Culture Fiend

Behind the Scenes of Don Quixote, the $3 Million Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballets presents the U.S. premiere of this updated classic.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 02, 2012 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Courtesy Dutch National Ballet.

What’s your story? Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky chants this like a mantra, asking it of each dancer during a recent Pacific Northwest Ballet rehearsal for Don Quixote. In this case, principal Seth Orza is being coached on the story he’s telling with his oversized red cape—a surprisingly unwieldy prop he bears in the role of Espada, a self-satisfied toreador. He whirls it up and over his head, once, twice, three times.

“And up! And up!” Ratmansky urges. Orza looks like he’s going through a CrossFit workout. “Use more of a swing, see how it flies… You should look like you’ve been doing this your whole life!” Clap, clap, clap, clap. Ratmansky signals Orza to stop, and the dancer doubles over, panting.

“I just whipped myself,” Orza says, laughing. They’ve been doing cape work for about 20 minutes, and though spirits are still high, this speaks to the ambition of Ratmansky, the former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet and the man behind this $3 million update of the classical Petipa and Gorsky ballet (originally created for the Dutch National Ballet). The devil’s in the details—a story to be told with every whirl of the cape and flutter of the fan.

So when PNB presents the U.S. premiere of Don Quixote this weekend, the attention isn’t solely on actor Tom Skerritt, who’ll play the tragicomic hero, or the five different principal couples, or the lavish sets and costumes by Jérôme Kaplan. It’s a package deal. This is one of the most opulent productions in PNB’s history, with 46 company members and 24 PNBS students performing, 280 costumes, 46 wigs and hairpieces, one smiling moon—and one very discerning choreographer who’s breathing new life into the classics.

Don Quixote
Feb 3–12, Pacific Northwest Ballet, McCaw Hall

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Tags: PNB, Dance, Seattle Center, McCaw Hall

The Week in Review(s)

Misfits and oddballs ruled our cultural calendar.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Sep 30, 2011 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

Photo courtesy Washington Ensemble Theatre.

Boys will be boys Tim Smith-Stewart as Emory in MilkMilk Lemonade.

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Photo courtesy Washington Ensemble Theatre.

Boys will be boys Tim Smith-Stewart as Emory in MilkMilk Lemonade.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

PNB principals Karel Cruz and Maria Chapman dance Christopher Wheeldon’s “After the Rain pas de deux” in 2011.

Pick of the Week Book-it Repertory Theatre should take more chances, like it did adapting Olympia novelist Jim Lynch’s Border Songs. While there’s an inherently juicy narrative about guards patrolling the Washington–British Columbia border for drug smugglers, illegal immigrants, and terrorists, that’s not what this story is about, and certainly not why we care. We’re in it for Brandon Vanderkool. Played by Patrick Allcorn, Brandon is a 6’8, dyslexic, bird-loving Border Patrol agent who’s as quirky as a Miranda July film. You’re expected to write off Brandon as a nitwit—but there’s something special about this gentle giant. Are all border guards this misunderstood? Closes Oct 9.

Rolling in the hay’ With a few more dance routines, Washington Ensemble Theatre’s MilkMilk Lemonade could be It Gets Better: The Musical. Inside the barn on a lonely chicken farm, two fifth grade boys play house. Like adults. They don’t really know what sex or sexuality is yet—life’s truths are simpler at this age. Like: Effeminate little Emory will get beat up if he sings show tunes at school. Pyromaniac bully Elliot can’t tell anyone he likes Emory. And someday Emory’s best friend Linda—a talking chicken—might end up on his dinner plate. Despite learning early on that life is f’n hard, this lovable cast of misfits, led by adorable grown-up Tim Smith-Stewart as Emory, empowers us to hold our heads high during a choreographed ribbon dance. Closes Oct 10.

Ballet’s “It Boy” Now I know why Christopher Wheeldon is one of the most in-demand choreographers in modern ballet. On opening night of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s All Wheeldon program, I left enamored by two completely different performances: the spare and tender “After the Rain pas de deux” by Maria Chapman and Karel Cruz, and a gleeful one-act comedy ballet that goes behind the scenes of a dance rehearsal. Wheeldon understands both nuance and parody, creating kooky prima ballerinas (Laura Gilbreath) and lasting images. I likely won’t forget Chapman, bent over backwards and frozen in place, carried across the stage like a prop by a bare-chested Cruz. Closes Oct 2.

