PNB Blog
Five Women in Choreography
Women are historically under-represented when it comes to choreographing ballets. In honor of Women's History Month, we are highlighting five women with unique choreographic points of view who have or will create works at PNB. Learn more about these women and their creative approaches in this blog post!
Take a Journey with Harold and That Big Purple Crayon
Crockett Johnson's 1955 book, Harold and the Purple Crayon, has proven timeless, distinguishing itself among children's favorites. With a simple plot, simple illustrations, and virtually only one character throughout-it draws out its reader's sense of adventure, creativity, and imagination. Robyn Mineko Williams, award-winning choreographer, former Hubbard Street Dance Chicago artist, and devoted mother, illuminates this similarity of dance and writing artforms by giving Harold a voice within the ballet world, knowing that if anyone could get it, kids could: "[Harold] requires imagination. It's so naturally built into Harold; it's just this kid and a crayon. It captures the beauty of kids-they don't have to be reminded to imagine; they just do."
A Day in the Life of a Professional Division Student: Rehearsing Harold and the Purple Crayon
PNB School's Professional Division Program is designed to help students transition from student to professional dancer by perfecting technique and developing artistry. Performing is an important part of the program, and many PD’s look forward to dancing alongside PNB’s Company dancers on the McCaw Hall Stage. LeeAnaca Moore is one such student, and she’s playing Harold in PNB's next show, Harold and the Purple Crayon! We sat down with LeeAnaca to chat about her daily routine while rehearsing Harold.
Announcing PNB’s 2024/25 Season
Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal has announced the line-up for PNB’s 52nd season, running from September 2024 through June 2025.
Mark Zappone on Designing the Costumes for Bacchus
Costume designer Mark Zappone has created many costumes over the years for PNB, including for Matthew Neenan’s Bacchus. Peek behind the scenes with us today on the PNB Blog as Mark explains how he created these delightful costumes!
About Costume Designer Mark Zappone: “Follow Your Curiosity”
Mark Zappone has designed over 30 costumes for PNB, and he’s worked on many more productions for choreographers like Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, and Yuri Possokhov. But Mark didn’t start his career designing costumes for dance. Mark became the accomplished ballet costume designer he is today by following his curiosity and saying “yes” to new opportunities.
Artistic Director’s Notebook: Bacchus, One Thousand Pieces
"We all have our harrowing stories from mid-March of 2020. Naturally, mine involves PNB. On the morning of March 12th Executive Director Ellen Walker informed me all theaters on Seattle Center campus had been asked to suspend any further activity. I told her I needed twelve more hours. That night we were scheduled to take the stage for the dress rehearsal of David Dawson’s Empire Noir and Alejandro Cerrudo’s One Thousand Pieces. Though we were able to run and film the dress rehearsal before retreating to our homes, PNB has never performed the complete One Thousand Pieces for a live audience. How grateful we are to finally bring this piece to the stage with you in the audience.
10 Ballet and Beverage Pairings!
Some say that the perfect beverage pairing can elevate a meal to a whole new level. What if the same was true of ballets? Today on the PNB Blog, we've paired ten ballets with various beverages, including custom cocktails and non-alcoholic options!
A Window into One Thousand Pieces’ Inspiration
PNB’s next performance features Alejandro Cerrudo’s One Thousand Pieces. This large-scale work is inspired by Marc Chagall’s America Windows. Today on the PNB Blog, we’ll dive deep into Chagall’s stained-glass masterpiece and how it influences One Thousand Pieces.