Freedom of My Mind

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2024-25 season is finished and out of six reps, not including The Nutcracker, I was fortunate to see four in person – All Balanchine, Sleeping Beauty, Emergence, and Romeo et Juliette – and all six reps digitally through PNB’s unique offering of a digital season. I wanted to provide an overview of the season here, along with some thoughts, which will be followed by individual reviews in the coming weeks of the different reps I saw in person (though I have already reviewed All Balanchine).

Observation 1) From Marius Petipa to Crystal Pite, Tchaikovsky to an electric soundscape, and classical ballet to neo-classical to contemporary ballet, PNB is a versatile company that presented a stimulating diversity of work, introducing audiences to new choreographers, as well as a new production of Sleeping Beauty.

The ballets PNB most excelled at were Stravinsky Violin Concerto by Balanchine, Romeo et Juliette by Jean-Christophe Maillot, and Emergence by Crystal Pite. I don’t mean to say that that PNB was not good in other ballets, but they seemed most comfortable, polished and in sync in these three works.

Observation 2) PNB is a young company and not always polished. They do not have the grandeur of other companies, either, but their energy and joy is infectious. Their dancing exudes freshness and freshness can be in short supply in a ballet world that privileges tradition. Attending a ballet at PNB is joy, and Seattle audiences are, in general warm and enthusiastic, so it’s a heady mix. The dancers even brought freshness and excitement to variations in Sleeping Beauty that I sometimes yawn over while waiting for Aurora or her prince to arrive.

Observation 3) The PNB Orchestra is excellent, and they play with refreshing verve. They make other companies (Royal Ballet, I am looking at you) appear stodgy and bland. I have read complaints over the years that tempo has been slowing down in ballet in general, to accommodate higher extensions, longer balances, more turns, etc., and this has become especially evident to me since becoming a subscriber at PNB. Its not just that the general tempo is quicker, but that the conductor – Emil de Cou – pauses less between musical phrases, at least compared to other companies. The effect is that the music is more cohesive, more like what you would hear in a concert hall, and the dancers rarely have time to pose prettily; they must keep dancing.

It’s a luxury, because I am becoming impatient with the slower tempos adopted at other companies, especially regarding the works of George Balanchine.

Observation 4) Pacific Northwest Ballet remains something of an outlier among ballet companies in that they consistently perform more mixed reps than story ballets. A mixed rep, for those who are not familiar with the phrase, is a ballet program made up of 2-4 shorter ballets. These shorter ballets can have a story, though many do not, or can feature one dancer, a small ensemble, or most of the company.

There are only a handful of full length story ballets and these tend to be performed ad nauseum around the world. But PNB will put on two story ballets (partly for financial reasons) and dedicate the remaining four to mixed reps. This allows the company to explore different choreographic styles and modes of physical expression, and I personally found the diversity stimulating. It broadens the audience’s horizons beyond Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet.

PNB was able to devote an entire rep to the genius of George Balanchine, as well as commission new works from contemporary choreographers. I attended Emergence (a rep that featured 4 ballets) because I wanted to see Pite’s ballet, but I was moved by Dawn Patrol, a new commission created by PNB’s own dancer, Price Suddarth. Would I have gone to see Price Suddarth alone? Not before, but I would now. An advantage of mixed reps is that a performance can also be a discovery for the audience.

Observation 5) PNB appears to put a premium on commissioning new works. And unlike some companies, which will devote an entire rep to new works, PNB will often intersperse these new commissions among better known performed works. For example, PNB opened the season with a new work, Black Wave, by PNB resident choreographer Jessica Lang, which I personally found a more challenging, but intriguing work that I would see again (especially if it once again features the expressive soloist Leah Terada, who sadly has been injured most of the season). But Artistic Director Peter Boal placed this work between two works more familiar to PNB audiences, by Edwaard Liang and Justin Peck.

Observation 6) Some concerns for the following season.

For this year, two experienced dancers were absent most of the season on maternity leave: Elizabeth Murphy and Cecilia Iliesiu. Several dancers were injured, most notably Leah Terada. And now that the season is over, three dancers have retired: principal dancer Cecilia Iliesiu and soloists Price Suddarth and Miles Pertl. This leaves PNB younger than ever and especially light on experienced male dance partners. PNB has not been able to replace the strong partnering of James Kirby Rogers, who left PNB last season to join the Semperoper Ballett, in Dresdon.

Which leads me to the other area I feel PNB could improve in, which is partnering; they seem a little shaky, which was especially evident during the Rose Adagio in Sleeping Beauty. They are not as smooth as they could be, or as proficient at putting or keeping the ballerina on her leg.

