The Pacific Northwest Ballet Presents DIRECTOR'S CHOICE, Now thru 11/16

For DIRECTOR'S CHOICE, the second program of Pacific Northwest Ballet's 2014-2015season, Artistic Director Peter Boal selects two PNB premieres paired with stunning repertory works in this absorbing mixed-bill. Opening the program, David Dawson's breath-taking, hyper-extended A Million Kisses to my Skin references the intoxicating bliss dancers experience while performing. Rassemblement, Nacho Duato's poignant work set to slave songs by Haitian artist Toto Bissainthe, voices communal yearning and resistance in a climate of oppression. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's (Cylindrical Shadows) critically-acclaimed signature piece, Before After, a PNB premiere, unmasks the turmoil just before a relationship ends. The performance closes with Debonair, a world premiere by New York City Ballet's rising star Justin Peck, praised for "electrifying classical dance with [his] fresh vision" (Wall Street Journal). The program also includes a musical prelude to shine the spotlight on the nationally renowned PNB Orchestra, currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary season.

DIRECTOR'S CHOICE runs for seven performances only, tonight, November 7-16, 2014 at Seattle Center's Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at just $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, 301 Mercer Street.

The line-up for DIRECTOR'S CHOICE will include:

Orchestra Prelude

Music: Edvard Grieg ("Praeludium" from Holberg Suite, Op. 40, 1884)

Running Time: Three minutes

Pacific Northwest Ballet salutes the mighty PNB Orchestra as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary season. Each of the mixed reps during PNB's 2014-15 season will include an orchestral selection to spotlight our acclaimed musicians in the pit. Look for future Orchestra Preludes during THE VERTIGINOUS THRILL OF FORSYTHE, and Carmina Burana.

A Million Kisses to my Skin
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Choreography: David Dawson

Staging: Tim Couchman

Costume Design: Yumiko Takeshima

Lighting Design: Bert Dalhuysen

Premiere: June 15, 2000, Dutch National Ballet (Amsterdam)

PNB Premiere: March 16, 2012

Running Time: 25 minutes

The 2012 PNB premiere of David Dawson's A Million Kisses to My Skin was generously underwritten by Jeffrey & Susan Brotman.

"A dazzling work that succeeds in making Bach's Concerto No 1 in D minor sing...the sheer joy of movement" (Dominion Post), British choreographer David Dawson's A Million Kisses to My Skin was originally created in 2000, as he was preparing to leave Dutch National Ballet. Dawson set out to pay tribute to what he had learned as a classical dancer and to evoke the feeling of complete bliss a dancer sometimes experiences in their work. "I had it a couple of times on stage, and it feels just like that-a million simultaneous kisses to your skin. It was also a kind of goodbye to my classical career. It was important for me to create this piece using classical steps, but also to create a ballet that was about individuality and freedom."

Rassemblement
Music: Toto Bissainthe (from the recording Chante, 1977)
Choreography: Nacho Duato

Staging: Hilde Koch

Scenic Design: Walter Nobbe

Costume Design: Nacho Duato

Lighting Design: Nicolas Fischtel

Premiere: February 27, 1990, Cullberg Ballet (Örebro, Sweden)

PNB Premiere: April 7, 1998

Running Time: 29 minutes

Nacho Duato's Rassemblement (which means "gathering") is inspired by and set to the songs of Haitian artist Toto Bissainthe, who offered this commentary: "These songs are mostly slaves' songs from the Voodoo cult. They express the daily life of the slaves, their longing for Africa, not as a geographical reality, but as a mythical land of freedom...Rassemblement is a creation which gradually, through the liberating powers of music and dance, proves to be an impressive, thrilling, and audience-affecting human rights appeal."

Before After - PNB Premiere
Music: Marc Van Roon
Choreography: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Costume and Lighting Design: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Premiere: June, 2002, Dutch National Ballet (Amsterdam)

PNB Premiere: August 6, 2014 (Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival)

Running Time: Eight minutes

The PNB premiere of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Before After is generously underwritten by Glenn Kawasaki.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's (Cylindrical Shadows) critically-acclaimed signature piece, Before After unmasks the turmoil just before a relationship ends in this short and simple duet. The New York Times described the work as "the most moving, the most mysterious, the most heartily cheered."

