Review: PNB'S DIGITAL SEASON, REP 1, “SINGULARLY CERRUDO” Filmed at McCaw Hall

The Pacific Northwest Ballet was back on stage in Seattle's McCaw Hall in September of 2021, dancing for a live audience for the first time since the pandemic closed dance studios and theaters worldwide. Yet as welcome as that return to in-person performing was, PNB chose not to do away with the digital programming that had been its only option for over a year. During the digital season of 2020-2021, a whopping 15,370 households from 39 countries had tuned in to experience the magic and mastery of PNB's world class company. Now those viewers around the globe can continue to be PNB's virtual audience.

The 2021-2022 digital season kicked off on October 7th with Rep 1, "Singularly Cerrudo", a triple bill of works by resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo. The program will be available to stream from October 7th to 11th, and you can watch as many times as you like. Here's the link to purchase digital tickets: https://order.pnb.org/22-digital/cerrudo/ I strongly recommend that you do that!

The opener of Rep 1 is Silent Ghost, a serenely satisfying experience featuring five men and five women moving to the music of Ólafur Arnalds, Jon Hopkins & Kenny Anderson, Nils Frahm, and Dustin Hamman. As always, the PNB dancers show themselves to be as adept at contemporary choreography as they are in classical works.

Next up is an excerpt from Cerrudo's One Thousand Pieces, which premiered on October 18th, 2012 at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago celebrating that company's 35th anniversary season. The ballet had its PNB premiere on March 13th, 2020. Cerrudo was inspired by Marc Chagall's America Windows. According to program notes, when Cerrudo was asked during the creative process why he chose the title One Thousand Pieces, he replied, "Literally because of the symbolism of the work, observing how each piece of glass combines to make a whole larger piece made from many individual pieces, the same way human beings come together to create a project." Keep that in mind as you watch the dancers move seamlessly in and out of connections and patterns. I, for one, was fascinated by this visual experience.

The closer, Little mortal jump, was the audience favorite and mine as well. Set to the music of the American band Beirut, as well as composers Andrew Bird, Alexandre Desplat, Philip Glass, Hans Otte, Max Richter, and Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan, this work puts Cerrudo's sly sense of humor on full display, and the dancers proved themselves to be more than capable of the sometimes subtle, sometimes overt dark comedy centering on the nature of relationships.

With an initial program as auspicious as this one, I'll wager that the rest of 2021-2022 will be superb as well. Why not subscribe to the entire digital season? Bonus: Your paid digital subscription includes the digital presentation of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker®! Click here to subscribe: Yes, I'd Like to Subscribe! Then, time after time in the comfort of your own home, you'll be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

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