"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..."
When Crystal Pite suggested [Emergence] for PNB, she explained that her inspiration came from a book on ants, brains, cities, and software... On opening night in 2013, I wondered how audiences would react as a hot flood light interrupted endless silhouettes of writhing dancers, while the descending curtain signaled a statement made. After seconds of stunned silence, a deafening ovation filled the house. In that moment, we were united in wanting more of Crystal Pite’s singular brilliance. Great art has a way of unifying us and allowing us to see humanity in its most expressive, poignant, and powerful ways.
"It is with great excitement that PNB presents our all-new production of The Sleeping Beauty. You may ask what’s “all-new” when the original Beauty premiered 135 years ago..."
"There’s a place along the western oceanic coast where madrone trees bend gently toward the sea. Lofty eagles soar above while mischievous ravens dart below and the monarch butterflies are known to return to this spot each spring, boasting brilliant black and saffron wings..." Immerse yourself in the mythical world of The Sleeping Beauty, as told by Peter Boal, PNB's artistic director and the concept designer of this world-premiere production.
Welcome to George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®. We debuted this whimsical production, designed by children’s book author Ian Falconer, in 2015. After almost a decade, we are closing in on 400 performances. Perhaps this is your first time seeing the show, or maybe you have seen it often enough to know when the bunny pulls the Mouse King’s tail, or when Mother Ginger shows off her flock of dancing children, or when the pair of prancing reindeer take flight...
To capture Balanchine’s contribution to ballet in America in a few paragraphs is impossible, but I’ll attempt to scratch the surface. Balanchine, often in partnership with benefactor and arts impresario Lincoln Kirstein, founded the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet. These institutions served as his dance laboratories. In these humble studios, with the help of dancers, musicians, and fellow artists, revelatory discoveries in ballet technique and dance-making came to life. Dancers hold Balanchine’s ballets in a place of reverence. That is especially true of PNB dancers, who enjoy a wealth of Balanchine repertoire and possess an innate technique and musicality acquired at schools like ours...
Moments before Pacific Northwest Ballet launched its 2024-25 season, Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal and Associate Artistic Director Kiyon Ross stepped out in front of the sparkly-red McCaw Hall stage to announce to the audience that corps de ballet dancer Luther DeMyer has been promoted to Soloist. Click to read more about Luther and his career at PNB!
Welcome to the first program of the new season. What a season it promises to be with the unveiling of our much-anticipated new production of The Sleeping Beauty, the return of Roméo et Juliette, and three world premieres. There are also plenty of fan favorites like Crystal Pite’s Emergence, Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun, Marco Goecke’s Mopey, and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. The excitement starts right here – right now, with Rep I!
Pacific Northwest Ballet School has announced that Kurt Froman has been hired to lead the School’s Men’s Division. An accomplished and highly respected teacher and mentor with dancing careers at New York City Ballet and on Broadway, Mr. Froman was the resident choreographer of the Broadway show Billy Elliot, The Musical, training and coaching the young actors in the title role. At PNB School, Mr. Froman will teach, support, and mentor the School’s male-identifying students, and serve as a liaison with students’ families.
Whether it be in the Phelps’ Center dressing room, emphatically discussing fantasy football picks, or on McCaw Hall’s stage, charming the audience as one of the sailors in Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, James’ enthusiasm is infectious and his presence irreplaceable. As a San Francisco native looking north, never in a million years did he expect to end up at PNB: “It was a very tall company at the time [I was hired]—long legs, slender bodies—there was a look. That wasn’t me.” However, over his twenty-year tenure with PNB, James has set himself apart as one who defines what the company is today, and for years to come. Learn more about James and his career at PNB in this blog.