Debonair - World Premiere

Music: George Antheil (Serenade for String Orchestra No. 1, 1948)
Choreography: Justin Peck

Costume Design: Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung

Lighting Design: Randall G. Chiarelli

Running Time: 18 minutes

Justin Peck's world premiere is generously underwritten in part by Michele & Steve Pesner and Gilla Kaplan.

In July of this year, New York City Ballet's rising star Justin Peck was appointed by ballet master in chief Peter Martins as the company's second resident choreographer (after Christopher Wheeldon, resident choreographer from 2001 to 2008.). Alastair Macaulay, the chief dance critic at The New York Times, described Mr. Peck in a review as "the third important choreographer to have emerged in classical ballet this century" after Mr. Wheeldon and Alexei Ratmansky. Since his debut as a choreographer in 2009, Mr. Peck has created works for the New York City Ballet, the New York Choreographic Institute, the School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet, L.A. Dance Project, New York City Center's Fall for Dance Festival, the Nantucket Atheneum Dance Festival, Skidmore College, and more.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets ($28-$174 advance) may be purchased through the PNB Box Office:

· Phone - 206.441.2424 (Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm; Sat. 10am-5pm)

· In Person - 301 Mercer Street, Seattle (Mon.-Fri. 10am-6pm; Sat. 10am-5pm)

· Online - PNB.org (24/7)

Tickets are also available (subject to availability) 90 minutes prior to each performance at McCaw Hall, located at 321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center.

SPECIAL EVENTS

PNB LECTURE SERIES & DRESS REHEARSAL

Thursday, November 6, 2014

6:00 pm Lecture, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall

7:00 pm Dress Rehearsal, McCaw Hall

Join Artistic Director Peter Boal in conversation with choreographer Justin Peck during the hour preceding the dress rehearsal, discussing the creative process involved in the development of a new ballet. Attend the lecture only or stay for the dress rehearsal. Tickets are $12 for the lecture, or $30 for the lecture and dress rehearsal. Tickets may be purchased through the PNB Box Office.

PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURES

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 performances. FREE for ticketholders.

POST-PERFORMANCE Q&A

Skip the post-show traffic and enjoy a Q&A with Artistic Director Peter Boal and PNB dancers. Immediately following each performance in the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall. FREE for ticketholders.

DISCOUNT OFFERS

GROUP SALES

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

All Thursday and Friday performances: November 7, 13, & 14 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 at206.441.2424 or visit 301 Mercer Street. This offer is good for November 7, 13, and 14 performances only. Offer is subject to availability and not valid on previously purchased tickets. Each attendee must present valid ID upon ticket retrieval.

TEEN TIX

PNB is a proud participant of Teen Tix, whose members (13 to 19 years old) can purchase tickets to PNB performances and other music, dance, theater and arts events for only $5. To join Teen Tix or view a list of participating organizations, visit TeenTix.org.

STUDENT AND SENIOR RUSH TICKETS

Subject to availability, half-price rush tickets for students and senior citizens (65+) may be purchased in-person with valid ID, beginning 90 minutes prior to showtime at the McCaw Hall box office.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

