum. For casting information, visit PNB.org. The Nutcracker runs through December 28, 2015. Tickets are available through the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center, or online at PNB.org.

A curtain call photo with Ian Falconer, Judith Fugate, who did the staging, and Peter Boal: https://www.facebook.com/PNBallet/photos/np.1448731089566393.688777437/10153431104328952/?type=3&notif_t=notify_me_page Judith Fugate was such a lovely dancer, and as a young student at SAB was Marie.

Did Belita skate?

PNB posted to its Facebook page that Peter Boal announced that Elizabeth Murphy, who danced the Sugar Plum Fairy in tonight's Opening Night performance of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, has been promoted to Principal Dancer. Congratulations to her

PNB's newly promoted Principal Dancer Elizabeth Murphy in the Sugar Plum variation: https://www.facebook.com/PNBallet/videos/vb.21358443951/10153429941998952/

A photo of snow, where you can see the shards in the tutus: https://www.facebook.com/PNBallet/photos/np.1448559275158417.688777437/10153425942938952/?type=3&notif_t=notify_me_page I can't wait to see how these and the flower tutus move.

Setsuko Hara, known mostly for her collaboration with Yasujiro Ozu, especially "Tokyo Story," but also for her work with Akiro Kurosawa and Mikio Naruse, has died at age 95. Here are three article from "The Guardian": Obituary: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/25/setsuko-hara Tribute: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/25/tokyo-storys-setsuko-hara-dies-at-95?CMP=twt_gu An article published just before her 90th birthday: http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2010/jun/16/setsuko-hara-birthday-tokyo-story Rest in peace, Ms. Hara.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate! Here are some ballet greetings: Kansas City Ballet: https://www.facebook.com/kcballet/photos/a.133073977314.120441.15117877314/10153072493322315/?type=3&theater Miami City Ballet: https://www.facebook.com/miamicityballet/photos/a.78049846089.90769.10244171089/10153103333616090/?type=3&theater San Francisco Ballet: https://twitter.com/sfballet/status/669923635138682880 Houston Ballet: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156320544485584 Cincinnati Ballet: https://twitter.com/CincyBallet/status/669894886909431808 Joffrey Ballet: https://twitter.com/joffreyballet/status/669886334484553728 Tulsa Ballet: https://twitter.com/TulsaBallet/status/669889310611521537 Pacific Northwest Ballet: https://twitter.com/PNBallet/status/669927390693318656 and https://twitter.com/nycballet/status/669920212528046081

Here's the casting spreadsheet for Weeks 1-2: PNB Nutcracker 2015 Weeks 1-2.xlsx Pantastico's return is as Sugar Plum Fairy on Saturday, November 28 at 1pm, and she dances Dewdrop second weekend on Friday, December 4 at 7:30pm.

David Canary, who played Adam Chandler and his twin Stuart on "All My Children" died at age 77. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/all-my-children-actor-david-canary-dies-at-77/ I grew up on soap operas -- my sister and I used to tape it every other day and watch it each night -- and I remember him so well as an actor who kept his role(s) fresh for decades, something for which soap opera actors don't get enough respect. I also remember him from Bonanza, and thanks to Me-TV, can catch him occasionally on re-runs. For years I've read how his colleagues thought so highly of him. Rest in peace, Mr. Canary.

I can imagine several nightmare casting possibilities, but what would the good ones be?

Many thanks for the reminder and the link!

A blog post, "George Balachine's The Nutcracker by the Numbers" with some gorgeous photos, including the drop through which Marie and Fritz watch the adults trim the tree: http://blog.pnb.org/2015/11/george-balanchines-the-nutcracker-by-the-numbers/

I love the openness of her arms and shoulders.

Congratulations to them

What happy news -- congratulations to them!

A wonderful article in the Seattle Times about some of the artists behind the making of the new production, which opens Friday: http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/visual-arts/meet-the-artists-who-bring-nutcracker-magic-to-the-stage/ I didn't realize there would be projections during the overture: I can't wait to see them in a few weekends.

Sandi Kurtz reviewed the documentary for "Seattle Weekly": http://www.seattleweekly.com/film/961821-129/a-ballerinas-tale-misty-copeland-builds

Thank you for the detailed description, sasark!

From PNB's Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/-UTq23GeoF/

Today's Balancing Pointe podcast is an interview with Margaret Mullin. She has a remarkable story. http://balancing-pointe.com/134-maggie-mullin-soloist-pacific-northwest-ballet/

Every so often I see beautiful family photos of Paris Opera Ballet dancers. This morning, Marie-Agnes Gillot re-tweeted this link to two photos of her with her son Paul: https://twitter.com/Laurent_Chance/status/667639163810902017

Welcome to Ballet Alert!, tapestrybluecat!