Harriet Jung and Reid Bartelme
June 10, 2021
Pacific Northwest Ballet (digital release)
Filmed April 2021
Erik Satie (Ogive No. 4, 1889; Gnossiennes Nos. 1 and 2, 1893; Avant-dernières pensées, 1915), Maurice Ravel (Miroirs, II. “Oiseaux tristes” and V. “La vallée des cloches”, 1904–1905), and songs sung by Edith Piaf (“La Vie en rose”, 1947; “La Foule”, 1957; “L’Homme à la moto”, 1956; “Non, je ne regrette rien”, 1960)
The world premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Curious Kingdom is generously underwritten by Susan Brotman.
Christopher Wheeldon’s Curious Kingdom is the choreographer’s second creation for Pacific Northwest Ballet, following Tide Harmonic in 2013. The ballet for five dancers is divided into two parts. The first is set to a selection of evocative and mostly contemplative piano works by French Impressionist composers Erik Satie and Maurice Ravel. The fanciful addition of tulle accoutrements to the dancers’ costumes signals the transition to a suite of dances set to songs sung by legendary chanteuse Edith Piaf.