Following a year that nobody wants to revisit anytime soon, Artistic Director Peter Boal has optimistically announced the line-up for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 49th season, running from September 2021 to June 2022. A love letter to PNB’s loyal fans, highlights of PNB’s return to the McCaw Hall stage include full-evening programs devoted to the works of Alejandro Cerrudo and Twyla Tharp, PNB premieres by Alonzo King and Robyn Mineko Williams, the triumphant return of classic story ballets Swan Lake and Roméo et Juliette, as well as works by Ulysses Dove, Jessica Lang, Justin Peck, and Crystal Pite. (And, of course, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®.) PNB will continue to offer its digital subscription as well – during the past pandemic year the company’s offerings were viewed by ballet fans in every state and 39 countries – although the digital season will not run day-and-date with the live performances. (Details to be announced.) Full-season subscribers will have access to the digital season as part of their subscription.

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Rep I – Singularly Cerrudo

Come admire the creative power of PNB’s Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo in this triple bill of his most beloved work. Breathe in the moving tranquility of Silent Ghost, get a tantalizing look at the spectacular teamwork in an excerpt from One Thousand Pieces, and journey through the unexpected twists and turns of Little mortal jump. At the center of it all? Spectacular dancing and Cerrudo’s compelling perspective on humanity.

Silent Ghost
Music: Dustin Hamman, King Creosote & Jon Hopkins, Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm
Choreography: Alejandro Cerrudo

One Thousand Pieces (Excerpt)
Music: Philip Glass
Choreography: Alejandro Cerrudo

Little mortal jump
Music: Beirut, Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire, Alexandre Desplat, Philip Glass, Hans Otte, Max Richter, Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
Choreography: Alejandro Cerrudo

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Rep II – Beyond Ballet

Dove. King. Lang. As we celebrate the unique voices of these three internationally acclaimed choreographers, we can find even more beauty in their common threads. The combination of Ulysses Dove’s mournful Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, Jessica Lang’s haunting Ghost Variations, and the PNB Premiere of Alonzo King’s The Personal Element promises unmatched emotion, expression, and musicality.

Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven
Music: Arvo Pärt / Choreography: Ulysses Dove 

Ghost Variations
Music: Robert Schumann and Clara Schumann / Choreography: Jessica Lang

The Personal Element (PNB Premiere)
Music: Jason Moran / Choreography: Alonzo King

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George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker

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Rep III – Roméo et Juliette

You saw it last February on our Digital Stage, but nothing compares to the in-person experience! Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette will sweep you away to Verona and back again. Savor the incredible dancing, the flush of first love, Prokofiev’s rich score, and the drama of Shakespeare’s classic story – all in the course of one stunning ballet.

Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot 
Scenery: Ernest Pignon-Ernest 
Costumes: Jerome Kaplan

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Rep IV – Plot Points

Bold experimentation is the theme for this set of trailblazing pieces. Crystal Pite, Justin Peck, and Robyn Mineko-Williams flip expectations upside down and come out the other side in an enigmatic new world. PNB audiences will remember the cinematic suspense of Pite’s Plot Point from previous performances. The arresting complexity of Peck’s The Times Are Racing and a world premiere by Mineko-Williams (The Trees The Trees) are sure to make a similarly deep impression. 

The Times Are Racing (PNB Premiere)
Music: Dan Deacon / Choreography: Justin Peck

World Premiere
Robyn Mineko-Williams

Plot Point
Music: Bernard Herrmann / Choreography: Crystal Pite

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Rep V – Swan Lake

PNB’s triumphant return to the stage wouldn’t be complete without Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake. Every element of this production is carefully crafted to keep you on the edge of your seat, from the masterful choreography, to the stunning costumes, to the undeniably iconic score. Most captivating of all? The story at the ballet’s heart: a classic tale of good versus evil, temptation, tragedy, and love of the highest order.

Music: P.I. Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Kent Stowell
Scenery: Ming Cho Lee
Costumes: Paul Tazwell 

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Rep VI – All Tharp

Our final rep of the season is all about the legendary dancer, director, and choreographer Twyla Tharp. From the sweet echo of her own Quaker roots in Sweet Fields, to the haunting Scottish clan in Brief Fling, to the all-out joy of New Orleans that runs through Waiting at the Station – Tharp draws inspiration from around the globe and yet her style remains quintessentially her own.

Brief Fling
Music: Michel Colombier and Percy Grainger

Sweet Fields (PNB Premiere)
Music: 18^th– and 19^th-century American hymns by William Billings, William Walker, Abraham Woods, Jeremiah Ingalls, and Shaker songs

Waiting at the Station
Music: Allen Toussaint 

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PNB is currently accepting season subscription renewals and new digital-season subscription orders; new subscriptions, single tickets to the season, and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® will go on sale to the public later this summer. For further information, contact the PNB Box Office by phone at 206.441.2424, or online at PNB.org. As always, everything is subject to change.

(New subscriptions, Nutcracker and season single tickets to go on sale later this summer.)

Full-season subscriptions start at $190.
Four-show partial-season subscriptions (February – June performances) start at $130.
Digital season subscriptions available for $249.
(Free with full-season season subscriptions; $150 with partial-season seated subscriptions.)