Pacific Northwest Ballet. - Seattle Center Opera House, Seattle, Washington - dance reviews

Dance Magazine, March, 1995 by Martha Ullman West

Even at the end of his life, unlike the many artists who imitate themselves or safely coast on their reputations, George Balanchine took tremendous artistic risks, particularly with Mozartiana, his last great ballet.

Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, former New York City Ballet dancers and now artistic directors of Pacific Northwest Ballet, are also risktakers, seldom playing it safe with either their repertoire or their programming. Yet the execution of PNB's repertoire is sometimes overcautious.

Unfortunately, that was true on opening night of the Seattle company's 1994-1995 season, when PNB presented a mixed bill that included two company premieres, Mozartiana and Jerome Robbins's 1953 piece d'occasion, Fanfare. Sandwiched in between were Stowell's Dumbarton Oaks and Pas de Deux Campagnolo.

There was nothing actually the matter with Mozartiana, set on PNB by Suzanne Farrell, but it never caught fire. Allowing for opening-night jitters, the company danced Balanchine's fiendishly complex steps accurately, even reverently, but without much spark.

The exception was Patricia Barker, spiritual in the "Preghiera" solo, fleet and elegant in the "Theme et Variations" duets with Ross Yearsley. Barker's port de bras throughout was lovely, swift, and smooth, not easy for many dancers outside New York City Ballet. Yearsley had the required speed, and his partnering was seamless, but his dancing was too thoughtful.

The excellence of PNB's school was demonstrated clearly by the four young girls, Alexa McNae, Nicole Ritner, Lara Seefeldt, and Lisa Tamaki. Their performance was disciplined and they seemed to know what they were dancing about. The orchestra, conducted by Stewart Kershaw, sounded tentative at times, which didn't help the dancers.

The dancing of Fanfare, Robbins's visualization of Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, was infused with joie de vivre and a sense of fun. Ariana Lallone, a tall, leggy dancer who was also witty and marvelous in Dumbarton Oaks, danced a playful harp solo; company stalwarts Benjamin Houk, Seth Belliston, and Paul Gibson were splendid percussion instruments, if somewhat reminiscent of the Three Stooges.

Stowell's Pas de Deux Campagnolo was the vehicle for what was easily the most exciting dancing of the evening, with Louise Nadeau and Andre Reyes performing a traditional Bolshoi-style duet to music by Verdi. Stowell can be uneven as a choreographer, but he is definitely musical, and this 1986 duet was operatic in its virtuosity, flamboyant in its conception. And while he's done far more sophisticated work since creating the cheerfully sporty Dumbarton Oaks in 1982, it's a good vehicle for the dancers. They romped through it with all due speed.