Christopher Wheeldon’s new work for the Pacific Northwest Ballet is called “Curious Kingdom”. Since the music is exclusively French, the title could refer to France, although it has been a long time since that country had a king. Or maybe the alliterative phrase and its adjective “Alice in Wonderland” allude to contemporary ballet.
Whatever the title means, what’s important is that Wheeldon created a distinctive and memorable realm. This does not apply to the other premiere of Pacific Northwest’s latest digital programming (available through Monday on the company’s website): Edwaard Liang’s “The Veil Between Worlds”.
“Curious Kingdom” is accordingly chic. The tops of Harriet Jung and Reid Bartelme’s unitards are cleverly shaded to appear like the bodices of strapless dresses. While the music changes from piano pieces by Satie and Ravel to songs by Edith Piaf, the dancers decorate with mesh overlays, short or elbow-length gloves, tulle skirts and large bows in pink. In the lighting design by Reed Nakayama, the stage floor shines like a reflecting pool, underlaid by a sequence of individual colors: gold, green, blue, purple.
Smartly dressed, Wheeldon’s choreography, mainly solos and duets, retains a glamorous languor and achieves moments of exquisite beauty. Satie’s “Gnossiennes” combine the work with the poetic purity of Frederick Ashton’s “Monotones”, a connection that deserves long lines that suddenly break. A duet is a miracle of interlocking flamingo shapes. Others are more mirror-like and are based on the music, some of which come from Ravel’s “Miroirs” suite. To all of this, the piaf sections add a bit of color and cabaret. The excellent Lucien Postlewaite, a kind of faun in his opening solo, ends with a stylish hint of drag.
Liang’s “Veil”, on the other hand, is characterless. The music, a new composition by Oliver Davis, sounds like a contemporary ballet score with paint by numbers, and Liang’s neoclassical choreography looks like something any skilled dance maker could have created in the past few decades. There is a literal veil – a large piece of silk thrown like a parachute or the handkerchief of a giant magician. But nothing about the light and harmless choreography seems magical.
Nevertheless, the dancers – especially Dylan Wald, who also shines in Wheeldon, and Jerome and Laura Tisserand, who are about to leave – look good and happy in it. And that’s important too.
Among American troops, Pacific Northwest has been one of the most successful in switching to digital programs to keep their dancers active and engage their audiences. Its latest offer is characteristic: beautifully filmed and packed with extra features, including a pure selection of music by the company’s first-class musicians. Aside from “Curious Kingdom”, the new works of the season aren’t extraordinary for me, but as someone who lives far from Seattle, I’m grateful for the chance to see and get to know these dancers.
In a program note, Peter Boal, the artistic director, boasts that the digital season has attracted subscribers in 50 states and 36 countries. “We won’t turn our backs on you,” he writes, promising not only that the company will go live on stage again in the fall, but also that the digital programming will continue. Both parts are good news.
Pacific Northwest Ballet, Program 6
See you Monday, pnb.org
