Pacific Northwest Ballet Presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Now thru 4/19
By: BWW News Desk Apr. 11, 2014
Pacific Northwest Ballet continues its 2013-2014 season with George Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream. A complete delight for all ages, this full-length ballet is based on William Shakespeare's comedy about the romantic adventures, quarrels and reunions of two pairs of mortal lovers and the king and queen of the fairies. Balanchine's Midsummer, which New York City Ballet premiered in 1962, was the first original evening-length ballet he choreographed in America. Staged by PNB Founding Artistic Director Francia Russell, PNB's production is an enchanted landscape where misunderstandings and mayhem weave tangled paths through the opulent layers of Martin Pakledinaz's designs and Balanchine's marvelously crafted partnerings. All ends well in Act II's wedding festivities with the recognition of ideal love, tenderly portrayed in an exquisite pas de deux. A Midsummer Night's Dream plays for eight performances only, tonight, April 11-19 at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center Tickets start at $28 and may be purchased by calling the PNB Box Office at 206. 441.2424, online at PNB.org, or in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer Street.
"As a child, I remember sitting in the New York City Ballet's audience as George Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream cast its spell," said Artistic Director Peter Boal. "PNB's production, staged with care and texture by Francia Russell, is unique. Other productions use Balanchine's choreography and the enchanting score by Felix Mendelssohn, but only PNB's production boasts the whimsy and spectacle of set and costume designs by Martin Pakledinaz. A fantastic frog and looming spider balance bulbous mushrooms and august roses. The senses are satiated with scale and color. PNB's signature production with its winning combination of Francia's staging, Marty's designs and our amazing dancers - not to mention Balanchine, Mendelssohn, and William Shakespeare - promises to once again enchant audiences of all ages."
PNB's newly-designed production premiered in 1997 and toured to great acclaim at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1998. In 1999, PNB toured Midsummer to England, where the production was performed and filmed by the BBC in high-definition before a live audience at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre. The DVD is available through PNB's gift shop at McCaw Hall and online at PNB.org/GiftShop
Tickets ($28 to $174 in advance) may be purchased through the PNB Box Office:
- Phone: 206.441.2424 (Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm; Sat. 10am-5pm)
- In person: 301 Mercer St. (Mon.-Fri. 10am-6pm; Sat. 10am-5pm)
- Online: PNB.org (24/7)
Subject to availability, tickets are also available 90 minutes prior to each performance at McCaw Hall, located at 321 Mercer Street.
Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For group tickets, please call 206.441.2416, email
juliej@pnb.org, or use PNB's online contact form at PNB.org/Season/GroupTickets
$15 TICKETS FOR AGE 25 & UNDER
Thursday and Friday performances: April 11, 17 and 18 at 7:30 pm
One ticket for $15 or two for $25 for patrons 25 years and younger! To purchase tickets, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424 or visit 301 Mercer Street. This offer is good for April 11, 17 and 18 performances only. Offer is subject to availability and not valid on previously purchased tickets. Each attendee must present valid I.D. upon ticket retrieval.
PNB is a proud participant of Teen Tix! As active members of Teen Tix, young people 13 to 19 years old can purchase tickets to PNB performances and other music, dance, theater and arts events for only $5. Tojoin Teen Tix or view a list of participating organizations, visit TeenTix.org
Subject to availability, half-price rush tickets for students and senior citizens (65+) with valid ID may be purchased in-person, beginning 90 minutes prior to show time at the McCaw Hall box office.
SPECIAL EVENTS
SPECIAL SEMINAR: A "Midsummer Night's Dream" for the Pacific Northwest
Saturday, April 5, 2014, 3:00 pm
The Phelps Center, 301 Mercer Street
PNB's 1997 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was the first re-design of a full-length Balanchine ballet authorized by the George Balanchine Trust. Designed by Martin Pakledinaz and inspired by Northwest flora and fauna, the production became a calling card for PNB, which toured it to Edinburgh, Istanbul, and Hong Kong, as well as London, where it was filmed by the BBC in 1998. Hear from the artists involved in building PNB's Midsummer, view a display of costumes, scenic designs and models, and watch excerpts from the award-winning DVD. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased through the PNB Box Office.
Tuesday, April 8, 12:00 noon
Central Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Avenue, Seattle
Join PNB for a free lunch-hour preview lecture at the Central Seattle Public Library. Education Programs
Manager Doug Fullington will offer insights about A Midsummer Night's Dream, complete with video excerpts. FREE of charge. PNB LECTURE SERIES & DRESS REHEARSAL
Thursday, April 10 2014
6:00 pm Lecture, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall
7:00 pm Dress Rehearsal, McCaw Hall
Join Artistic Director Peter Boal and a panel of artists during the hour preceding the dress rehearsal to discuss PNB's version of George Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream and its unique place in the Company's history. Attend the lecture only or stay for the dress rehearsal. Tickets ($12 for the lecture, or $30 for the lecture and dress rehearsal) may be purchased through the PNB Box Office. FUN FOR FAMILIES
Special activities for children and families - including crafts and dance classes - begin one hour before all matinee performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream. FREE for ticket holders.
LISTEN TO THE BALLET!
Saturday, April 12, 2014, 7:30 pm
PNB partners with 98.1 Classical KING FM to bring listeners some of the world's greatest ballet scores, featuring the mighty Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra direct from McCaw Hall. Tune in on Saturday night, April 12, for a live broadcast of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Only on 98.1 fm or online at king.org/listen
2014 BACKSTAGE BASH: MIDSUMMER MISCHEIF
Friday, April 18, 2014, 10:00 pm (following the performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream)
When the curtain goes down, the party gets started! Join hundreds of fans backstage at McCaw Hall for some Midsummer Mischief on Friday, April 18! Mix and mingle with Company dancers while enjoying drinks, delicious eats, and an onstage dance party. Tickets ($25 in advance and $30 at the door) may be purchased through the PNB Box Office. (Ages 21+ only; performance tickets sold separately).
Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall
Join Education Programs Manager Doug Fullington for a 30-minute introduction to each performance,
including discussions of choreography, music, history, design and the process of bringing ballet to the
stage. One hour before all performances. FREE for ticketholders.
POST-PERFORMANCE Q&A
Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall
Ship the post-show traffic and join Artistic Director Peter Boal and PNB Company dancers for a lively question-and-answer session following each performance. FREE for ticketholders.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, George Balanchine (1904-1983) is regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet. He came to the United States in late 1933, at the age of 29, accepting the invitation of the young American arts patron Lincoln Kirstein (1907-96), whose great passions included the dream of creating a ballet company in America. At Balanchine's behest, Kirstein was also prepared to support the formation of an American academy of ballet that would eventually rival the long-established schools of Europe. This was the School of American Ballet, founded in 1934, the first product of the Balanchine-Kirstein collaboration. Several ballet companies directed by the two were created and dissolved in the years that followed, while Balanchine found other outlets for his choreography. Eventually, with a performance on October 11, 1948, the New York City Ballet was born. Balanchine served as its ballet master and principal choreographer from 1948 until his death in 1983.
Balanchine's more than 400 dance works include Serenade (1934), Concerto Barocco (1941), Le Palais de Cristal, later renamed Symphony in C (1947), Orpheus (1948), The Nutcracker (1954), Agon (1957), Symphony in Three Movements (1972),Stravinsky Violin Concerto (1972), Vienna Waltzes (1977), Ballo della Regina (1978), and Mozartiana (1981). His final ballet, a new version of Stravinsky's Variations for Orchestra, was created in 1982. He also choreographed for films, operas, revues, and musicals. Among his best-known dances for the stage is Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, originally created for Broadway's On Your Toes (1936). The musical was later made into a movie.
A major artistic figure of the twentieth century, Balanchine revolutionized the look of classical ballet. Taking classicism as his base, he heightened, quickened, expanded, streamlined, and even inverted the fundamentals of the 400-year-old language of academic dance. This had an inestimable influence on the growth of dance in America. Although at first his style seemed particularly suited to the energy and speed of American dancers, especially those he trained, his ballets are now performed by all the major classical ballet companies throughout the world.
[Copyright © 2002 The George Balanchine Foundation. Reprinted by permission.]
Francia Russell served Pacific Northwest Ballet as Artistic Director and Director of the School from 1977 until her retirement in June, 2005. She is responsible for the addition to the Company's repertory of many works of George Balanchine. Born in Los Angeles, Ms. Russell grew up in San Francisco, London, Nice and New York. Her teachers included Felia Doubrovska, Antonina Tumkovsky, Vera Volkova, Robert Joffrey and George Balanchine. In 1956, Ms. Russell joined New York City Ballet, where she was promoted to soloist in 1959 and appointed Ballet Mistress in 1964. She was also a member of the faculty of the School of American Ballet and performed with Jerome Robbins' Ballets U.S.A. From 1975 to 1977, Ms. Russell and Kent Stowell were Co-Artistic Directors of Frankfurt Ballet. Ms. Russell was one of the first ballet masters chosen by George Balanchine to stage his works and has staged over one hundred productions of Balanchine ballets throughout North America and Europe. In 1987, she staged the first Balanchine ballet in the People's Republic of China for the Shanghai Ballet. During the 1988/89 season, she staged the historic first authorized performance of Balanchine's work in his homeland for the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg. Ms. Russell's numerous awards include the Washington State Governor's Arts Award, the Dance Magazine Award, an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Seattle University and the Brava Award from Women's University Club of Seattle. In 2004, Ms. Russell received the ArtsFund Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award, the Seattle Mayor's Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and was recognized by the King County Council for her achievements in the arts. On June 12, 2010, Ms. Russell was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts from the University of Washington.
Martin Pakledinaz was an award-winning costume designer for stage, television, and film. He won Tony Awards forThoroughly Modern Millie and the 2000 revival of Kiss Me Kate, which also earned him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design. His extensive Broadway credits include Grease, The Pirate Queen, The Pajama Game, The Trip to Bountiful, Wonderful Town, The Boys From Syracuse, The Diary Of Anne Frank, A Year With Frog And Toad, The Life,Anna Christie, The Father, Golden Child, and Anything Goes. His off-Broadway work includes Two Gentlemen of Verona,Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party, Kimberly Akimbo, Give Me Your Answer Do, Juvenalia, The Misanthrope, Kevin Kline'sHamlet, Twelve Dreams, Waste, and Troilus and Cressida. He designed for leading regional theaters in the United States and for the Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden. His designs for opera include works at the New York Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera, as well as opera houses in Seattle, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Sante Fe, Houston, Toronto, Salzburg, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Helsinki, and Gothenburg, among others. Mr. Pakledinaz's dance credits include a long collaboration with Mark Morris, and dances for such diverse choreographers as George Balanchine, Eliot Feld, Deborah Hay, Daniel Pelzig, Helgi Tomasson, and Lila York. In addition to his work on PNB's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mr. Pakeldinaz designed costumes for Kent Stowell's Cinderella (1994) and Zirkus Weill (1995). Mr. Pakledinaz passed away in 2012 at the age of 58.
Pictured: Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Carrie Imler with PNB School students in A Midsummer Night's Dream, choreographed by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. PNB presents A Midsummer Night's Dream April 11 - 19, 2014. Photo © Angela Sterling.
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