SandyMcKean

So then I find myself in a difficult position, as I DO love Chopin and still didn't "get" the 18 dance numbers...

Interesting. Well, I was just speculating, and when one speculates, it often ends up as little more than BS

I find the relationship btwn the music and the choreography/emotion in Dances so totally integrated, that I find it hard to imagine loving one without loving the other. But to each his own. There have certainly been plenty of pieces that others love that I just don't get.

Quijada's work is based on contact improvisation, a dance practice that puts an incredible emphasis on the egalitarian quality of partnerships.....

Thank you for this comment Sandi. Since I never heard the term "contact improvisation" before, I looked it up in Wikipedia. The definition it gave was:

"Contact improvisation (CI) is a dance technique in which points of physical contact provide the starting point for exploration through movement improvisation"

I've seen this "3 by Dove" program at PNB 3 times now. The first time I saw Quijada's "Suspension of Disbelief" I only had a mild understanding of it. Between that 1st and the 2nd viewing, I read your comment above. What a difference it made to see this work knowing this distinction of contact improvisation!! It was like turning a black and white into technicolor.....so thanks for that.

BTW, I absolutely loved this program (altho the Quijada piece was my least favorite). The Dove pieces may not be ballet in the strict sense; and the choreography may not contain the elements we normally look for in great choreography (altho perhaps it does), but regardless I thought the Dove works were some of the most powerful dramatic dance -- to make up a term -- that I have ever seen......especially the last piece "Serious Pleasures". I like all the Dove works in PNB's rep, but I find "Serious Pleasures" to be particularly moving and expressive. I am grateful that Peter Boal has rescued this work from oblivion. (Incidentally, I asked if Boal plans to do the work again in future seasons, he assured me he was planning on do just that; and interestingly, he mentioned that the piece has gotten better audience response than he had expected.)

There is much I could say about this remarkable program, but I will only take the time to mention one: Lucien Postlewaite as the Narrator in "Serious Pleasures" was perhaps the single most amazing display of what's possible in dance that I have ever seen. He not only creates character and motivation for his every move, and for the very reason of each moment, but as many dancers can do, he commands the stage.....but what few dancers can do, and what Lucien seems to do in everything he does, and particualrly in this role, is command the entire theater, and perhaps command the space within 6 blocks of the theater in every direction. He doesn't just dance, he IS.

If we're lucky, we'll get to see Pacitti perform this at 8 Encores.

I bought my tickets to this today. Your insightful speculation that PNB will likely feature Jordan made it a no brainer for us.

What happened?

It was shown last night as scheduled in the Seattle area (KCTS).

I was seated a little closer to the woman with the lengthy question on Friday night during the Q/A....

I could not hear her well; I missed much of what she said. So she did eventually ask a question then. Do you remember what her actual question was?

Well, it was unlikely to have been an injury since they danced up a storm the very next night. Illness perhaps? Hot date?

No, unfortunately I wasn't there on Friday night, since I had to travel out of town on Friday morning. I was grateful that, for this year at least, there are still Thursday night performances!

Interesting. This person at the Q&A on Friday kept using the word "fierce" over and over. This lady must have read your blog before coming ....too much of a coincidence otherwise. (Indeed, her entire comment was strange.....I've never heard anyone go on for so long making a comment. Her hard to hear soliloquy sounded like a critic of ballet companies doing modern.....the entire room got rather uncomfortable wondering if she would ever stop. She certainly never got to a question.)

I wonder why Carla Korbes and Batkhurel Bold were replaced by Seth and Sarah Orza that night...injury, maybe? Especially sad not to see Carla.

I'm not sure what you mean. The casting list shows Carla and Batkhurel dancing both nights. They definitely danced Friday night. They danced Red Angels and Serious Pleasures on Friday, and the cast list shows that they were scheduled to dance Serious Pleasures on opening night. Are you saying that they didn't dance at all on opening night?

pirouetta27, were you also there Friday night? I ask because a member of the audience at the Q&A after Friday's performance used the same word you did in your blog "fierce" in a long and somewhat hard to hear comment. Is that a coincidence?

[Later edit.....BTW, I liked your review very much. I feel you expressed in words what I thought I saw with my eyes.]

This "3 by Dove + 1" program was also one of the most powerful I've seen in years.

BRAVO!! PNB.

I saw this before and would love to see it again.

I assume this "dress rehearsal" is at the PNB Seattle studios. Do you know where one can go to purchase tickets? I've been all over the PNB website and can find no reference to this event.

As I've said here before.....I am a huge fan of Dances. I absolutely love it, and I could watch it 7 nights in a row if I could (altho I agree with the thought that an arresting performance of Dances needs dancers who can bring the "characters" in Dances to life). I can also understand not liking it, and especially being bored by it.

