Artistic Director Peter Boal has announced the line-up for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 48th season, running from September, 2020 to June, 2021. Highlights include George Balanchine’s dazzling Jewels, and Crystal Pite’s remarkable Emergence; world premieres by Jessica Lang and Alejandro Cerrudo; the return of the popular story ballets Roméo et Juliette and Coppélia; and the PNB premieres of works by Penny Saunders, Twyla Tharp, and Christopher Wheeldon. The line-up concludes with a triple-bill of hits by Balanchine, Cerrudo, and Alexei Ratmansky. For family audiences, PNB is also presenting its all-matinee production of Snow White (performed by students of the Pacific Northwest Ballet School) and of course, just in time for holiday season, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®.
PNB is currently accepting season subscription renewals and new full-season subscription orders, and subscribers will have access to purchase additional tickets before they go on sale to the general public. For further information, contact the PNB Box Office by phone at 206.441.2424, online at PNB.org, or in person at 301 Mercer Street. Discounted subscription rates are available for senior citizens and students with ID. All programming and dates are subject to change. For more information, visit PNB.org.
2020-2021 SEASON LINE-UP (programming subject to change):
Rep 1 – George Balanchine’s JEWELS
September 25 – October 4, 2020
Opening the season with sparkling élan, George Balanchine’s Jewels is a perfect primer of the iconic choreographer’s style: Emeralds whispers of grace, courtesy, and French perfume; Rubies sizzles with American sass; and Diamonds conjures the magnificence of old St. Petersburg.
Music: Gabriel Fauré, Igor Stravinsky, and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Scenic and Costume Design: Jérôme Kaplan
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli
Premiere: April 13, 1967; New York City Ballet
PNB Premiere: June 1, 2006 (Rubies premiere: February 3, 1988); New production, September 22, 2017
Rep 2 – ALL PREMIERE
November 6 – 15, 2020
ALL PREMIERE celebrates a lineage of powerful female choreographers from Twyla Tharp, to Jessica Lang, to up-and-comer Penny Saunders, each with their own bright and arresting perspective.
So to Speak (PNB Premiere)
Music: Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Dustin O’Halloran, Armand Amar
Choreography: Penny Saunders
Staging: Nick Schultz
Scenic and Lighting Design: Andrew Lees
Costume Design: Dona Jefferis
Premiere: August 17, 2018; Royal New Zealand Ballet
Sweet Fields (PNB Premiere)
Music: William Billings, William Walker, Abraham Wood, and Jeremiah Ingalls
Choreography: Twyla Tharp
Staging: Stacy Caddell
Original Costume Design: Norma Kamali
Original Lighting Design: Jennifer TiptonPremiere: September 20, 1996; Tharp! (Berkeley, CA)
Stabat Mater (World Premiere)
Music: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Choreography and Scenic Design: Jessica Lang
Costume Design: Jillian Lewis
Lighting Design: Reed Nakayama
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
November 27 – December 27, 2020
(Not part of PNB’s subscription season. Tickets go on sale July 22.)
The Northwest’s favorite holiday tradition! PNB’s production of the iconic Balanchine ballet features sets and costumes designed by children’s author and illustrator Ian Falconer (Olivia the Pig).
Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Staging: Judith Fugate, with Peter Boal and Garielle Whittle
Scenic & Costume Design: Ian Falconer
Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls
Original Lev Ivanov Production Premiere: December 6, 1892, Imperial Ballet, St. Petersburg
Balanchine Production Premiere: February 2, 1954, New York City Ballet
PNB Premiere: November 27, 2015
Rep 3 – Roméo et Juliette
February 5 – 14, 2021
“One of the most beautiful ballets adapted from Shakespeare’s masterpiece that can be seen today.” (Scènes Magazine) Jean-Christophe Maillot infuses Shakespeare’s tragic tale of star-crossed lovers with intoxicating emotion and heart-rending beauty.
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Staging: Gaby Baars, Bernice Coppieters, Giovanna Lorenzoni
Scenic Design: Ernest Pignon-Ernest
Costume Design: Jérôme Kaplan
Lighting Design: Dominique Drillot
Premiere: December 23, 1996; Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
PNB Premiere: January 31, 2008
Rep 4 – DIRECTOR’S CHOICE
March 19 – 28, 2021
Contemporary masters explore life in our increasingly complicated world in this year’s DIRECTOR’S CHOICE line-up. Crystal Pite’s riveting audience favorite, Emergence, will share the stage with Bound To, Christopher Wheeldon’s essay on disconnectedness in these tech-obsessed times, and a world premiere by PNB resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo (One Thousand Pieces, Little mortal jump) completes the triple-bill.
