A Perfectly Crafted Night of Ballet Ignites a New Season at PNB
After a long summer away, every moment of PNB's The Times Are Racing feels like pure soul nourishment, as well as a celebration of getting to be back in this place together. All night long, I saw it on the faces of those around me, the joy and relief of being back in the refuge that McCaw Hall can be. PNB opens their 24/25 season with a rep which shows us the diversity of ballet, with three distinctive pieces that create a lively and very moving evening of art. It shows us not only the extraordinary range of these dancers, but also the magnitude of what this art form is capable of evoking.
I can think of no better way to start a new season of ballet than with the otherworldly beauty of Edwaard Liang’s The Veil Between Worlds. Its curling vermillion silk, and vibrant sense of life unfurls upon the stage with great purpose, declaring the beginning of something priceless and wondrous. The Veil Between Worlds, with an impeccable score by Oliver Davis, is a mesmerizing feat which exists outside of space and time. It is the epitome of human spirit in all of its beauty, heartache, and hope. Despite this piece only being three years old, it already has a long history with PNB. It was created during the pandemic to close out PNB’s 2020-2021 digital season, and even through the screen was able to bring much needed light into our lives. In 2023, it opened the last rep of the 50th anniversary season, and this past June was featured at the Kennedy Center as part of 10,000 Dreams: A Celebration of Asian Choreography.
Now, more than three years after its premiere, the overwhelming sense of hope and heavenly beauty remains intact despite how much our circumstances have changed. The Veil Between Worlds highlights the power of art to rebalance our world, to make everything feel brighter and more meaningful than when you walked into the theater. It is lush, exuberant, and above all, ridiculously beautiful. It’s one of those pieces that I wouldn’t mind seeing every season, for I don’t think I could ever tire of its magic.
The first pas de deux is a darkly lit, yet delicate duet which carries something bittersweet in its wistful melody. On Saturday night, Lily Wills and Luther DeMyer were a picture of serene grace and gorgeous fluidity, which was captivating enough to make me wish they may decide to dance on forever into the deep blue.
Larry Lancaster had big shoes to fill as he stepped in at the last moment for Jonathan Batista, but gasps were heard in the audience as he soared out of the wings and hung suspended in midair. His physical capacity to defy gravity seems to know no bounds. Needless to say, the future of PNB is in very good hands.
Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan and Angelica Generosa were, as always, an absolute joy to behold. Their sparkling delight, and radiant stage presence made me wonder all over again at what a privilege it is to see such exquisite artists perform right before our eyes.
The third movement of The Veil Between Worlds finds a dancer alone in the dim rose-hued light to perform a solo which feels incredibly intimate as if we are intruding on a private moment. For three minutes, there is only a singular dancer, and a haunting tune to command the stage while the audience sits spellbound. On both Friday and Saturday night, this dancer was Dylan Wald, who never dances as though the choreography was prescribed to him. He dances it as though it were surging directly from his innermost being with a sense of necessity. The last time that PNB performed The Veil Between Worlds, Wald had only been back for three months after being out injured for a year, and this solo felt poignantly cathartic and personal. It still feels that way. It is an extraordinary picture of an artist in motion. Watching Wald pour out his heart in this solo is to experience someone who needs to dance, and who is able to express so much in every moment of mind-blowing control and steadfast focus.
The second pas de deux is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Elle Macy and Dylan Wald never fail to leave the rest of the world behind when they dance together, and from the very first note, we are transported. In my mind, this is and always will be their pas de deux, and each breathless moment belongs to them alone. For four perfect minutes, all that exists in the world is the aching beauty which these two create. Only four minutes, yet I would argue that this pas de deux alone is worth the price of a ticket. Both Macy and Wald always manage to dance with full soul investment, and with a quality that will surely convince you that the movement is rushing directly from some authentic part of their hearts. Their commitment to the moment is simply incomparable; they take such care with each small gesture, and dance as if there was never anything in the world except for this silken dance which they get to share.
There’s a moment near the end that gets me every time. Macy stands on pointe before a lunging Wald, who takes her knees in his hands while she melts like liquid into him and to the ground. Audible sighs and gasps were heard around me at this astounding sight of complete trust, and of giving oneself so fully to another. It appears as though it shouldn’t be physically possible, but Macy and Wald make miracles happen, as they so often do. Throughout this pas de deux, I heard the reactions all around me, the inevitable tears that come because it is just that beautiful, and the loss that is felt when the stage falls dark on this intoxicating moment in time.
When the curtain goes up on Jessica Lang’s new world premiere, Black Wave, we are in a scene far away from the bright, warm-hued land of The Veil Between Worlds. Cast in stark shadow and cool gray and blue tones, a large branch hangs silhouetted against the fading blue backdrop. It is there that we meet our lead character, dressed in airy white, and danced on opening night by Leah Terada. Inspired by mental health and the Japanese art of Kintsugi, this work certainly carries some qualities of a narrative piece, although the story is a blurred one left open to interpretation. Black Wave is poetry in motion, an evocative work you must simply let wash over you in all of its rich complexity.
