Macho, moody, and whimsical, PNB's All Robbins program is a stand-up triple, if not a home run (at McCaw Hall through June 8; tickets: $20-$150). Actually the Mariners could learn a lot from the raw athleticism, discipline, and teamwork on display. Opening night's Fancy Free sparked and fizzed erratically; conductor Stewart Kershaw, swinging the baton sans panache, kept Bernstein's charged score sounding off-kilter. But PNB rallied during In the Night, and by the time The Concert wrapped up, even the golf-clappers in the audience were on their feet cheering. more ›

"Ah, this is ballet," sighed one white-haired woman to another. And then, for emphasis, "This is ballet." Originally choreographed by George Balanchine, this is Francia Russell's staging of the master's A Midsummer Night's Dream (at McCaw Hall through April 13, tickets $20-$150). It's "real" ballet in the way that a Cheever short story signifies the New Yorker. But we're not here to beat up on oldsters, according to our parole officer--and neither is the Peter Boal-led Pacific Northwest Ballet, which approached the work with a captivating intensity, driving straight for its muscular, passionate heart. more ›

PNB's Director's Choice opened last night (through March 22 at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St; tickets: $20-$150) with a mixed program that seemed designed to rouse sleepers and ruffle feathers. Seattle is not really a walk-out-in-a-huff town--it's more likely to seethe-silently-and-save-up-catty-comments. But still, we did see two separate people march out of William Forsythe's One Flat Thing, reproduced, secure in the knowledge that it was the last piece on the bill. more ›