Archive for pacific northwest ballet
August 8, 2008 at 5:19 pm · Filed under dance, CARLA, pacific northwest ballet, carla korbes, damian woetzel, philip glass, vail dance festival
What a great way to come back to the stage. After six months of recovery my first performance back couldn’t have been better. I dance The Orchard, music by Philip Glass and choreography by Damian Woetzel. The piece was choreographer on Tyler Angle and me and it premiered last year at the Vail Dance Festival. A couple of months ago I received a phone call from Damian asking me to dance his piece again at the opening Gala for the Vail Dance Festival. He also added that Philip Glass and Wendy Sutter would be playing for the performance. I can’t even describe how I felt. All I can remember was thinking: I hope I am back dancing at that time!
And I was. That was my first show back. Dancing along with Philip Glass felt surreal. Both, he and Wendy Sutter, are amazing people to be around. Their energy and the sound they create together makes you forget where you are. Also, it is always a pleasure to share the stage with so many other talented dancers from different companies. Among them were the Paul Taylor Company, Wendy Whelan, Craig Hall and Fang-Yi Sheu.
My other shows, one with PNB and two for the International Evening of Dance, were also great. It was such a pleasure being onstage again without major lower back pain. I was very careful in class and rehearsals, and by the time I had to perform I even forgot I was just coming back from an injury. It felt so natural and exciting to me.
Colorado is a wonderful place and the Festival Damian Woetzel created was a huge successes. I fell lucky to be able to come back to the stage this way.
I will keep you posted about our exciting new season coming up in September with 2 World Premiers by Twyla Tharp.
Company class on stage at the Amphitheater
Peter Boal teaching class. This theater is really magical.
PNB rehearsing Concerto Barroco with the Fancy Free set on the back. Principals Miranda Weese and Carrie Imler leading the show.
Philip Glass rehearsing for the opening Gala of the Vail Dance Festival. This photo was taken by Principal Dancer Louise Nadeau. She took beautiful photos of our rehearsals in Vail. She’s got the touch…
For more photos of the shows, rehearsal and for videos please check back at www.vaildance.org and at http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaildance/
New stuff is updated everyday until the end of the festival!
Enjoy it!
Recent Posts by carla korbes
July 21, 2008 at 10:17 pm · Filed under dance, injuries, CARLA, pacific northwest ballet, les ballets de monte carlo
Life just keeps giving me opportunities to continue to grow as a person. Last January, I was rehearsing Juliette with Lucien Postlewaite for PNB’s new production of Christophe Maillot’s Romeo et Juliette. I was thrilled that I was getting to dance this amazing ballet and I was getting to work with Giovanna Lorenzoni and Gaby Baars from Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. I knew my back was in trouble but the idea of letting go of an opening night as Juliette seemed impossible to me. A week and half before opening night my body shut down. Like coming out of a dream, I was awakened to realize once again that nothing is more important than my health and that it was time to let go. It was an experience of letting go of control. The pain was very humbling. My body was injured and I had to help it to heal.
So here I am. Six months have gone by and my back has mostly healed from a compressed fracture in one of my vertebras. I have returned to dancing (as of this past week!). But this past six months have been very valuable to me. What I can remember from my past injuries is a lot of frustration and depression from not being able to dance. But this time was different. After realizing I wasn’t going to be able to perform Juliette, my mind, body and soul felt open to see what else I could do with myself besides dance.
The first thing I did was to enroll in a class at Seattle University. Until now, I never had an honest desire to go back to school, but since last year the idea of studying again seems wonderful to me. So I took an English and a Philosophy class and loved every moment of it (or almost every moment of it!!). I loved the fact that I was learning new things and I loved seeing myself as a student. It was very easy to dedicate myself to every task. I also started to take singing lessons. As a kid, my Mom and Dad sang with a choir and my older sister had a rock band. They all have incredible voices. We used to sing all the time. (We had songs for Beer, Meals, Chimarrao tea, beautiful sunsets) So I found Ann Evans, my Voice teacher, who has reminded me of how free one can feel when singing. It’s been healing to me to sing again and remember my times in Brazil singing famous Brazilian songs with my sister.
