We'll tell you right now, there is just not going to be a better Valentine's Day-ish gift than this Roméo et Juliette. more ›

Do dancers hibernate in winter? There's an explosion of dance activity coming up as January draws to a close. Had we but world enough and time, we'd go to all these shows, but time's chariot won't permit us to make up all the stops. Here's the wealth you have to choose from: more ›

Until the day after Thanksgiving, Seattlest hadn't seen The Nutcracker -- probably the world's most famous ballet -- in years. But we had a solid image in our head of what it looked like because when Seattlest was a little kid, our mom made an annual birthday tradition to see it every year on opening night. For much of our childhood, this meant getting all spiffed up and walking a few blocks to Lincoln... more ›

Seattlest went to the opening night of Pacific Northwest Ballet's Contemporary Classics last night for two favorites: Kiss and Caught. PNB has wisely brought these two pieces into it's repertory fold, continuing to signal Artistic Director Peter Boal's commitment to exploring choreography that is traditionally outside the realm of most ballet companies. Overall, PNB rose regally to the challenge. more ›

Ballet Imperial: it's tutus and tights and corps-de-ballet clockwork, but Balanchine's choreography is nothing to sneeze at. Maybe just that one scissor-kicky thing we secretly call "the Snoopy Dance," and therefore have trouble taking seriously. Otherwise, if the dancers were wearing skis, it'd be a black diamond run. This one shows up in the All Balanchine program that starts this weekend. more ›

Through June 10 // McCaw Hall // Tickets $18-$145 more ›

BALLET: The opening night of PNB's tribute to music man Igor Stravinsky, STRAVINSKY 125, brings the PNB premiere of Jerome Robbins’ Circus Polka, set to Stravinsky’s Circus Polka for Wind Symphony, and the return of two works by Balanchine -- Rubies, set to Capriccio for piano and orchestra, and his Symphony in Three Movements. Plus, there's the PNB premiere of Molissa Fenley’s solo work, State of Darkness, set to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. It's a week-and-a-half run, through June 10. more ›

McCaw Hall, tickets $20-$80 more ›

This is Week 3 of Pacific Northwest Ballet's Celebrate Seattle Festival, and the busiest one. There's the cunningly named Program A, Program B, and Program C, all highlighting the work of locally born or spent-some-time-here choreographers. Plus, one of our favorite good times, 10 Tiny Dances is performing One Tiny Dance in the lobby at intermissions. more ›

As we mentioned the other day, Seattlest was very excited for the PNB production of Carmina Burana, but we left a bit perplexed and frustrated. To start, we enjoyed Mark Morris' Pacific, a light and dreamy piece that found our thoughts wandering in a pleasant way about halfway through, befitting of a day spent listening to the ocean advance and retreat while pretending to read a book. It was a short and "limited" (to borrow from Seattlest Michael's summation) composition, but the perfect exemplar of Morris' work: seamless integration of ballet's technique and precision with the freedom and rule-free whimsy of modern dance. We love that he breaks ballet traditions by having group pieces with three men and one woman, all performing the same choreography (sure, later in Carmina Burana we have a woman with three men but stereotypically she's a harpy and they are pining for her), and the costumes were simple and perfectly suited to the choreography. more ›

Are you looking at that? It's the Pacific Northwest Ballet's production of Carmina Burana, and that's an entire choir behind the giganto Illuminati-looking sculpture hanging from the ceiling. The sheer scale of this piece has us salivating, the chanting backdrop to Carl Orff's seminal composition coursing through our veins and pounding in our head. Choreographed by Kent Stowell, former PNB artistic co-director and epic brewer of ballet dramas, Burana kicks off the "Celebrate Seattle Festival" on Thursday evening, and we are giddy with anticipation. more ›

AUTHOR, AUTHOR: Dr. Neal Barnard has his self-promotional finger on America's pulse with his book: Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs. Is a low-fat vegetarian diet in your future? more ›