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Leaping Out of the Hinterlands
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16507 |
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THE ARTS
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11 / 1989 |
1,334 Words |
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Jessica Maxwell
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The Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) has definitely dispelled any lingering notions that Seattle is a cultural backwater. With its presentation of eight ballets at Washington, D.C.'s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from September 26 through October 1, the PNB has become a dance force to be reckoned with.
Endowing its versatile performance with a fresh approach, this lively troupe has developed a reputation for sophistication of style and vigorous footwork, backed by a sparkling orchestra. The PNB's artistic directors, Francia Russell and Kent Stowell, hold back little when it comes to creating an atmosphere in which their dancers can shine. This husband-and-wife team has built a firm, twelve-year foundation centering on the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, which contributes regularly to the PNB's stable of vibrant, sleek, and energetic dancers.
The success of this community-based system is evident in the couples who are among the principal dancers, like former New York City Ballet artist Colleen Neary and Danish-trained Thordal Christensen, and French dancers Sylvie Guillaumin and Michel Mesnier. The directors' uncommon vision and unswerving dedication is finally paying off, allowing the PNB to leap boldly out of the watery hinterlands of western Washington and land squarely in the spotlight of national recognition.
Love Relationship
The PNB's Kennedy Center performances showed reminders of the time when both directors were soloists with the New York City Ballet, but this troupe is no Balanchine satellite. The first program began with Paul Taylor's Roses, set to music by Richard Wagner and Heinrich Baermann and focusing on the love relationships of six different couples. This was followed by Kent Stowell's lyrical Delicate Balance, choreographed to Frederic Chopin's Grand Fantasy of Polish Airs; and by Stowell's Duo Fantasy, created initially for a Seattle PBS affiliate station with a score composed by Pulitzer Prize winner William Bolcom. The program ended with George Balanchine's elegant Symphony in C, set to the music of Georges Bizet and staged by Francia Russell.
The highlight of the second program was the world premier of Stowell's choreography of Stravinsky's Firebird. Anticipating the eightieth anniversary of the original Firebird, which premiered in June 1910, the Stowell production was definitely a special event.
"Firebird is a milestone in dance history because this was Stravinsky's first ballet score [created for Ballets Russes]," states Stowell. "This event set into motion Stravinsky's later work with Balanchine, which has established many of the standards of American ballet today."
Seattle audiences will have to wait until May 16, 1990, to see Firebird; the ballet will be a centerpiece at Seattle's Goodwill Games Festival in July 1990. Portions of Firebird, along with two other ballets to appear in May--Paquita and Prodigal Son--will be staged by Elena Vinogradov, wife of famed artistic director Oleg Vinogradov of the Kirov Ballet. Choreographer Stowell collaborated with Tony Award winner Ming Cho Lee for the Firebird sets and with Academy Award winner Theoni Aldredge for costumes. The result is
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