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Tags: Review, Theater, PNB, Dance, WET, Book-It Rep

TONIGHT: Meet Ballet’s “It Boy” Chris Wheeldon at PNB

The choreographer is in house for a special preview of his new work.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Sep 21, 2011 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Chris Wheeldon

Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon has been called “the boy wonder of classical ballet,” “one of the hottest classical choreographers of his generation,” “one of the world’s most in-demand ballet choreographers”… You get the idea. And he’s only 38.

He receives raves for his wit and imagination, taking works like the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel and using the corps de ballet to recreate the actual carousel. The native Brit has crafted works for everyone from the Bolshoi to New York City Ballet, and starting September 23, the Pacific Northwest Ballet will showcase four short pieces from his repertoire. (By the way, this All Wheeldon program is one of our top Fall Arts Picks.)

Even better: Wheeldon is in Seattle today for a special preview of some of his latest work and a Q&A with the audience at McCaw Hall. Tickets are still available at pnb.org (I just checked) and are $10 for PNB subscribers, $20 general admission. This is a rare opportunity to chat with Wheeldon; he won’t be in town for very long, so if you’re a dance fan, consider skipping whatever TV show you planned to watch tonight for this event. It’s from 6:30 to 8.

All Wheeldon is at PNB Sept 23–Oct 2.

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Tags: PNB, Dance, Seattle Ballet, Fall Arts Preview 2011

PNB’s Season Encore

Last chance to toast eight dancers departing from Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Posted by: Annie Rose Favreau on Jun 08, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Ariana Lallone’s will dance in Lambarena for her final performance with PNB.
Photo courtesy Ben Kerns.

Hands down, my favorite description of the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s annual Season Encore Performance —which reprises some of the company’s most knockout acts—comes from Seattle Dances’ Rosie Gaynor: “Think of it as dim sum for dance: a bit of this, a bit of that, super tasty, not too pricey.” There’s something for everyone.

Despite the Encore name, this year’s one-night-only event features just a single piece from the past season, Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort (You know, the six-guys-and-their-six-swords piece. Oh, the blatant metaphors.)

Instead of including repeats, the lineup appears to have been crafted to celebrate the eight dancers who are leaving the company. Just don’t say they’re retiring, PNB’s Gary Tucker warned: “The dancers are not moving on to the old folks’ home!” Chalnessa Eames, Barry Kerollis, Ariana Lallone, Stanko Milov, Josh Spell, Jeffrey Stanton, Stacy Lowenberg, and Olivier Wevers will all continue on to dance, teach, or choreograph elsewhere.

The evening will include several departing dancers performing signature roles in numbers like Twyla Tharpe’s intoxicating (or should it be intoxicated?) “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road),” excerpted from Nine Sinatra Songs; and Lambarena, a rich collision of ballet and Bach with traditional African dance and music. Crowd-pleasers like Rubies, Carmen, and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue will also make an appearance alongside new choreography like Rushed Goodbye by Stacy Lowenberg, and the first pas de deux from Olivier Wever’s Monster.

PNB’s Season Encore Performance shows June 12.

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Tags: PNB, Dance, Preview, Seattle Ballet

A World Premiere of Giselle at PNB

Dancing, death, and drama at the ballet.

Posted by: Annie Rose Favreau on Jun 01, 2011 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

Amanda Clark is one fly corpse bride.

Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

Here’s what the ballet newbie should know about Giselle, Pacific Northwest Ballet’s next production: It’s the story of a peasant girl who, after dying of a broken heart, struggles to save her lover from hordes of creepy Wilis—spectral would-be brides who force men to dance until they die.

In other words: drama, drama, drama.

Even if you’re a Giselle aficionado, PNB is premiering a version you’ve never seen before. As he points out in his program note, artistic director Peter Boal was initially stumped by how to incorporate Giselle into PNB’s repertoire. “I looked at impressive contemporary productions and time-honored traditional ones, never finding one that was right for us. I wanted to do more than recreate another company’s production and I didn’t want to choreograph one myself.”

The solution? While most modern productions take their cue from a 19th-century Russian adaptation by Marius Petipa, PNB chose a different route. Teaming up with dance historians Doug Fullington and Marian Smith, Boal drew on original French and Russian sources to reconstruct the ballet’s earliest Parisian choreography.

This month marks the 170th birthday of Giselle. If the preview below is any indication, she’s still looking pretty good for an old lady.

