Helene

Here is the press release, sans program which is listed above: SEATTLE, WA – The curtain comes down on Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 41st season with its annual Season Encore Performance, a crowd-pleasing reprise of some of PNB’s greatest hits. A thrilling evening of inspired repertory selections and awe-inspiring performances (including Crystal Pite’s show-stopper, Emergence), the program will feature PNB’s entire Company, along with the mighty PNB Orchestra. The Season Encore Performance will be presented one night only, Sunday, June 8 at 6:30 pm at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer Street. Tickets may be purchased exclusively through the PNB Box Office (206.441.2424, online at PNB.org, or in person at 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center.) In addition to the previously-announced retirement of principal dancer Kaori Nakamura, (whose remarkable career at PNB will be celebrated with selections ranging from the Roméo et Juliette balcony pas de deux to The Sleeping Beauty’s Rose Adagio), the Season Encore Performance will be PNB’s chance to bid a fond farewell to departing corps de ballet members Andrew Bartee and Liora Neuville. Mr. Bartee joins Ballet BC this summer, and Ms. Liora has chosen to pursue a nursing degree. The Season Encore performance will also pay tribute to retiring executive director D. David Brown. “The annual season encore is not to be missed,” said PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal. “A one-night-only performance of highlights from the past season and other great hits, plus the opportunity to salute departing company members, make this one of the most memorable evenings of the year. Expect ovations, tears, great dancing and a few surprises as well. “Liora Neuville has always been a standout among our ranks of stellar dancers since she arrived in Seattle almost a decade ago,” said Mr. Boal. “As part of the corps de ballet in the Waltz of Diamonds or in the Snow scene from Nutcracker, one couldn’t take their eyes off of Liora. Her exquisite use of port de bras and musical phrasing are unparalleled. Her sweetness and technique are seen on proud display as Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty and in dozens of other featured roles throughout our repertory. A quiet presence with a long lasting impression, Liora will be missed.” Liora Neuville is from Paris, France. She trained on full scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School from 2005 to 2007. She also participated in summer courses at the Royal Ballet School and Universal Ballet Academy, as well as a workshop at the Opera National de Bordeaux. Ms. Neuville has won both the gold medal and the Special Prize of the Jury in the Concours International de Danse Classique de Grasse in France, and was featured in A Pas de Loup, a 2005 documentary film about the 33rd Prix de Laussanne competition. Ms. Neuville joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2007 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2008. “My decision to leave PNB, where I have spent so many wonderful years, has been bittersweet. But I am very excited to take on this new adventure,” said Ms. Neuville. “I am particularly grateful to Second Stage [PNB’s career-transition program] for helping me further my education while dancing.” “Andrew Bartee has been a rock star at PNB and throughout the Seattle dance scene with his uncanny ability to move with an almost non-human liquidity,” continued Mr. Boal. “Olivier Wevers, Val Caniparoli, Victor Quijada, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Twyla Tharp, Crystal Pite, Alejandro Cerrudo and Kate Wallich have all created on Andrew and marveled at his singular ability to bring choreography to life. Having watched Andrew grow up in our School and find his voice as an artist in our company, both as a choreographer and as a dancer, has been so rewarding for all of us. One suspects Andrew has only just begun.” Andrew Bartee is from Everett, Washington. He joined Pacific Northwest Ballet School in 2003. He was the first recipient of the Flemming Halby Exchange with the Royal Danish Ballet School and a 2007 Princess Grace Award recipient. Mr. Bartee joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2008 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2009. He originated leading roles in Alejandro Cerrudo’s Memory Glow, Marco Goecke’s Place a Chill, and Victor Quijada’s Mating Theory, and choreographed his ballet, arms that work, for the Company. “Having been a part of PNB for over ten years, I am excited to explore new opportunities in my career,” said Mr. Bartee. “Ballet BC offers the next step for me in my growth as a dancer and choreographer.”

A lot like the BBC TV productions that are being released by ICAClassics. I just got an email from amazon with exciting news! that Volume 1 is shipping on 29 April No news yet about V.2. It was smarter to order from VAI.

There are: 1. The opening with the supported developpes 2. The balances in attitude 3. The turns into supported pirouettes 4. The arabesques into penche-plie (unsupported) 5. Supported pirouettes and shoulder lift (main cavalier) 6. The curtsies to the courtiers 7. Accept rose to supported pirouette(s) 8. Supported developpes into supported pirouettes (main cavalier) 9. The turning developpes while grabbing each rose 10. Promenades in attitude and balances 11. Final supported pirouettes (main cavalier) There could be a lot of traffic onstage. I wonder how many costumes they have? Tuxedos would be nice, too. (Suzanne Farrell ended her career with "Sophisticated Lady" and that was a swoon-worthy group of men in tuxes.) I know it's not "La Sylphide," but it was spectacular at Thomas Lund's retirement performance when all of the men not in the cast donned kilts and were part of the crowd in his honor...

