Pacific Northwest Ballet Review: Program 1
October 15, 2020 | Digital
Opening night of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2020-2021 Season is finally upon us and it is unlike any other. Being digital, so many aspects about the event are different; from what I’m wearing (sweatpants vs. dress pants) to my accessories (MacBook and Beats vs. purse and heels) and the location (480 square foot apartment vs. 2,963 seat theater).
Instead of scrambling for my seat at the sound of the 5-minute call bell, I get an inside peek at the emotions of the cast of Jewels, I view the skeleton PNB Orchestra tuning their instruments, and I hear the Stage Manager reminding dancers to wear their masks and to bring the Tupperware that will store them while they are performing. I also see the crew cleaning and sweeping the stage’s Marley floor and Artistic Director Peter Boal making the ubiquitous pre-curtain speech welcoming the audience and asking for donations.
In order to best simulate a live performance, I make a conscious decision to not allow myself the luxury of hitting the pause button except between acts, rewinding when I want to rewatch a section I really like, and fast forwarding when I find myself less enthused.
It is when the first notes of Chopin‘s melodies reach my ears that I realize that in some ways, nothing about my experience watching ballet has changed.
Act I
The first person we see on stage is Lucien Postlewaite dancing a solo from Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering. He conveys a calm energy that seems such a welcoming appropriate response to the current state of things. Not unexpectedly, he bows upon finishing, causing a pre-recorded audience to erupt in applause. I, too, applaud.
Next, in the first excerpt from Eva Stone’s F O I L, we are witness to a brilliant chandelier hung above three barefoot ballerinas donning shimmering gold skirts and leotards that pretend naked upper bodies. Their movements – and the fact that they face upstage the entire time – are a beautiful study in how significant a dancer’s back, arms, neck, and head are in their communication with the audience. The second excerpt feels to me a bit lackluster in comparison.
“Prayer for the Great Family” from One Body, a solo created over a decade ago for Boal by his colleague and friend Albert Evans, celebrates two premieres – one for the company and one for corps member Christopher D’Ariano. A thoughtful and articulate individual (first noted while I was absorbed in his physical interpretations and later confirmed when watching a bonus interview), D’Ariano moves with an ease that mimics the flowing hypnotic rhythm of John Kennedy’s music.
Our first glimpse of pointe shoes is seen in the the suite of Swan Lake excerpts. Coming from the mouth of a classical ballet dancer, I am reticent to say that this portion of the performance is my least favorite. But it’s true. For one, although not horrible by any stretch of the word, the dancing doesn’t feel up to par in comparison with the rest of the program. Secondly, seeing random solos without context and variations and coda without a pas de deux just feels wrong, somewhat like a poorly constructed gala evening. Also, this is the point in my digital viewing journey that I note just how lonely ballet is without the corps de ballet.
The costumes, music, and George Balanchine’s choreography for Jewels brighten up the mood. Most wonderful is Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan in her debut in Rubies. She evokes the perfect combination of playful, flirty, and sassy while manipulating the jazzy off-kilter music that is Stravinsky. And I’m going to go out on a limb and say that her partner Kyle Davis is either also a real life partner or roommate as it is in their pas de deux that we first see two dancers touch each other. Strange how something so commonplace in the dance world is now viewed as out of the ordinary.
Act II
After intermission – or rather switching to the next video – the program takes a sharp turn to the contemporary. I’m going to be very honest here and say that I was very tempted to fast forward at first glimpse of Marco Goecke’s Mopey; not because of James Moore‘s dancing (which is extraordinary) but rather because it’s typically not quite my cup of tea. But I am so glad that I didn’t. The solo grows on me, so much so that by the time the fifteen minutes are up, I find myself in awe of Moore’s range from languid to athletic, his embodying of eccentricity in a most eloquent way. And I find myself really enjoying the disconcertedness of all this being set to a soundtrack of classical music by C.P.E. Bach, silence, and punk rock by The Cramps.
Dylan Wald shines in both Jessica Lang’s solo from The Calling and Robyn Mineko Williams’s pas de deux from The Trees The Trees. He has a lovely intense manner and shares a beautiful synchronicity with his partner Elle Macy.
Closing the evening is the finale from Red Angels, a dynamic ballet by Ulysses Dove. While all four dancers are fittingly fierce, it is Cecilia Iliesiu that catches my eye. I was first impressed by Iliesiu’s dancing in The Four Temperaments (Choleric, I believe?) when she was a member of Carolina Ballet and am so glad that her talents continue to develop and be highlighted during her career at PNB.
Pacific Northwest Ballet Digital Season: Rep 1 Trailer
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Rep 1 streams through October 18. For more information about that program and the others in their 20/21 Digital Season, check out the calendar below.
Featured Photo for Pacific Northwest Ballet Review: An Exciting Return to the Stage of Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist Dylan Wald in Jessica Lang’s The Calling © Angela Sterling