My thought is this wide range of reactions has mostly to do with what one is expecting when one walks in the door. I don't mean expecting in terms of what Dances itself is, or what it is about, but rather what one is expecting from an evening at the ballet (with its none too cheap cost). I often expect to be thrilled and moved by the power of the dance I am about to see (Patrick uses the word "drive" perhaps in this way). If that's what I want from Dances, I'm not going to get it. Dances is very different (and that difference is a large part of what I love about the piece). When going to see Dances I recommend expecting to see beauty, to see subtlety, to see variation (in the sense of exquite differences in what might otherwise appear on the surface as similarity). But most of all I recommend looking for acting, personality, and character in the various roles (the separate roles usually named by the color of the costume and the sex of the dancer...e.g., the "brown boy"). Robbins has not made these characters obvious; it is all very subtle; but these characters make a journey during the piece that is the heart (I think) of what keeps the piece from being boring. It is the characters that have someone like me wishing that Dances was even longer. This aspect is also what makes it imperative that one sees the "right" cast. It has also been remarked (and I strongly agree) that the "space" of remembrance, or remembering, is a theme that helps tie the work together, and gives us, the audience, a "handle" with which to pull ones self into the piece.

And finally, I believe one has to hear the exquite beauty in the Chopin just as pieces of music. I do find the music totally captivating, but I can easily imagine this piano music not appealing to many. If one is not in the space of loving the music (and the music too must be played well), then it may be impossble to truly love Dances. In some ways this aspect of Dances is a crap shoot. You either like the these piano pieces of Chopin or you don't. I do love this music (specifically, I love how the mood or emotion invoked by each segment so often changes -- often very rapidly -- for me it is these sudden shifts that provide the excitement in the music of Dances).

In everything from the perfectly sculpted cameo of his Tutor in "Swan Lake" to his undulating solo in "Lambarena" to his spirited "Puck" to his dynamic "Red Angels" to his perfect port de bras as Boy in Blue in "Dances at a Gathering" and in countless corps/demi/soloist/principal roles in between, Pacitti has been a compelling, complete dancer, one I will miss greatly.

I couldn't agree more Helene. I'll never forget his Tutor in "Swan Lake". I can't think of anyone who creates those sorts of characters as well as Jordan. He was not spectacular, nor did he rise near the top of the company, but Jordan always delivered without complaint and as a true professional (or so it seemed to me as an audience member). I was always glad to see that he was cast when ever I attended PNB performances. Plus I've always imagined him with a wonderful sense of humor. He simply could not do the Tutor, or the Bottom, and so many other roles he so often did, always making it entertaining, never treating the role as a throw-away, without having a wonderful sense of humor (or so I imagine in my mind).

Like most medium and large sized ballet companies, PNB does the occasional road trip to various cities around the country. There are the trips to Vail each of the last several years as was mentioned; there was the recent trip to NYC's Joyce Theater. But I think the original question was whether it is possible for PNB to perform its regularly scheduled programs (that is, every program it does in a season) in other northwest cities other than Seattle (as MCB does in Florida).

Are there other cities or venues other than Seattle where PNB might add regular performances and try to build a subscriber (and donor) base?

In my judgment: NO.

There are some population centers in western Washington that might make sense, but they make even more sense to simply drive from there (10-25 miles). There are a couple of populations centers on the east side of the state, but my guess is that audience members for anything beyond the Nutcracker would be few and far between over there. Portland would be the place most likely to match the kind of arrangement you have in the Miami area, but of course that would just compete with OBT. Strangely, perhaps the best bet would be Vancouver, BC, but perhaps there are legal issues doing that.

[Later edit.....I posted this before seeing sandik's post just above.]

I like to think of myself as an accidental onlooker who just happened to be strolling along a country lane one evening at dusk..........When all the dancers have left the stage, I go on my way, musing and wondering about what just occurred.

bart, what a great "place to stand" when watching Dances. This really speaks to me. Well done!

I'm with you vipa (altho I might hedge slightly by giving it a grade of: A-).

I'm very much looking forward to seeing it again on DVD. I have it on my Netflix queue altho there is no announced availability date. The film has an interesting quality of seeming slow paced, but really there was much I missed. Being able to see it again, stop, back it up, etc, etc will give me a chance to catch that which I missed. A narrator would have allowed me to catch some of that which I missed, but at what cost I wonder? The more I think about it the more I like Wiseman's style of simply being a witness (especailly after having heard Wiseman make his case on Charlie Rose). It's almost like visting the Paris Opera Ballet inside of my life instead of via the eyes of another.

I just got off the phone with the box office. I got some of the logistical information, but "the other end of the phone" person didn't know much about the reasons for anything (hopefully sandik you will get some info on that).

