PNB dancers are partnering with some of Seattle’s best distilleries and favorite dessert shops to create all-new creations for Spring Spark! At this unique event, guests will sample these creations and vote on their favorite while enjoying hearty appetizers from Kristi Brown of That Brown Girl Cooks. Read on to learn more about Spring Spark, the event collaborators, and their delicious creations!
Composer Léo Delibes, perhaps best remembered for the ballet Coppélia, greatly impacted ballet music. Even iconic ballet composer Tchaikovsky admired his work. Today on the PNB blog, learn more about his life, his impact, and his ballet Coppélia!
The Seasons’ Canon, choreographed by Crystal Pite, pushes dancers (and PNB) to the limit. With a large cast of 52 dancers, the piece requires PNB School Professional Division students (PDs) to perform alongside the Company. Isaiah Salas is one of the PDs rehearsing The Seasons’ Canon alongside the company. program. While rehearsing The Seasons’ Canon, he’s learned, “Step up. Details matter. No pain, no gain.” Keep reading to learn about Isaiah’s daily routine as he prepares to perform this challenging piece.
"What goes into planning a season? There are more factors to list than my word count allows."
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."
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.
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!
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.
"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.
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!