Mopey
Music
C.P.E. Bach
(Cello Concerto in A minor, Wq. 172, third movement)
and The Cramps
(“Surfin’ Bird”)
Choreography
Marco Goecke
Staging
Sean Suozzi (2005)
James Yoichi Moore (2025)
Costume Coordination
Mark Zappone
Lighting Design
David Moodey
Duration
15 minutes
Cast
1 dancer
Premiere
March 16, 2004; Peter Boal and Company (New York)
PNB Premiere
November 3, 2005
PNB’s 2025 performances of Mopey are supported by a generous anonymous donor. The 2005 Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere of Mopey was made possible by Glenn Kawasaki.
Program Notes
Peter Boal met Marco Goecke in 2002 when the young German choreographer was invited to participate in New York City Ballet’s New York Choreographic Institute. Impressed with Goecke’s work for NYCB dancer Sean Suozzi, Boal commissioned a new work for Suozzi for performances by Peter Boal and Company at the Joyce Theater in 2004. Set to music by C.P.E. Bach and the 80’s rock band The Cramps, Mopey is an inwardly reflective yet volatile solo work—dark, moody and potentially unsettling. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Timescalled it “a tour de force” and “a touching piece of alienation,” while Laura Shapiro of New York Magazine praised Suozzi’s interpretation as “riveting in a portrait of madness so eloquent it looked like Shakespeare without words.” In addition to performances by Pacific Northwest Ballet, Mopey has been performed at the Jacob’s Pillow Festival, at the Biennale in Venice and at the 2004 Pina Bausch Festival in Wuppertal.
Notes by Doug Fullington.
Sean Suozzi
Stager
Sean Suozzi was born in Glen Cover, New York, and began his dance training at the age of seven. In February 2000, after three years attending the School of American Ballet, Mr. Suozzi was invited to join New York City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. Since joining NYCB, he was danced featured roles in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ and Prodigal Son; Peter Martins’ The Sleeping Beauty; and Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, The Four Seasons and Interplay. He originated roles in Boris Eifman’s Musagète, Eliot Feld’s Organon, Susan Stroman’s Double Feature, Richard Tanner’s Soirée and Christopher Wheeldon’s Carnival of the Animals and Shambards. Mr. Feld also created a solo, Proverb, for Mr. Suozzi as part of Feld’s ManDance Project in October and November of 2004. In March of 2004, Mr. Suozzi performed with Peter Boal and Company at the Joyce Theater, dancing in the world premieres of John Alleyne’s 2nd Prologue and Marco Goecke’s Mopey.
James Yoichi Moore
Stager
James Yoichi Moore is from San Francisco, California. He trained at San Francisco Ballet School and the School of American Ballet and joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in 2001. James joined PNB as a member of the corps de ballet in 2004 and retired as a principal in 2024. In 2023, James and his wife, Kristen opened Tutu School Renton, and Tutu School Tacoma, where they enjoy introducing the magic of ballet to the next generation of children in the Puget Sound area.
C.P.E. Bach
Composer
Carl Philipp Emanuel (C.P.E.) Bach (1714-1788) was the second surviving son of J.S. and Maria Barbara Bach, and a leading composer of the early Classical period. A precocious musician who remained successful, C.P.E. Bach was his father’s true successor and an important figure in his own right. Bach’s many compositions include religious music, symphonies, concerti (for flute, harpsichord, piano, harpsichord and piano, organ, oboe), organ sonatas, chamber music, and songs.
Photos
Gallery Photos © Angela Sterling