David Dawson was born in London and trained at the Rona Hart School of Dance, Arts Educational School, and The Royal Ballet School. In 1991 he won the Prix de Lausanne and that year entered Birmingham Royal Ballet, moving to English National Ballet in 1994, and Dutch National Ballet (DNB) in 1995, where he created A Million Kisses to my Skin (2000). Subsequently, he joined Ballett Frankfurt, where he performed for two years before focusing on choreography. Mr. Dawson has been resident choreographer for Semperoper Ballet, DNB, and Royal Ballet of Flanders. His works include a full-length Giselle,Opus.11, The World According to Us, On the Nature of Daylight, and The Disappeared (Semperoper Ballet); Overture, day4,The Grey Area, The Gentle Chapters, 00:00, Morning Ground, andtimelapse/ (Mnemosyne) for DNB; The Third Light and A Sweet Spell of Oblivion for Royal Ballet of Flanders; and in 2013, The Human Seasons for The Royal Ballet. He has also created numerous ballets internationally, including Reverence for the Mariinsky Ballet and Faun(e) for English National Ballet. Mr. Dawson's awards include a Benois de la Danse Award (The Grey Area), a Choo San Goh Award (The Gentle Chapters) and a Golden Mask Award (Reverence). The creative process behind The Grey Area was documented in Tim Couchman's film'The Grey Area' in Creation, and Mr. Dawson and Faun(e) were featured in the BBC documentary For Art's Sake - The Story of Ballets Russes.

Nacho Duato was born in Valencia, Spain, and studied at the Rambert School London, Maurice Béjart's Mudra School, and on scholarship at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He started his dance career with Stockholm's Cullberg Ballet, and one year later he joined Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) with artistic director Jirí Kylián and remained with the company for ten years. In 1983, he choreographed Jardí Tancat to music composed by Maria del Mar Bonet. In 1988, Mr. Duato was appointed resident choreographer at NDT together with Hans van Manen and Jirí Kylián. After a long and successful performing career, he was selected by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Education as the artistic director of the National Spanish Dance Company in 1990. Mr. Duato's works appear in numerous international repertories such as Cullberg Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Stuttgart Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Royal Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and Martha Graham Dance Company. In 2010, he was appointed the artistic director of the ballet at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, and in 2014, he became the chief of the Berlin State Ballet.

Colombo-Belgian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa completed her dance studies at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp, Belgium. In 2003, following her 12-year career in various European dance companies, Ms. Lopez Ochoa decided to focus solely on choreography. In that same year she was hailed "rising star of the Dutch dance scene" (NRC newspaper) and seven years later, the Temecula Performing Arts Examiner wrote, "Ochoa is truly a masterful choreographer with an edge for what dance can and should be in this constantly changing industry." Ms. Lopez Ochoa is a versatile choreographer who works regularly with dance companies, but also creates for theater, opera, musical theater, and (in 2006), for elebrated Dutch fashion designers Viktor & Rolf's project at the Van Gogh Museum. She belongs to the Theater-Dance collective "Fantasten" with whom she's created five full-length pieces. In 2012, she created her first full-length ballet, A Streetcar Named Desire, for the Scottish Ballet. Ms. Lopez Ochoa's critically acclaimed piece, Before After, is known as her signature piece. Created in 2002 for Dutch National Ballet, the work is in the repertory of Ballet Nacional Dominicano, Gothenburg Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Finnish National Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. The work has also been performed at celebrated festivals including Dance Passion Festival in the Netherlands, New York City Center's Fall for Dance Festival, Houston Dance Salad Festival, and the 2007 Orange County Fall for Dance Festival.

At 27 years old, Justin Peck has already been hailed as an important new voice in 21st-century choreography. He is currently a soloist and the resident choreographer of New York City Ballet. Mr. Peck, originally from San Diego, California, moved to New York at the age of 15 to attend the School of American Ballet. In 2006, he was invited by ballet master-in-chief Peter Martins to become a member of New York City Ballet. Mr. Peck had his choreographic debut in 2009 and has been fervently creating since then. He has been commissioned by New York City Ballet, the New York Choreographic Institute, the School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet, the New World Symphony, L.A. Dance Project, New York City Center's Fall for Dance Festival, the Nantucket Atheneum Dance Festival, The Guggenheim Museum, and more. He has collaborated with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Shepard Fairey, Bryce Dessner, Prabal Gurung, Sterling Ruby, Mary Katrantzou, and Karl Jensen. In 2014, Mr. Peck was appointed Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet, making him the second choreographer in the history of the institution to hold this position. Debonair is Mr. Peck's first work for Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Photo Credit © Angela Sterling

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