After an absence of several months, the beleaguered Seattle theater company, the Intiman, shows signs of life with the announcement of a 2012 Summer Theater festival. Seattlest takes a look at the announced productions and reflects on what they bring to the table. more ›

Whim W'Him's show at the Intiman Theatre last week, reSet, offered an interesting summary of the group's career so far. It was fascinating to see the evolution of Olivier Wevers' choreography with the group in a triptych of pieces: the newly revisited 3Seasons, the powerful Monster and the debut of INAT$ (It's Not About The Money). more ›

It has been a busy year for Olivier Wevers. With his retirement this spring from the Pacific Northwest Ballet, he has thrown himself into his role as artistic director for Whim W'Him with aplomb. And he has another busy week in store... more ›

It was with bated breath that a sold-out crowd waited for the curtain to open at Intiman Theatre last weekend. The buzz about this new dance company has been building for the past year, starting with Whim W’him’s sold-out premiere at On the Boards last January and culminating with the December announcement that Whim W’him would become Intiman’s first Resident Dance Company, a five-year partnership beginning in January 2011. more ›

This weekend, PNB's Olivier Wevers and his fledgling dance/music/performance company, Whim W'him, will warm the floors as Intiman Theatre's first resident dance company. The five-year partnership will kick off Friday with Shadows, Raincoats & Monsters, a compilation of work by European choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, with two new pieces by Wevers. The performance will also subsequently mark the launch of Whim W'him's second season. more ›

It's dance season again in Seattle, and you'll have no shortage of events to choose from this month. Of particular interest is the upcoming 8th Men in Dance festival, which has again brought together a range of dance styles and choreographic talent to showcase local men dancing together - without a single woman onstage. more ›

The assignment: a “l’edition francaise” burlesque show, with three choreographers combining to present their take on sexuality, with a french twist. Presented by burlesque madame Lily Verlaine, herself one of the choreographers, l’Edition Francaise ran for two shows last Wednesday (Bastille Day) on the Triple Door’s main stage. more ›

Exactly two hundred and twenty one years ago today, hundreds of Parisians, brewing with freedom-loving fervor and revolution, stormed the Bastille prison and military fortress—France’s symbol of monarchical tyranny and oppression. The fall of the Bastille marks the advent of the French Revolution, secularism, citizenship, inalienable rights, and the “modern era”. Nowadays the French celebrate their freedom with fireworks, feasting, parades and parties, and the party continues 5,000 miles away. more ›

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 ›

Depending on how quickly we post this, there are two more showings of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Laugh Out Loud Festival's Program B today, at 1 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $20-$80. We don't know about you, but with all the sleet and snow this weekend, we've been craving some silly indoor festivities. This fills the bill to a T. 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 ›

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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 ›

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 ›

After hearing "emerging Seattle choreographer" Zoe Scofield and PNB's Peter Boal at a talkin-'bout-dance panel Sunday, we were looking forward to Monday, which featured performances by Scofield and PNB. Non-dance highlights were our uber-local, fast-talking, Spalding-Grayish Matt Smith monologuing about manliness and his move to Bainbridge Island, the new wave rearrangements of cover band Nouvelle Vague (including a sing-along to "Too Drunk To Fuck"), and finishing the day inside a sweaty knot of teens listening to CocoRosie getting all rapped-up with vocal beat boxing and shiznit. We know that sounds sexy.
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