PNB has published the Encores program to its website; it is subject to change. Use this link for most up-to-date information: http://www.pnb.org/Season/13-14/Encore/ The line-up for the 2013-2014 Season Encore Performance includes: TAKE FIVE…More or Less Music: Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond Choreography: Susan Stroman Nine Sinatra Songs (excerpt: “That’s Life”) Music: Songs sung by Frank Sinatra Choreography: Twyla Tharp Roméo et Juliette (excerpt: Balcony pas de deux) Music: Sergei Prokofiev Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot Emergence Music: Owen Belton Choreography: Crystal Pite Swan Lake (excerpt: Act IV pas de deux) Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Kent Stowell The Sleeping Beauty (excerpt: Bluebird pas de deux) Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Ronald Hynd (after Petipa) The Sleeping Beauty (excerpt: Rose Adagio) Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreography: Ronald Hynd (after Petipa) Programming subject to change. Peter Boal kidded about delaying sending back the set and costumes for "Emergence," hoping for permission to perform it in this program, and there it is! I'm guessing Liora Neuville will dance Princess Florine and Andrew Bartee will be featured in "Emergence." Kaori Nakamura has been featured in everything else, and, hopefully, she will .

Thank you, Jane and Eva!

[Admin beanie back on] Please no speculation or statements about injuries and reasons for casting changes where there isn't official news from the mainstream press, curtain announcement, the dancer's own website/blog, dancer's Facebook "like" page or Twitter, slip in program, etc. [Admin beanie back off]

"Can you help me out here?" between AD's isn't that uncommon. PNB's Seth Orza flew to San Francisco Ballet to dance the Ludlow partner in "Emeralds" when they had a crunch, through Tomasson's and Boal's agreement. While it might have been recommended and brokered by someone who knows both companies, ultimately, there would have to have been a conversation between McKenzie and Martins.

I'm now doing a very accurate imitation of Margaret Hamilton after she was doused with water in "The Wizard of Oz." So jealous..... Also Tereshkina, Shklyarov, and Boylston a few days later (May 29)...

16-35. It depends on the dancer and the company. If a dancer is being fast-tracked, like Darci Kistler and Patricia McBride were, in a company like NYCB, where almost all of the dancers are home-grown -- ie, have spent four-seven years at SAB -- and the Company has a policy of promoting on promise as well as after it has been long earned, younger dancers are given great opportunities up front, and the Company has the money and promotes fairly regularly -- like NYCB for most of last four decades -- the dancer could spend a year or two as a corps member before being promoted to Soloist and another one-two years to become a Principal. If the Company has a policy of bringing in most of the Principals from the outside, like ABT, and doesn't promote all that regularly, or if the Company doesn't have the money -- hard to make the case for promotions when the corps is being cut -- it can take forever. There are also companies like POB where dancers compete for empty spots in the ranks before Etoile, and that depends on how many dancers leave a guaranteed job with a pension. There could be years before a spot opens, and then there's a lot of competition for the spot. (I don't know if there are any age restrictions or maximum number of times a dancer can compete for the spot, de jure or de facto.) For a long time at PNB, for example, Russell and Stowell would hire dancers as Soloists from other companies, and most would be promoted to Principal the next year, after they had spent a year proving themselves in Principal roles. There also wasn't much money, and the rank of Soloist was skewed in this way. It's rare for any dancer to make it up the ranks quickly, and almost all promotions in the last two decades, aside from the brought-in-as-soloist-with-the-expectation-of-making-Principal have been long overdue, based on the roles the dancers have been carrying. Imler, Postlewaite, and Porretta were exceptions to the rule.

Excellent news!

