PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET
casting is up • pix • mini-review • links to other reviews • balanchine bits
Rosemary Jones’ from Seattle Examiner
Moira Macdonald’s in the Seattle Times
Amy Mikel’s at the Seattlest
Peter Sessum’s on psILovetheArts
Marcie Sillman’s at ArtDish
Michael van Baker’s at The Sunbreak
more to come…
Balanchine Bits: It’s procrastination, I know…
My mom used to sing this song, and I’ve had its parody playing in my head as I’ve been leafing through Balanchine books. “It’s procrastination, I know…” The review is still to come, but here are some things I’ve been enjoying the past few days:
“Looking at the snapshot, one can readily see why it was felt that ballet dancing was no activity for Americans. It just does not seem possible that anything remotely like a ballet troupe could emerge from this hodgepodge of chubby, self-conscious young women in homely, one-piece bathing suits… [Balanchine] is the only person in the picture who does not seem to be aware of the manifest hopelessness of the whole enterprise.” [Taper says the woman at the far left looks like a linebacker for the NY Giants!]
Balanchine’s Ballerinas: Conversations with the Muses.
No photo credit, but caption reads: Elise Reiman and Herbert Bliss in the Second Theme of the Four Temperaments, 1946.
Annabelle Lyon, Ruthanna Boris, Helen Leitch, Holly Howard, and Elise Reiman.
[Don’t the costumes look Isadora?]
“I listened in some amazement as Balanchine went on in this vein, for I had never before heard him discussing the literary content of any of his plotless works, or even admitting that they had any. ‘That’s fascinating,’ I commented. ‘Did you tell any of that to your dancers when you were choreographing the ballet?’
“Balanchine drew back in mock horror. ‘God forbid!’ he said.”
I Remember Balanchine by Francis Mason
I Remember Balanchine by Francis Mason
[With Serenade, Balanchine] “was looking for a way to begin. He started talking about Germany. ‘I was there with Diaghilev. There is an awful man there [Hitler]. He looks like me but he has a mustache. The people know him, they love him. When they see him, all people do like that for him.’ I still didn’t know who Mr. Hitler was. ‘I am not such an awful man.’ Balanchine continued, ‘and I don’t have mustache. So maybe for me you put together this. Your hand is high, and then falls down and thrusts forward.’ ” [Is she saying the opening scene is the flip side of a Nazi salute? That Balanchine was making something beautiful out of something hideous? It’s a huge leap of logic I’m making, but I don’t get it otherwise.]
Barbara Newman’s Striking a Balance: Dancers Talk about Dancing
From Jean-Pierre Bonnefous‘ interview in
Barbara Newman’s Striking a Balance: Dancers Talk about Dancing
© The George Balanchine Trust. Photo © Angela Sterling
choreographed by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Photo © Angela Sterling
© The George Balanchine Trust. Photo © Angela Sterling
© The George Balanchine Trust. Photo © Angela Sterling
MINI-REVIEW
By Rosie Gaynor
Just got back from opening night… What a lovely evening! There’s nothing like overdosing on Balanchine. I feel inspired to be an artist, inspired to live in a way that uses every brain cell, every sense, every ounce of passion.
First off: Go. It’s beautiful and fun and bold. The solemn, swirling tulle of Serenade, the breakneck speed of Square Dance, the universe-is-expanding Four Temperaments—I can’t wait to go back for more. There’s some uneven dancing, sure, sure, but overall the dancing is good and some of it is superlatively and thrillingly fabulous. More on that in the full review…
Secondly: If you’ve been thinking of buying Nancy Goldner’s book Balanchine Variations, now is the time to do it. All 3 ballets are covered in this readable, interesting book. $25? Oh, well, it’s worth it. They have it at Amusements at McCaw Hall; I’m sure you can find it elsewhere as well.
Here’s the link for tix at PNB.
And, if you’re under 25..
25 & Under: Thursday, April 15 & 22, 7:30 pm • Friday, April 16 & 23, 7:30 pm
Are you age 25 or under? Get 1 ticket for $15 or 2 for $25! For tickets call PNB’s Box Office 206.441.2424 or visit 301 Mercer St. Under 25 Friday ticket offer is good Apr. 15, 16, 22 & 23 only. Subject to availability. Not valid on previously purchased tickets. Each attendee must present valid I.D. upon ticket retrieval.