And one of the most important lessons from this injury is how much I have learned about my body and especially my back. Ever since I moved to Seattle I have been interested in the wonders of the human body and how it all works. I have taken Aston Patterning courses in movement and alignment to try to understand as much as I can about the body. Through this injury I got to work with great physical therapists, from traditional to holistic, Naturopathic doctors, Aston patterning, and acupuncture, etc. All of them added something to this enormous puzzle in my head about the body. I enjoy learning and working with the body so much that it makes me wonder if perhaps I will pursue something in this field when I retire from ballet.
But for now I am back to ballet and ready to be onstage again next Sunday. I will be doing four shows at the Vail Dance Festival. My first show will be at the opening night Gala, Sunday July 27th. Damian Woetzel choreographed a piece last year for Tyler Angle (NYCB) and I, and we will dance along with Phillip Glass on the piano (how exciting is that!). My second show will be with PNB, where I will be dancing Fancy Free. Then I have two more shows for the Vail International Evening of Dance with Batkhurel Bold.
It can be so easy to be completely hypnotized by the excitement of being onstage again and to get mesmerized by the magic ballet can create. However, I need to remember: ballet is my eternal love, but my body and my health is still the most important thing because without it I wouldn’t be able to dance.
Writing this post will help me remembered that!?!?!?
See you all after Vail. Hopefully I will have some nice shots from the tour and good news about how my back is doing!!
Recent Posts by carla korbes
June 20, 2008 at 6:54 pm · Filed under ballet, dance, kennedy center, pacific northwest ballet, life, festival, NOE
My last few weeks at PNB were exciting and emotional, as expected. What’s so incredible about the past season is the rep that the dancers acquired, and the people that came along with it. I’ve never had a season so demanding and fulfilling. To end the 2007-2008 season we had a gala performance called 8 Encores. It’s quite a ride to put together an evening full of works from the past season, but what a great way to celebrate works new to PNB, and its dancers. Heck, what a great way to celebrate the dancers! Anyhow, it was nice for me to be able to look back and see har far we’ve come.
PNB dancers in rehearsal for Ulysses Dove’s Vespers.
In my very last week of work I was fortunate enough to perform at the Kennedy Center, and be a part of “Ballet Across America”. I realized during class the first day that my journey with PNB had come full circle. The very room where I had my last class with Peter Boal in the Kennedy Center, was the very same room where I did my first audition for PNB, when I was 13. I began and ended my journey with PNB in that studio. Strange!! The wrting was literally on the wall in the studio!
Septime Webre, Director of Washington Ballet taught our last class. Pictured are dancers from Kansas City Ballet, Washington Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Another season has come and gone at Pacific Northwest Ballet. What’s hard to believe is that I won’t be returning. It’s difficult to speak openly about my new venture in Monte-Carlo, because I find that people don’t quite understand what’s really going on, or they question my move. Most think something went wrong, be it my marriage or work at PNB. That’s not the case at all, and I guess I should just set the record straight. To put it simply, I want to try something new, and I have been fortunate enough to find new inspiration. I think there is a time in every person’s life where you have to make bold moves. I truly believe that you can’t get anywhere unless risks are taken. It was Mark Twain who said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” That said, I do still want to reflect on my years at PNB. I think what stands out the most in my mind is the sense of belonging and community that I had at PNB. Great things happen with team work and support. And quite honestly, one can’t do it alone. There was always a wonderful, collective energy from my colleagues. The picture below is one of the many group shots taken in one of my last weeks of work at PNB. Although it’s a scan of the photo, Angela Sterling should be credited for capturing a moment that we’ll never get back. Thank you Angela, and of course, thank you PNB.