Jonathan Porretta in "State of Darkness":

An excerpt of "Memory Glow" with Leah Merchant and Andrew Bartee:

I somehow missed this during the run. I was privileged to see Imler's Hippolyta last weekend: Korbes danced Titania, here in the Act I PDD with Seth Orza:

With that in mind, tomorrow night, Saturday, 19 April is the last chance to see Kaori Nakamura in the Act II Pas de Deux and Liora Neuville as Butterfly (unless these ezxcerpts are scheduled for the season-ending Encore program.) Also, Matthew Renko is doing two Pucks in less than 24 hours, first tonight, and then at tomorrow's matinee. At the Q&A Peter Boal told us that Renko's mother had told him when he was a student at SABl that if he ever danced Puck, she would be there, and she surprised him after tonight's performance. Boal recalled that he had a long call with Renko's mom to convince her to let her then 15-year-old son to move to NYC to study at SAB, and he told her that Renko would be successful as a ballet dancer and would be able to earn a living from dancing. He also said that when Benjamin Griffiths, who danced Oberon tonight and dances Puck tomorrow night and was the Q&A guest tonight, came to SAB, he and Jock Soto looked at him and wondered what they could teach him. What made that even more remarkable was that Griffiths said that in Idaho where he first took ballet, there was one other boy for a short period, but otherwise, he was the only boy, and had to leave to learn the male steps/jumps, etc. He told us that he was always the shortest boy in class, and that he didn't learn to partner in class, but had to work hard to learn it when he was hired by Boston Ballet, where he danced until he learned that Boal was going to be AD of PNB. He said he went to NYC and took class at SAB and volunteered. Boal didn't know how many people he could bring, if any, and his appointment hadn't been announced yet. Three weeks later Boal was able to make Griffiths an offer, and he was one of three dancers, with Anton Pankevitch and Carla Korbes, that Boal hired for his first season. Boal lauded his partnering skills. When discussing partnerships, Boal said that Griffiths has the right personality as a partner, in addition to the skills: he's calm, he talks it out, and he tries to find a solution. [Considering the range of ballerinas of all heights he has partnered -- he's sometimes paired as if he's among the tallest men in the company -- that kind of problem-solving and flexibility is critical.] Griffiths was taking gymnastics and ballet at the same time, until there was a time conflict, and he had to choose. He said his strengths were floor and vault, and no so much the rest. Of long practices several times a week, 2 hours would be spent doing conditioning, and that wasn't his interest, although now he works out with weights and incorporates rehab exercises from when he's had injuries into his training routines. His parents and some cousins were in the audience to see him dance. After this run, he is going on vacation. [Hopefully it's long enough to be a honeymoon.] Griffiths is adding his voice to the to-date unanimous enthusiasm about next year's programming. He's looking forward to "Jewels," the Justin Peck premiere -- he said Peck was younger than he at the school, but he knows them, because the SAB network makes for cross-generational relationships among the dancers -- the Forsythe rep -- he mentioned wanted to revisit "in the middle" and having seen SFB do "Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude" -- and Concerto DSCH. He said that Peck and Ratmansky are innovative while being ballet, and it took every ounce of self-control for me to not yell out "Amen, Brother!" He also said that mothers-to-be Maria Chapman, Kylee Kitchens, and Rachel Foster were taking company class, and were looking good and enjoying their pregnancies. At least part of the Peck will be previewed at the Joyce, but the actual premiere will be in Seattle. Peck contacted Boal to say he respected PNB as a company and wanted to do a piece for PNB. On other topics, Boal mentioned that the school has 1000 kids, between Seattle and the Francia Russell Center on the East Side, and that there were two casts of bugs, including one boy. One person asked about what the company was doing to attract minority dancers. Boal cited the Dance Chance program, in which 75 local third-graders are chosen each year and are a representative sample of the community; some continue and feed into the school, and one so far has made it into the company. Boal said that Eric Hipolito's three siblings have gone through the program. [His brother Enrico was featured in last year's graduation program, and assuming he wants to dance when he graduates the PD program this year, some company is going to be very lucky to have him.] Considering how few local kids make it through the school and become professional dancers -- Anspach and Rollofson have, both from the East Side school -- that isn't such a bad percentage. Last night's Q&A guest was Price Suddarth, who made an auspicious debut as Oberon. His mother, father, maternal grandmother, and parents-in-law were at the performance and Q&A. Suddarth said he started to take dance because he was doing musical theater as a teenager, and the director of a production of "The King & I" told him he was terrible in the dance, and that he should take ballet. He said at first he said, I'll take dance but not ballet. Then he started to take ballet, but he said he wouldn't wear tights. Then he started to wear tights. He was 15 when he started in ballet, and he said that it was a great time for him to start, because he pushed himself, knowing what he wanted to accomplish, and was focused. Had he started earlier, he might have been burned out. After studying in Indiana, he studied at SAB for two years, and then in the Professional Division for one year. He was excited about next season, and speaking about "Don Quixote," he said it was great to be in it, no matter what role you're doing, like "feeding the homeless guy in front of the inn." When asked about his take on Oberon, he said he wanted to project nastiness and to be as horrible as possible. Boal was quick to add that this was contrary to his nature, and Suddarth said he liked trying to channel the bad guy. He sprained his ankle a couple of weeks ago, and as one of the last casts, didn't have that much rehearsal running it through with everyone. [Considering the patterns in the Scherzo that need Air Traffic controllers, it's amazing that everything was so smooth.] Peter Boal was asked how he chose Suddarth. Boal said he pegged Suddarth for it four years ago, and Suddarth performed it at a Discover Dance program. He said the role was made for a shorter dancer who could turn, and that he looks for a turner who dances musically, cleanly, and had quickness. Equally important is being a good actor, but he chooses first on the ability to do the Scherzo. About A Midsummer Night's Dream, Boal said that there is very quick turn-around time between the March and April rep. While they rehearsed a little before the last rep was over, most of the rehearsals were in the two-week period between shows. He said many people returned to roles they'd done before -- on the other hand, there 28 named-role debuts -- and that the ballet falls together naturally. The company is suffering from a number of injuries. Some dancers, like Korbes, could dance some roles but not others. (She could do Titania, but not Act II PDD.) Imler was injured and has done both of her roles second weekend. Karel Cruz, Steven Loch, and Carli Samuelson are also injured. (There were a couple of other mentions, but didn't jot them down quickly enough.) He joked that they haven't bothered to make announcements this time, and that one injury could cause nine changes. Boal mentioned doing a lot of one-on-one coaching for the Oberons, in small studios with a recording. Someone asked what dancers who left the company are doing. Between Boal and Suddarth they mentioned that Jeff Stanton is loving being a Ballet Master at OBT. Stacy Lowenberg visits with her son, Cody. Mara Vinson and Ariana Lallone take company class. Patricia Barker has been hiring a lot of PNB students for Grand Rapids Ballet. Kari Brunson has a business, Juicebox, on Capital Hill. This is not Q&A-related, but I have one request for the universe: I love all of Martin Packledinaz's designs for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" except one: the Act II tutu for Hippolyta would make Kate Moss look like Peter Wing Healy in "The Hard Nut." I don't think I've ever seen another ballet costume that made a dancer look a minimum of three times bigger than she is. On the other hand, the costumes in the lobby for the upcoming "Giselle" look simply stunning. The fabric palate for Giselle's friends is to die for, and the silhouettes are marvelous.