I also think that the dancers sometimes look more like individuals than a unified whole, not always dancing as one. On the one hand, they were thrillingly in sync in ballets like Emergence. It would be nice to see more consistency across the board.

Observations 7) Some favorite dancer moments of 2024-25.

Elle Macy as Lady Capulet – every time she stepped on the stage, the energy level skyrocketed. I was also mesmerized by her physical, yet liquid movement in Dawn Patrol.

Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan – she took a potentially stock character in the Nurse in Romeo et Juliette and turned her into a three-dimensional woman: vulgar, but so clear that she loves Juliet more than Lady Capulet. It makes her abandonment, when she tells Juliet to marry Paris, all the more tragic, as is her remorse when she finds Juliet dead.

Ryan also made me smile pretty much anytime she stepped on stage in the opening night of Sleeping Beauty as Fairy Candide or Diamonds; I don’t think I ever enjoyed those variations so much before.

Lucien Postlewaite – one of the few veteran dancers at PNB, he had a fabulous season, revisiting roles like the Prodigal Son and Romeo, as well as taking on new roles, such as Carabosse or Afternoon of a Faun. I witnessed his debut in Faun, and found his Romeo both a teenager madly in love, who could barely contain his feelings, but also a man truly in love.

Amanda Morgan – when Stravinsky Violin Concerto was finished, my sister turned to me and said, “Just so you know, I love Amanda Morgan.” Indeed, she was superb in Aria I, an athletic, combative pas de deux, which she danced with power and conviction. We have never not been impressed by Morgan’s dancing.

Destiny Wimpye – she is in the corps and I have never seen her in a role outside the corps, but I always notice her. Her joy, strong technique, bold freedom in her movements, and radiant smile is evident. One can easily imagine her in ballets such as Square Dance or as Aurora and I look forward to seeing her dance those, and many more, in the future.

Leta Biasucci – I did not see her this season as much as I would have liked, but in both Dawn Patrol and Emergence she was stunning. I held my breath during both her solo and her pas de deux in Dawn Patrol. As I exhaled, while she stood alone and was swallowed up in darkness, I heard a man sitting near me whisper a deeply appreciative “wow.” Another one of the few experienced dancers at PNB, she is able to convey meaning without having to overdo any of her movements; she conveyed an inner stillness and dignity that was moving in and of itself.

Kuu Sakuragi – I was fortunate to watch his debut as the Prodigal Son and from the moment he came flying onto the stage, he had out attention. From rebellious son to baffled would-be lover in over his head to naked and defeated, he was convincing. It is always a good day to see his name on my cast sheet.

Hopes for 2025-26) I am delighted that PNB is opening the next season with George Balanchine’s Jewels. It is a ballet that is special to me, not only because it is a masterpiece of pure dance, but because it is the first full length ballet I ever saw. I saw it in 2017 at PNB, when they debuted new costumes and set designs. When the curtain rose and the audience looked out on a stage bathed in stars, Faure’s music rising with it, you felt as if you there, too, in a forest at night at a romantic gathering of noble men and women.

PNB performed an especially beautiful “Emeralds,” which can become underpowered and colorless in some hands. PNB, however, danced “Emeralds” ardently.

Looking back, I realize that the cast I saw included PNB legend Noelani Pantastico, as well as Lucien Postlewaite, Leta Biasucci, Angelica Generosa, and Kyle Davis – all dancers I admire.

It is a performance that has always stayed with me, with a magical affect that has not been equaled.

It is also welcome news that PNB is reviving Kent Stowell’s The Firebird, which has not been seen at PNB in over 20 years. I was just thinking last year, after watching PNB’s impressive array of Sirens in Prodigal Son, that it was a perfect time for such dancers as Elle Macy, Amanda Morgan, or Audrey Malek to play the Firebird, and perhaps Peter Boal agreed.

PNB is going to dance Giselle, a near-perfect story ballet in my opinion, as well as works by Twyla Tharp, Ulysses Dove, Dani Rowe, Alejandro Cerrudo, and Jessica Lang. It promises to be another diverse season.

Hopefully Leah Terada is able return next season in full health. Other young dancers that I hope to have the opportunity to see more of include Destiny Wimpye, Melisa Guilliams, Noah Martzall, Juliet Prine, and Luca Anaya. But of course, I am not alone in wishing the entire company a fulfilling, healthful, and stimulating new season.

To view their 2025-2026 Season Preview, follow this link. PNB, by far, releases the best season previews, as well as trailers of individual reps. Where other companies stage glorified photo shoots or feature talking, PNB provides clear, well-edited footage taken from previous performances. It baffles me that more companies don’t do this.