From the get go, it is visually stunning. The overhanging branch, designed by Libby Stadstad, reaches down halfway through to nearly graze the floor, and then brightens into an astonishing gold, a nod towards Kintsugi. The wispy, layered costumes also play a brilliant role in adding to the story. On opening night, Leah reached towards one of the dancers, and it appeared as though her hand was penetrating the ghostly mesh, blurring the lines between reality and illusion.
The corps de ballet in this piece often acts as a visual representation of the busyness of the mind, making the stage an intricate maze of motion whose mercy the lead is at. Two pairs of dancers, one in robin egg blue, the other in a slate blue, continuously seek out interactions with this character, at times seeming to guide, ambush, and swarm the lead. In the first cast of the slate blue couple, Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan and newly promoted soloist Luther DeMyer attacked the stage with ferocious energy in roles which so perfectly suit the dramatic strengths of these dancers. Their sharp-edged fervor, and full relish of the story’s tension was invigorating.
On Saturday night, the second cast was as a whole so cohesively committed that I experienced the piece completely differently. Christopher D’Ariano in the lead role was an astonishing and haunting sight, with a glazed look in his eyes, and rippling limbs which seemed to have a mind of their own. His emotional devotion to the role could be seen pouring out of every fingertip, and the faraway look upon his face was enough to convince me that it was all painfully real. Elle Macy and Angelica Generosa, as the robin egg blue pair, were also so deeply entrenched in the web of the tale that it truly began to feel like a story ballet.
Getting to see two casts of this piece allowed me to appreciate how fascinating it is have the same role danced by someone who is on pointe versus in flat shoes. Jessica Lang cast Leah Terada and Christopher D’Ariano in the lead part, Elle Macy in a role also danced by Dylan Wald, and Clara Ruf Maldonado in a role danced in the first cast by Kuu Sakuragi. This difference in the quality of pointe versus flat–not better or worse, simply a shift in the levity of a dancer–should be enough to convince audiences to come see the piece more than once.
The ending of Black Wave is pure poetry. The lead character stands anchored by a puddle of dancers, while everything above their knees curls, melts, billows, and is blown by unseeable forces. It’s a potent image, one which both Terada and D’Ariano absolutely nailed, and the clearly moved audience burst into applause before the curtain could even begin its descent.
Justin Peck’s 2017 sneaker ballet, The Times Are Racing, evokes a response which sounds very similar to the crowd of a sports game. It is packed to the brim with electric energy, and an explosion of human love for movement. It often feels like a celebration of dance in all of its forms as the quick-moving, intricate choreography is interwoven with elements of ballet, hip hop, and tap. This piece is full of contagious, pulsing vigor, but as the title suggests, there is a sense of nostalgia which hangs in the air above the brightly-clad dancers, as if they do know that the times are indeed racing, and that what they have today will not be forever.
The tap duo section of The Times Are Racing replaces the pounding electro throb with a captivating beat, a welcome interruption which makes the medley of the piece much more dynamic. Christian Poppe and Genevieve Waldorf showed such genuine connection in these roles, as if they had just stumbled upon a friend at a street corner and found a rhythm they simply had to move to. The pedestrian-quality of this piece is one of the most delightful things about it. It all seems so natural, even the most complex footwork appears to be springing from a deeply human desire to be in motion.
In the light-hearted, clever pas de deux, Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan and Lucien Postlewaite were on fire, roaring with unbound life and glorious passion. Likewise, on Saturday night, Ashton Edwards and Zsilas Michael Hughes were practically bursting with explosive thrill, and flew through the detailed choreography as if with wings. Since I last saw this piece when it premiered at PNB in 2022, I had forgotten about the surprising tenderness which fills this pas de deux. There is an undertone in it which suggests the dancers are truly trying to relish every moment that they have. The temporary nature of youth is woven into every step, which makes it all the more beautiful, seeing this singular moment in time when all things feel possible.
The Times Are Racing shows off the gift that PNB dancers have to make any style of movement seem like second nature, and best of all, it looked like they were all having a blast. With every step, they seemed to shout “now is everything”, and indeed, it was.
When the curtain came down, I heard somebody complain “awww…”. This piece draws you in and it’s difficult to let it end and allow these extraordinary dancers to go home. It is the perfect end to a night which reminds us why we love Pacific Northwest Ballet, and how lucky we are to have such an exceptional ballet company in Seattle. What a beautiful start to a season which promises to be phenomenally bright!
There are four more chances to catch this uplifting rep:
Thursday, September 26th @ 7:30pm (Pay What You Can Night!)
Friday, September 27th @ 7:30pm
Saturday, September 28th @ 7:30pm
Sunday. September 29th @ 1:00pm
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