Bound To (PNB Premiere)
Music: Keaton Henson
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Scenic and Costume Design: Jean-Marc Puissant
Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls
Premiere: April 20, 2018; San Francisco Ballet
World Premiere
Choreography: Alejandro Cerrudo
Emergence
Music: Owen Belton
Choreography: Crystal Pite
Staging: Hope Muir
Scenic Design: Jay Gower Taylor
Costume Design: Linda Chow
Lighting Design: Andrew Brodie
Premiere: March 4, 2009; National Ballet of Canada
PNB Premiere: November 8, 2013
Snow White
March 21 – 28, 2020 (Part of PNB’s “Family Matinees” series. Call the PNB Box Office for details.) Featuring students of Pacific Northwest Ballet School.
Who’s the fairest of them all? Snow White, of course! Danced by the students of Pacific Northwest Ballet School, this hour-long narrated matinee version of the treasured classic was designed for younger audience members.
Music: Jules Massenet
Concept and Choreography: Bruce Wells
Staging: Michele Curtis
Scenic Design and Properties: Edie Whitsett
Costume Design: Pacific Northwest Ballet Costume Shop
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli
Rep 5 – Coppélia
April 16 – 25, 2021
The return of the happiest ballet on earth! A hilarious and charming tale of mistaken identity, Coppélia promises bravura classical ballet, exquisite scenery and costumes, and pristine choreography for the PNB company plus 24 tiny dancers from the PNB School.
Music: Léo Delibes
Book: Charles Nuitter, after ETA Hoffman
Choreography: Alexandra Danilova and George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust (after Petipa)
Staging: Judith Fugate and Garielle Whittle
Scenic and Costume Design: Roberta Guidi di Bagno
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli
Original Production Premiere: May 25, 1870; Paris Opera Ballet
Petipa Production Premiere: November 25, 1884, Imperial Ballet (St. Petersburg)
Balanchine Production Premiere: July 17, 1974; New York City Ballet
PNB Premiere: June 3, 2010
REP 6 – MODERN HITS
June 4 – 13, 2021
This collection of works pays homage to ballet’s past while ushering the art form into the future. From the intensely theatrical Pictures at an Exhibition by Alexei Ratmansky, to the hypnotic flow of Alejandro Cerrudo’s Silent Ghost, to the fountainhead of contemporary classicism – George Balanchine’s Apollo.
Apollo
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Choreography: George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Staging: Peter Boal
Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli
Premiere: June 12, 1928; Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (Paris)
PNB Premiere: February 23, 1993; restaged April 13, 2012
Silent Ghost
Music: Dustin Hamman, King Creosote & Jon Hopkins, Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm
Choreography: Alejandro Cerrudo
Staging: Pablo Piantino
Costume Design: Branimira Ivanova
Lighting Design: Michael Korsch
Premiere: July 10, 2015; Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
PNB Premiere: November 2, 2018
Pictures at an Exhibition
Music: Modest Mussorgsky
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Staging: Wendy Whelan
Costume Design: Adeline André
Lighting Design: Mark Stanley
Projection Design; Wendall K. Harrington (after Wassily Kandinsky)
Premiere: October 2, 2014; New York City Ballet
PNB Premiere: June 2, 2017
SEASON ENCORE PERFORMANCE
Sunday, June 13, 2021
(Not part of PNB’s subscription season. Tickets to this event go on sale in 2021.)
NEXT STEP: Outside/In Choreographers’ Showcase
Friday, June 18, 2021
(Not part of PNB’s subscription season. Tickets to this event go on sale in 2021.)
40th Annual PNB School Performances
Saturday, June 19, 2021
(Not part of PNB’s subscription season. Tickets to this event go on sale in 2021.)
TICKET INFORMATION:
Money-saving full-season (six-show) subscriptions, starting at $190, are currently on sale. Subscriber benefits include free and easy ticket exchanges, discounts on additional single ticket purchases, pre-sale privileges for special performances, the opportunity to purchase pre-paid parking, 20% off PNB School Open dance classes for adults, discounts at local restaurants, and more. (Single tickets to the season line-up as well as George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® go on sale to the public on Monday, July 20.)
Subscriptions may be purchased through the PNB Box Office:
- Phone: 206.441.2424
- In Person: 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center
- Online: PNB.org (beginning March 1.)
For information on discount offers including The Pointe, TeenTix, and Group Sales, visit PNB.org. While there, sign up for PNB’s email newsletter, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Be among the first to learn about PNB news, casting and performance updates, ticket offers, and more.
PNB offers a variety of free or affordably-priced special events for most of its productions, including previews, conversations, lectures, and Q&As. For more information, visit PNB.org.
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s season is proudly sponsored by ArtsFund and Microsoft. Special thanks also to 4Culture, National Endowment for the Arts, The Shubert Foundation, City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and The Wallace Foundation.