PNB’s Giselle premieres June 3.

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Tags: PNB, Dance, Preview

Olivier Wevers Leaves PNB

The longtime principal dancer will focus on his new troupe Whim W’Him.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Mar 29, 2011 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Olivier Wevers leaves PNB on April 17.

After more than a decade as a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Olivier Wevers will pack up his tights on April 17, turning his full attention to his new dance company Whim W’Him.

From a press release: In making the announcement to close friends and supporters Monday, Wevers said: “I have wonderful news to share with you about Whim W’Him, but first I want to tell you about a major transition in my life. I have spent the last 22 years as a professional ballet dancer. I have had a dream career and have relished every opportunity to grow and learn as an artist. My time as a dancer has been inspiring, challenging, at times painful, but above all, filled with passion. I’ve always known that this career has a very short time span, which is why I was so excited to discover a few years ago that there is something I am possibly even more passionate about than being a dancer—my choreography. These last few years I have grown and developed as a choreographer as well as becoming the Artist [sic] Director of my own company. With this promising new direction ahead, I am announcing that this month will be my last with PNB. While this may come as a surprise to some, I feel blessed that I have Whim W’Him as this amazing vehicle for my creative voice, and am happy to retire from being a dancer with confidence, dignity and grace. Many of you have been supporters and fans of my dancing for years and I ask that you now support me as I move forward as a choreographer with Whim W’Him.”

Since joining the PNB in 1997, Wevers has been one of their most reliable “princes”—though of late, he’s played more character roles (he was a great hag/Wicked Fairy in Sleeping Beauty). Meanwhile, Whim W’Him has really taken off since it debuted in 2009; they recently signed on as Intiman Theatre’s resident dance company, and Wevers’s Monster was selected as a finalist in the Copenhagen Choreography Competition on April 24.

Wevers, who turns 40 on June 25, will celebrate with a new Whim W’Him performance at Intiman that weekend (June 24 & 25). ReSet will feature a reworked 3Seasons, the return of Monster, and a new work by Wevers; tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com.

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Tags: PNB, Dance

PNB’s Contemporary 4 One of Its Strongest Shows Yet

The corps de ballet seems as comfortable dancing Mark Morris as it does Balanchine.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Mar 22, 2011 at 12:00PM 0 Comments

Former Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Louise Nadeau dances Paul Gibson’s The Piano Dance in 2005.
Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

I had my first ballet “moment” this weekend during PNB’s Contemporary 4 program. It was in the middle of the fourth piece, Concerto DSCH by former Bolshoi Ballet director Alexei Ratmansky, a wunderkind choreographer with an affinity for Shostakovich scores and modern stagings with classical underpinnings. (Think Jerome Robbins’ West Side Story.) PNB corps dancers in burnt orange and maroon give way to the pastel pas de deux of principals Karel Cruz and Carla Korbes—a pair separated by nearly a foot in height, but still so perfectly matched. Equals in grace, they seemed to float an inch above the stage. As the central couple in this piece, we’d already watched them flirt and frolic, but this middle movement was more reflective. More mature. And as they walked off hand in hand, I started to cry. Just a little, but they were definitely tears.

At first I blamed the glass of wine I had during intermission, but then I had to give credit to the human touches in Ratmansky’s choreography. And not just his piece: This selection of four contemporary dances was the strongest overall PNB performance I’ve seen since I started attending every show two years ago. Mark Morris’s Pacific opened the evening with bare-chested men in billowing pants, dancing against an oceanic blue background to a Lou Harrison score for violin, cello, and piano—the sounds of the South Pacific. Paul Gibson’s The Piano Dance was everything modern ballet should be: a series of short stories—solos, duets, and pas de trois set to 10 piano works—that are elegant and sexy in turns, and showcase the strength of the modern ballerina who can hold a pose like the “spiderwoman” maneuver pictured above.

The weakest link in Contemporary 4 was its riskiest composition. Marco Goecke’s world premiere Place a Chill featured the same precise, frenetic movement as last year’s Mopey —dancers seemingly possessed, arms flailing in a high-speed exorcism. But the impact of these synchronized movements wears off and the piece goes on for about 10 minutes too long—until Goecke drags you back in with a…set-change surprise I don’t want to spoil.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say PNB was a modern dance troupe—they seem as comfortable in a Mark Morris work as they do dancing Balanchine. You don’t want to skip this performance.

