Artistic Director’s Notebook: Roméo et Juliette 2025

Dear Friends,

This is the fifth time PNB has presented Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette since our first performance in January of 2008. With tours and Season Encore performances that adds up to about fifty shows. I know what you’re thinking – have we ever done it without Noelani Pantastico? The answer is no. Even when Noe was a member of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo during our 40th anniversary season, Noe and Lucien Postlewaite returned as guest artists to perform their roles for one show only. The truth is we’ve never presented a run without Noe, Lucien, or James Yoichi Moore and all three have been working on our upcoming performances. Lucien is Romeo again, while Noe and James are teaching and coaching all casts.

This season we welcomed many former PNB dancers into the studio. Kiyon (Gaines) Ross, Jonathan Porretta, and Ezra Thomson are essential parts of the artistic staff. Colleen Neary, Carla Körbes, Kaori Nakamura, Emma Love Suddarth, Josh Grant, Noe, and James have coached and staged works throughout the season. Their wealth of knowledge has been illuminating and appreciated. Alongside Noe and James, Bruno Roque has been an invaluable part of the restaging process for Roméo et Juliette.

A group of three dancers are rehearsing in a studio. In the foreground, a woman wearing a dark t-shirt and black pants kneels on the floor with her hands clasped near her neck, gazing upwards with an expression of deep emotion. To her right, another dancer in a white leotard and flowing skirt also kneels, mirroring the gesture with her hands clasped at her chest. A third dancer, dressed in a light-colored top and dark pants, lies on the floor while reaching toward the kneeling dancer in white. The setting is a spacious dance studio with large mirrors, ballet barres, and white walls, allowing natural light to illuminate the space.

Noelani Pantastico in rehearsal with Angelica Generosa and Dylan Wald. Photo © Lindsay Thomas.

I’ve long admired Maillot’s telling of Shakespeare’s most famous love story. I saw it in New York when Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo first toured the production in the late 90’s. I was struck by the cinematic quality enhanced through Dominque Drillot’s lighting. I remember Bernice Coppieters as Juliet filling the stage with impulse, curiosity, and abandonment. Dancers seemed uninhibited and raw. It was more than the cast that impressed. Maillot entrusted audiences to see the streets of Verona, the Capulet’s ballroom, and Juliet’s bedchamber and balcony with nothing more than shifting white panels. He married his choreography to Prokofiev’s atmospheric score. He let costume designer Jérôme Kaplan drape bodies with rich fabrics, elegant shapes, and contrasting colors. These stunning costumes are all created by our treasured PNB costume shop staff.

I still marvel at the audacity and honesty of this production. I know some of you are returning to this familiar work while many will see it for the first time. I hope you share my awe and admiration. Know the cast members you see today stand on the shoulders of past casts who continue to shape choreography and individual interpretations. A torch is being passed, and it’s lighting the way to the streets Verona. I’ll see you there.

Kind Regards,