Former ABT soloist Ekaterina Shchelkanova was interviewed on the Balancing Pointe podcast, and she's doing inspirational work through her Open World Dance Foundation. Part One Part Two If she had just spoken about her career, her voice -- literally and figuratively -- would have been worth the listen; when she speaks about the Foundation, it's like a super bonus prize.

Also, as we learned when PNB did its first Giselle a few seasons ago, the modern, heavy orchestrations obscure the subtle and atmospheric nature of the score, much the way the Stokowski Bach arrangements change the character of the music, even if the notes stay the same.

There are quite beautiful parts of the Don Q score that we rarely hear, since the "excerpts" usually heard are for the Act III PDD, which I think is the most hackneyed part of the score.

[Admin beanie on] We follow copyright rules: only short excerpts may be posted for online publications. Our discussion forums are for our members to tell us their own impressions. If a critic's work is worth discussing on its own, then the discussion can be opened in the "Writings on Ballet" forum. Reviews from online publications are found in the Links forum, almost always within a day of publication (or two if published in Europe or Asia). [Admin beanie off]

He was one of those coaches whose influence was far-reaching in the lives of his students, who often credited him with instilling the work habits and discipline that made them successful later in life, regardless of whether they won medals or remained in skating. Rest in peace, Mr. Burrows. My condolences to Katherine (Healy) Burrows and his extended figure skating family.

I thought there were similar comments in the past about Part being cast for matinees.

Our long-term policy has been, official news only. Any speculation or insider information about injuries, etc. is not permitted.

Was an injury announced or listed in a slip in the program?

From Links comes the news of Lucinda Dunn's retirement. My very PNB first subscription performance featured the young Lucinda Dunn as a charming and exuberant Lise in "La Fille Mal Gardee." Not with PNB: 1994 was the last year they supported a visiting company by adding Australian Ballet as a subscription performance. How two decades have flown by. Tanya Pearson Coaching Academy is lucky to have her.

Have a safe and uneventful trip home, and we look forward to hearing about it when you have a chance.