Contemporary 4 runs through March 27 at McCaw Hall.

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Tags: Review, PNB, Contemporary Dance

Get Cheaper Ballet Tickets All Week

No service fees on single tickets bought for PNB’s 2010-2011 season.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jul 19, 2010 at 12:00PM 1 Comments

PNB principals Kaori Nakamura (right) and Lucien Postlewaite dance Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort, part of Director’s Choice. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

If you’re planning to buy tickets to any of the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2010-2011 performances —including an all-Twyla Tharp program, Cinderella, a world premiere staging of Giselle, and the always popular Nutcracker —consider booking this week. PNB’s eliminating service fees on tickets purchased from now through July 25. That’s a savings of about $10, which we’ll take any day. That’s lunch.

You can buy tickets online at pnb.org, at the box office at 301 Mercer Street, or by calling 206-441-2424.

To find out more about PNB’s upcoming season, which opens with Director’s Choice on September 24, click here.

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Tags: PNB, Dance

Recommended: Coppélia

Pacific Northwest Ballet gives a fresh coat of paint to Balanchine’s comic story ballet.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jun 08, 2010 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

A lovers’ pas de deux: Swanilda (Nakamura) and Franz (Porretta) in PNB’s production of Coppélia. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

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A lovers’ pas de deux: Swanilda (Nakamura) and Franz (Porretta) in PNB’s production of Coppélia. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

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Nakamura as Swanilda playing the doll Coppélia, and artistic director Peter Boal as Dr. Coppelius in PNB’s production of Coppélia. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

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Franz (Porretta) frolics through the town square in PNB’s production of Coppélia. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

Balanchine’s Coppélia is the kind of ballet that will convert the unbelievers. It charmed Pacific Northwest Ballet’s artistic director Peter Boal at the ripe old age of 9, prompting him to declare “That’s what I want to do” before he was old enough to cross the street on his own. Then Boal made it his mission to bring the classic comedy to Seattle, to re-imagine the story of two young lovers, an old toymaker and suspiciously lifelike doll with all new costumes and sets by Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno. And in doing so, he’s recruited at least one new fan of ballet.

Di Bagno’s vision of the 19th-century Eastern European city—all pastel pinks, blues, and greens, and delicately painted homes fit for a well-to-do Mother Goose—would be the star of the show if it didn’t have to compete with principal Kaori “Can Do No Wrong” Nakamura. Dancing the role of Swanhilda on opening night, she moved weightlessly across the stage, a delicate complement in pas de deux with the spry Jonathan Porretta as her suitor Franz. Nakamura, now a 13-year veteran for PNB, can play the flirtatious adolescent, the clown, the imp sneaking around a toymaker’s shop, and dance the role of the doll Coppélia herself, adding grace and charm to a series of steps that the less talented would reduce to the Robot Dance. (I kid, I kid, Balanchine fans. The original choreography George Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova developed for the New York City Ballet in 1974 is staged impressively here.)

In rotation for the lead roles are principal dancer Mara Vinson as Swanhilda, soloist James Moore as Franz, and principal dancer Jeffrey Stanton as Dr. Coppelius; principal dancer Carla Körbes as Swanhilda, soloist Seth Orza as Franz, and principal dancer Olivier Wevers as Dr. Coppelius; soloist Lesley Rausch as Swanhilda and corps de ballet dancer Jerome Tisserand as Franz; and soloists Rachel Foster as Swanhilda and Benjamin Griffiths as Franz. But no matter the cast, Coppélia can entertain even the stingiest skeptics.

PNB’s production of Coppélia runs Thursday through Sunday at McCaw Hall.

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Tags: Review, PNB, Dance, Recommended

Review: 3 by Dove

PNB shows its wild side in this steamy performance of the late choreographer’s work.

Posted by: Chris Werner on Mar 24, 2010 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Holy muscles: PNB principals Ariana Lallone and Olivier Wevers dance Red Angels. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s decision to showcase three pieces by the late Ulysses Dove—one of last century’s most innovative contemporary choreographers—should be motivation enough to get you to McCaw Hall. If not, here are three more reasons to see 3 by Dove before it closes on March 28:

1. Serious Pleasures. The PNB premiere of Dove’s 1992 work is billed as a steamy romp through the “merciless battle between spirit and flesh.” A predatory game of tag takes place onstage, as four female and five male dancers move wildly through sexually charged solos and pas de deux. Each courtship is riveting, pulsating with passion and tension. Though the piece is discomfiting at times (this show is not for kids), it never fails to provoke a reaction.