As I understood the phone call:

1. PNB is smashing series A (Thurs night - was opening night) and series B (the next day, Friday) subscribers together.

2. You have to re-subscribe without any guarantee of seats to "get on the list".

3. You must pay for your subscription when you renew.

4. Subscribers who will lose their seats will get a phone call to discuss what's available.

5. Priority in terms of "who gets the seats they want" is almost certainly going to be determined by how much you contribute to PBN beyond ticket costs (BTW, this is what PNB did when they moved into the re-built opera house -- basically money counted for everything, loyality almost nothing -- it was my understanding at the time of that move that they arranged subscribers 1st by how much money you gave; if there was a tie, for example you and I both gave exactly $50,000 , then and only then, was number of years as a subscriber taken into account. (My advise is to give $50,001 instead of $50,000 )

6. If you choose to not accept the offered new seats, your full payment will be refunded (a special policy just put in place to handle this unfortuate overall situation).

I appreciate having a place to browse, although Netflix is great to have around. Hang in there, Blockbuster.

I actually find it easier to "browse" at Netflix. I can spot a movie, click to read critic reviews, perhaps get interested in what other movies that director has done (another quick click), get a quick bio on someone. I'd call my browsing experience at Netflix "multi-dimensional".....but it's true I have to have some idea where to start, I can't just walk up and down the aisles (altho Netflix does have webpages where you can go to the equivalent of a genre section and literally browse titles).

I haven't seen The Hurt Locker yet, not playing anywhere near, so have to wait for video or maybe mom's Netflix account to get it.

I know you can get it at Netflix since I got it from Netflix (in Blu-ray) on 1/12/10. So it's out on DVD now. I presume it can be had at any large DVD rental store as well (of course, after Sunday, all copies are likely checked out ).

WOW

What's going to happen to the opening night subscribers?? Or if they move those folks to Friday, what will happen to the Friday subscribers (yikes, I'm one of those!)

I'm very glad to see Piano Dances come back.

I don't know what to make of this season. Frankly, on first glance, it looks "revenue" driven .

Helene, so you decoded that horrid drop down list facility again. You , angel, you.

Did anyone see the movies, foreign language or domestic?

I've seen: The Hurt Locker; Avatar; Inglorious Basterds. Frankly I liked them all, but I was especially impressed with The Hurt Locker. It was certainly my pick for Best Picture.

Other nominees I'd like to see, and plan to see (via DVD or theater) are: A Serious Man; Precious; Up; A Single Man; Up in the Air; Julie and Julia (have the DVD at home right now), probably The Blind Side (curious about a film that would have Sandra Bullock win a Best Actress), An Education (my wife saw it and didn't like it, but she and I don't always agree ); and The Last Station (since I consider Helen Mirren to be one of the greatest actresses of all time, and I can't imagine not seeing everything she as ever done; BTW, has Mirren ever played Blanche in Streetcar??).

Patrick, I can't imagine saying Inglorious was hideous. For me it was well worth it just for Christoph Waltz's performance if for nothing else. For me he created a character that is even more the ultimate villian than Hannibal Lecter (which is saying a lot I think; Mr Lecter would have been my first choice before I saw Waltz in Inglorious).

Sorry, but I agree with Ray's friend..."dancing, not choreography".

I guess I agree with that too.

However, I don't really think that distinction means much. We're talking the Academy Awards here after all, not some dance festival . Sure there had to be a choreographer, but to expect a serious attempt that such choeography would somehow illuminate the music is not realistic. That it be entertaining and have something to say (whatever) is pretty impressive to me. Frankly, I would have expected total garbage, and instead I think I got something worth watching.

As far as being "from the streets," though, I'm not so sure...I think those styles have been commodified for a while now...

I'll clarify too. I didn't mean freshly from the streets, but I really liked the "break dancing" (or whatever the proper term is) theme to the dancing -- be it brand new or old hat. (BTW, I am only taling about the big dance number near the end, I don't remember seeing any other dancing.....but then I didn't tune in until they started the animated feature awards.)

If you can find a way to see one of the last 3 performances of Seattle Opera's new production of Verdi's "Falstaff".....do it.

Yes, the music is sublime, the singers terrific (I would walk on hot coals to see Stephie Blythe any time any where), but IMO it is the stage direction by Peter Kazaras that makes this production a must see. Kazaras was a terrific tenor on the stage in his day; now he directs Seattle Opera's "Young Artists Program" (YAP) among other things. I've admired his inventive direction at YAP performances over the years, but I always thought of them as a clever way to present his operas with limited resources and space. Now having seen his Falstaff on the big stage, I understand his inventiveness is far more than that. I found his interpretation of this great work completely refreshing. It is so creative, so inventive, so genuine, so....I guess I'll say it....so Shakespearian!

It struck me that Kazaras has broken away from the tired cliches of "your standard opera production" in the dead opposite direction than folks like LePage have done with video etc. Kazaras's creativity is essentially traditional, but with a wit and a freshness that gives this production the same excitement that the avant guarde creativity can do. Frankly, I would not have thought that possible. How can something new and exciting come out of a traditional approach? Karazas does just that in this production.

If you're a bit jaded, I doubly encourage you to see this production. You'd have to be jaded indeed to not have this production win you over as something new, different, and significant.

I predict we will all hear more about Peter Kazaras the Director in the years to come.