Recent Posts by noelani pantastico
May 24, 2008 at 8:33 pm · Filed under dance, rehearsals, pacific northwest ballet, choreographer, jerome robbins, NOE
Kiyon Gaines, Jordan Pacitti, Jeff Stanton, and Kylee Kitchens in Fancy Free
I’ve noticed with Robbins’ choreography that there is a simplicity to it that makes it so great. It’s comprehensive yet uncomplicated. In the Night is pure, calm, and literal (and not to mention beautiful), which allows the audience to ingest the full sentiment of each of the three couples. And although a completely different feel, in The Concert, the same is relevant. Each character has a clear nature to them. The life situations that that the characters are then put in makes for a humorous gathering. The moment one tries to add humor or antics to this peice, those funny moments are lost. Like many companies in the US, PNB is celebrating Jerome Robbins. I’m so happy to be able to experience and celebrate this amazing choreographer. Our program, All Robbins, has three of this American icon’s masterpeices. Here are some rehearsal pictures of The Concert, Fancy Free, and In The Night.
Miranda Weese, Jeff Stanton, and Seth and Sara Orza in In the Night
Famed pianist, Dianne Chilgren getting in on the fun in The Concert
Recent Posts by noelani pantastico
May 3, 2008 at 5:35 pm · Filed under dance, pacific northwest ballet, NOE, noelani pantastico, les ballets de monte carlo
Hello Wingers!
I’m happy to introduce you to Ms. Noelani Pantastico, a current principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet, and future dancer with Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.
Noe is joining us as she makes a big transition across the globe, leaving her home with PNB to embark on new adventures with Les Ballets. You may already know Noe from her great website, and we are very excited that she will be sharing her experiences with us here as well, as she begins what will surely be an exciting new time.
Here is Noe in her own words, from a PNB press release about her transition…
“My journey as a professional dancer began at 16 when I auditioned for Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1996,” said Pantastico. “I have been blessed to work in one of the best companies in the US. When I think back on my aspirations of dancing for PNB, I never imagined I would leave. Now, at 27, I am at a point in my career where I feel the need to spread my wings and experience another dance world. I am fortunate enough to be able to start over and still have a long career ahead of me. I have so much more to learn about myself as well as the ballet world. Kent Stowell, Francia Russell and Peter Boal have greatly impacted my career and molded me in the process. They have all made me see that the possibilities in dance are endless. In addition, the dancers at PNB, as well as Seattle audiences, have helped me become the person I am by giving me the wonderful gift of support over the years.”
You can see Noe dance with PNB through June 8th, which will be her final performance with the company.
Welcome Noe!
Recent Posts by noelani pantastico
July 25, 2007 at 6:40 am · Filed under dance, travel, CARLA, pacific northwest ballet, vail, morphoses, photography, festival, angela sterling, damian woetzel, chirstopher wheeldon, gigs, pnb
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2007 Summer Vacation was definitely a quick one! We got back 2 ½ weeks ago to get ready for our tour to Vail, Colorado, where we will be performing at the 2007 VAIL INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL. Damian Woetzel was named the new artistic director for the festival and we are very honored to be invited to perform during his first Festival. PNB will perform three shows, July 29th and 30th and August 1st. We are bringing incredible ballets to Vail, from Balanchine to Nacho Duato to William Forsythe to Twyla Tharp. These performances should be very exciting.
Additionally to these shows I will also be dancing on August 3rd and 4th at the International Evenings of Dance, an evening Damian organized that will show stars from the Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Pacific Northwest Ballet and many others. Bold and I will dance a Pas de Deux from Rassemblement, a Nacho Duato piece, and Balanchine’s Diamonds.
And I will also be dancing on a very exciting night. The premiere of Morphoses, Christopher Wheeldon’s new company. The performance will be on August 10th, and a preview on the 8th. I am so excited to be able to dance Polyphonia with his new company. Thank you Chris for inviting me to be part of this special evening.
And if all this preparation wasn’t enough I had some time to do a photo shoot with Angela Sterling this past weekend. Angela and I had a great time together. Angela was shooting for a promotional shoot for PNB. I think I have given the winger readers her link before, but for the ones that haven’t got a chance to see her work you can go to www.angelasterlingphoto.com to check out her amazing photos.
Hope some of you can make it to Vail. It is going to be a very exciting festival.
Packing up our costumes, shoes, thights, headpieces…….
PNB’s programs in Vail.
Angela Sterling doing her magic!
Recent Posts by carla korbes
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