2. The score from Red Angels. The evening’s only live music comes courtesy of Mary Rowell, whose rollicking electric violin solo carries four dancers—Ariana Lallone, Olivier Wevers, Lesley Rausch, and Lucien Postlewaite on opening night—through a long-limbed show of athleticism. The frantic score sends them lunging across the stage, twisting, leaping, seeming to hang in midair. It’s as maddening as it is thrilling—and it starts with a tempo set by Rowell, who turns out one of the program’s best performances.

3. Dove signals more good things to come. Since artistic director Peter Boal joined the PNB in 2005, the company has increasingly broken away from its classical mold; and 3 by Dove proves the company is fully capable of performing contemporary repertoire with the same aplomb as the traditional ballets. The program is daring, and at times downright hot. Moreover, it challenges the audience with less-than-fairy-tale topics—sex, AIDS, religion. Given the audience’s enthusiastic ovation, it seems Seattle welcomes the fresh approach.

PNB’s 3 by Dove is in its final weekend. Tickets are $25-$160, Thursday through Sunday, at McCaw Hall.

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Tags: Review, Met Picks, PNB, Dance, Weekend, 3 by Dove

Princess for a Day…or Weekend

Contest: Enter by Feb 12 to win tickets to PNB’s The Sleeping Beauty and a weekend of pampering.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Feb 05, 2010 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Kaori Nakamura’s Princess Aurora falls under a spell in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

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Kaori Nakamura’s Princess Aurora falls under a spell in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

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PNB’s The Sleeping Beauty. Photo courtesy Angela Sterling.

PNB’s The Sleeping Beauty is back at McCaw Hall for a little over a week (including Valentine’s Day, gentlemen!). And considering what we saw on opening night, athletes and artists alike will appreciate this show. Star principal Kaori Nakamura made the role of Princess Aurora—one of the most technically demanding in ballet—look easy. She performed the equivalent of repeated quadruple Lutzes in figure skating, from the famed Rose Adagio in Act I to entire scenes where she never seems to leave en pointe. It requires three or four pairs of pointe shoes per performance, and three intermissions so the dancers can rest. (This is a long one, folks—three hours.) But Nakamura showed no strain—just grace. “I bet she even looks good sneezing,” my partner said at the end. “I bet she drinks water better than we do.” Probably. There are five rotating lead casts; last night’s featured Nakamura as the Princess, Lucien Postlewaite as the Prince, Carla Korbes as the Lilac Fairy, and Olivier Wevers (founder of Whim W’Him) in drag as the evil fairy Carabosse. Tonight’s has principal Mara Vinson (last night’s Bluebird) and soloist Seth Orza as the young lovers.

The fairytale ballet is one of the most popular in PNB’s repertoire, so ticket deals are always welcome. To start:

Anyone 25 and under can score one ticket for $15 and two for $25 to the evening performances on February 4, 5, and 12.

If you’re out shopping at Pacific Place, bring $100 in same-day receipts to the concierge desk on Level 1 to get a free ticket (one per person) and a 20 percent discount on additional tickets.

Or take your chances with the “Dream Weekend” contest, now through February 12, where you can win:

Two tickets to The Sleeping Beauty (February 13)
Backstage tour of The Sleeping Beauty (February 13)
A $100 Pacific Place gift card
Two nights’ stay at the Hyatt Olive 8 downtown (weekend of February 13)
Spa package for two at Elaia Spa at the Hyatt Olive 8 (weekend of February 13)
Haircut and color at Seven – the salon in Pacific Place

I’m not big into writing up contests, but that’s not a bad deal. Enter to win at any of these Pacific Place stores: a pea in the pod, Aveda, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Brookstone, Chico’s, Gymboree,Helly Hansen, Il Fornaio Ristorante & Risotteria, L’Occitane, lululemon athletica, MaxMara, Mexico Cantina y Veracruz Cooking, Papyrus, Pike Place Chowder, Red Mango, Seahawks & Sounders FC Pro Shop, Sixth Avenue Wine Seller, Something Silver, The Body Shop, Top Ten Toy, Twist, United Colors of Benetton, White House | Black Market. No purchase necessary and all that jazz.

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Tags: PNB, Sleeping Beauty, Dance