The 48th Pacific Northwest Ballet season has been announced by Artistic Director Peter Boal. Highlights include George Balanchine’s dazzling Jewels, and Crystal Pite’s remarkable Emergence; world premieres by Jessica Lang and Alejandro Cerrudo; the return of the popular story ballets Roméo et Juliette and Coppélia; and the PNB premieres of works by Penny Saunders, Twyla Tharp, and Christopher Wheeldon. The line-up concludes with a triple-bill of hits by Balanchine, Cerrudo, and Alexei Ratmansky. For family audiences, PNB is also presenting its all-matinee production of Snow White (performed by students of the Pacific Northwest Ballet School) and of course, just in time for holiday season, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®.
JEWELS (September 25 - October 4 )
Opening the season with sparkling élan, George Balanchine’s Jewels is a perfect primer of the iconic choreographer’s style: Emeralds whispers of grace, courtesy, and French perfume; Rubies sizzles with American sass; and Diamonds conjures the magnificence of old St. Petersburg.
ALL PREMIERE (November 6 – 15)
ALL PREMIERE celebrates a lineage of powerful female choreographers from Twyla Tharp (Sweet Fields), to Jessica Lang (Stabat Mater), to up-and-comer Penny Saunders (So to Speak), each with their own bright and arresting perspective.
GEORGE BALANCHINE'S THE NUTCRACKER® (November 27 – December 27)
The Northwest’s favorite holiday tradition! PNB’s production of the iconic Balanchine ballet features sets and costumes designed by children’s author and illustrator Ian Falconer (Olivia the Pig).
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE (February 5 – 14)
“One of the most beautiful ballets adapted from Shakespeare’s masterpiece that can be seen today.” (Scènes Magazine) Jean-Christophe Maillot infuses Shakespeare’s tragic tale of star-crossed lovers with intoxicating emotion and heart-rending beauty.
DIRECTOR’S CHOICE (March 19 – 28)
Contemporary masters explore life in our increasingly complicated world in this year’s DIRECTOR’S CHOICE line-up. Crystal Pite’s riveting audience favorite, Emergence, will share the stage with Bound To, Christopher Wheeldon’s essay on disconnectedness in these tech-obsessed times, and a world premiere by PNB resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo (One Thousand Pieces, Little mortal jump) completes the triple-bill.
SNOW WHITE (March 21 – 28)
Who’s the fairest of them all? Snow White, of course! Danced by the students of Pacific Northwest Ballet School, this hour-long narrated matinee version of the treasured classic was designed for younger audience members.
COPPÉLIA (April 16 – 25)
The return of the happiest ballet on earth! A hilarious and charming tale of mistaken identity, Coppélia promises bravura classical ballet, exquisite scenery and costumes, and pristine choreography for the PNB company plus 24 tiny dancers from the PNB School.
MODERN HITS (June 4 – 13)
This collection of works pays homage to ballet’s past while ushering the art form into the future. The program spans nearly a century of modern American ballet, from the intensely theatrical Pictures at an Exhibition by Alexei Ratmansky, to the hypnotic flow of Alejandro Cerrudo’s Silent Ghost, to the fountainhead of contemporary classicism – George Balanchine’s Apollo.
Source for Pacific Northwest Ballet 2020-2021 Season: Pacific Northwest Ballet