Final Rep: Worlds to Come, June 2-3 and 8-11, with Streaming June 15-19

[Helene]

Pacific Northwest Ballet presents a final program of premieres for its 50th Anniversary Season, with ballets by Edwaard Liang, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Kiyon Ross.

 

Seven Performances: June 2 – 11, 2023

June 2 at 7:30 PM

June 3 at 2:00 and 7:30 PM

June 8 – 10 at 7:30 PM

June 11 at 1:00 PM 

Marion Oliver McCaw Hall

321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center

Seattle, Washington

Streaming Digitally June 15 – 19

SEATTLE, WA – Pacific Northwest Ballet brings down the curtain on its 50th Anniversary Season with a mixed-plate of new dance works, including world premieres from Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (Hong Kong Ballet’s Coco Chanel) and PNB Artistic Director Kiyon Ross (Sum Stravinsky), as well as the on-stage premiere of Edwaard Liang’s The Veil Between Worlds. WORLDS TO COME runs for seven performances, June 2 through 11 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at just $37. The program will also stream digitally from June 15 through 19. Tickets for the digital access are $35. For tickets and additional information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street, or online 24/7 at PNB.org.

“’Choreographers of our time’ would seem to be an overused and odd phrase. However, when I consider works by Edwaard Liang, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Kiyon Ross, the words seem to fit,” said PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal, in commenting on the WORLDS TO COME line-up. “Edwaard uses the language of dance to explore themes of connection and distance between people. Dance becomes a lens through which we contemplate the elimination of barriers, while discovering unexpected points of connection. Annabelle is a fearless storyteller addressing concepts and subjects with a devotion and perspective that guides us to newfound understanding. In her newest work for PNB, she uses the Scarab beetle and the Egyptian god Khepri, both associated with rebirth and renewal, as sources of inspiration. Kiyon is a true neo-classicist with a fresh approach to choreography and color that feels very much part of his generation. We see the infinite and exciting possibilities through dance. In WORLDS TO COME, each choreographer, in collaboration with composers and designers, creates work that reflects our time.”    

The WORLDS TO COME program line-up includes: 

Khepri [World Premiere]

Music: Karl Jenkins, Georgs Pelecis

Choreography: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Costume Design: Mark Zappone

Lighting Design: Reed Nakayama 

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's world premiere is generously underwritten by Glenn Kawasaki and The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, with additional support from Sally Maimoni, and an anonymous donor.

The Veil Between Worlds [Live Performance Premiere]

Music: Oliver Davis

Choreography: Edwaard Liang

Scenic and Costume Design: Mark Zappone

Lighting Design: Reed Nakayama

Premiere: June 10, 2021 (PNB Digital Season)

 The world premiere of Edwaard Liang’s The Veil Between Worlds was generously underwritten by Denise Littlefield Sobel, with additional support from Chap & Eve Alvord, T.R. Ko, Jodi Wong, and others. Oliver Davis’s “The Veil Between Worlds” was commissioned by Pacific Northwest Ballet.

In his first work for Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Veil Between Worlds, choreographer Edwaard Liang explores our common search for spiritual and physical connection. Accompanied by Oliver Davis’ alternately energetic and serene score, a cast of ten seeks each other within that place between perceived reality and fantasy. Liang invites the audience as well to suspend time and space, move beyond the barriers that separate us as individuals, and join with the dancers in their creative universe. 

…throes of increasing wonder [World Premiere]

Music: Cristina Spinei

Choreography: Kiyon Ross

Costume Design: Pauline Smith

Scenic Design: Norbert Herriges and Reed Nakayama

Lighting Design: Reed Nakayama

Kiyon Ross' world premiere is generously underwritten by Once Upon A Dance, with additional support from Sally Maimoni, Madelyn Lindsay, Mimi Richards, Connie Walsh, and Toni Hoover & Al Nettles. Music commissioned by the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.

 

SPECIAL EVENTS 

PNB CONVERSATIONS & DRESS REHEARSAL

Thursday, June 1, 5:30 pm

Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall

Join PNB Music Director/Principal Conductor Emil de Cou, in conversation with PNB Associate Artistic Director Kiyon Ross and composer Cristina Spinei. PNB Conversations offers in-depth interviews with artists involved in putting our repertory on stage. Attend the Conversations event only or stay for the dress rehearsal of WORLDS TO COME. Tickets ($30) may be purchased through the PNB Box Office.

BALLET TALK

Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall

Join dance historian 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.

MEET THE ARTIST

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. (There will be no Meet the Artist event following the 3/18 matinee.)

 

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets to PNB’s live and/or digital performances may be purchased through the PNB Box Office:

·         Phone - 206.441.2424

·         In Person - 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center

·         Online 24/7 - PNB.org

 

(Tickets are also available – subject to availability – 90 minutes prior to each performance at McCaw Hall. In-person ticket sales at the McCaw Hall Box Office are subject to day-of-show increases. Advance tickets through the PNB Box Office are strongly suggested for best prices and greatest availability.) 

Tickets for the live performances of WORLDS TO COME are $37 - $195. Groups of ten or more may enjoy discounts up to 20% off regular prices: Contact Group Sales Manager Julie Jamieson at 206.441.2416 or JulieJ@PNB.org for ticketing assistance. (Group discounts are not valid on lowest-priced tickets and may not be combined with other offers.)

Tickets for PNB’s digital-only presentation of WORLDS TO COME (June 15 – 19) are $35. 

For information about special ticket offers including group discounts, The Pointe, Pay-What-You-Can, rush tickets, Beer and Ballet night, rush tickets, and more, visit PNB.org/offers. 

Health & Safety: PNB will continue to follow the advice of our local health authorities in partnership with our labor groups to create our masking and vaccine policies. At this time, masks are strongly encouraged but not required as part of the PNB audience experience. For details and current information regarding PNB’s current health and safety policies, visit PNB.org/Health.

The show must go on: Pacific Northwest Ballet is committed to honoring its performance calendar. Performances will not be cancelled for smoke, storms, or Stanley Cups. In the unlikely event that the status of a performance does change, an announcement will be posted on PNB.org.