Helene Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 PNB is bringing fourteen dancers and three works by Twyla Tharp to the Spoletto Festival next week, 6-8 July: "Opus 111," "Pas de deux from 'Waterbaby Bagatelles'," and "Nine Sinatra Songs." Here's the press release: So Long, Seattle – Buongiorno, Spoleto! Pacific Northwest Ballet flies to Italy to perform three evenings of ALL THARP at Spoleto 55: Festival dei Due Mondi July 6 – 8, 2012 – 9:15 pm Teatro Romano Piazza della Libertà Spoleto, Italy Special thanks to Raisbeck Engineering, Principal Sponsor of PNB’s performances at the Festival dei Due Mondi. SEATTLE, WA – Ciao, bella! While Seattleites are still being taunted by sporadic summer showers, fourteen dancers from Pacific Northwest Ballet are departing for sunny Spoleto to present three performances dedicated to acclaimed choreographer Twyla Tharp. As part of Spoleto 55: Festival dei Due Mondi, PNB’s ALL THARP performances will be presented nightly, July 6-8, at 9:15 pm in the historic Teatro Romano. Support for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s performances at the Festival dei Due Mondi comes from Principal Sponsor, Raisbeck Engineering. This engagement is also supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of concerts, opera, dance, drama, visual arts, and roundtable discussions on science. The "Two Worlds" in the name of the festival comes from Gian Carlo Menotti’s intention to have the worlds of American and European culture facing each other in his event; this concept would then be strengthened by the fact that it was held in conjunction with its "twin," the Spoleto Festival USA held annually in May/June in Charleston, South Carolina. The Spoleto 55: Festival dei Due Mondi runs June 29 – July 15. For more information, visit http://www.festivald...to.asp?lang=eng Raisbeck Engineering was founded in 1973 and continues its long-standing tradition of improving personal, business and corporate aircraft performance through the integration of advanced technology with currently flying airplanes. The line-up for PNB’s ALL THARP performances in Spoleto includes: Opus111 Music: Johannes Brahms (String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111, 1890) Choreography: Twyla Tharp Assistant to the Choreographer: Charlie Neshyba-Hodges Costume Design: Mark Zappone Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli Brahms composed this string quintet (unusually scored for two violins, two violas, and cello) while on a nature retreat in the summer of 1890. The music has a vivacious folk flavour, with the cello featured in the first movement and the viola, Brahms′ favorite instrument, carrying the theme in the second. Twyla Tharp has choreographed the quintet′s four movements for six couples. Pas de deux from Waterbaby Bagatelles Choreography: Twyla Tharp Staging: Shelley Washington Scenic and Costume Design: Santo Loquasto Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton Bagatelles are short and unpretentious musical compositions. Twyla Tharp′s array of ballet bagatelles, with its many references to all things aquatic, includes a wonderfully sinuous pas de deux danced to John Lurie′s Bella by Barlight. Nine Sinatra Songs Choreography: Twyla Tharp Staging: Shelley Washington Original Costume Design: Oscar de la Renta Original Scenic Design: Santo Loquasto Original Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton Choreographed in 1982, Twyla Tharp′s Nine Sinatra Songs has become a popular classic, presenting its view of 1950′s social dancing through the nostalgic but sharpened eyes of the 1980s. Oscar de la Renta′s dresses and tuxedos flash with a similar double edge of past and present eras. Choreographing to classic Sinatra—including "One for My Baby," "Strangers in the Night," and "My Way"—Tharp upscales traditional ballroom dancing with the active participation of the female dancer in styles ranging from tango to flamenco to exhibition disco. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 A taste of what it's like to be on tour by Benjamin Griffiths, from the PNB blog: http://blog.pnb.org/...to-spoleto.html Here's the group photo just outside the hotel, posted on PNB's Facebook page: That's doug peeking out of the corner of the back row. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 In the lead-up to tomorrow night's opening in Spoletta, Paul Gibson took this photo of (l-r) Lindsi Dec, Maria Chapman, and Rachel Foster sightseeing in Assisi: Link to comment
Helene Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 PNB just tweeted a picture of some of the dancers and staff (?) in front of the banner. Check out the banner -- very dramatic and great production values: https://twitter.com/...966825637330944 On the left are Korbes and Cruz in "Waterbaby Bagatelles" and on the right are Rachel Foster and Kiyon Gaines in "Opus 111." It's too bad PNB doesn't have that kind of budget and real estate to showcase Angela Sterling's photos. Seattle Opera had a huge ad on a Seattle Center building for The Ring that could be seen for at least a mile. Click the photo to get a sense of how big it is. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 News from Benjamin Griffiths' latest blog post Aran Bell was one of two guests taking class with the Company. Mark Morris begins rehearsals for his new work next week, 16 July, and Griffiths is in it. Photos from the PNB Facebook album: Link to comment
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