Ballet Talk with Pacific Northwest Ballet

Doug Fullington talks through and answers audience questions about ALL LANG. ALL LANG is made up of three dance works by Jessica Lang: the PNB premiere of her showstopping, joy-fueled work ZigZag set to the songs of Tony Bennett, audience favorite Her Door to the Sky, and the moving Ghost Variations. Recorded live in the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall in Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in Seattle, WA on Jun...

Join PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal in conversation with our Resident Choreographer Jessica Lang on the eve of the final performances of PNB's 2026/27 Season. ALL LANG is made up of three dance works by Jessica Lang: the PNB premiere of her showstopping, joy-fueled work ZigZag set to the songs of Tony Bennett, audience favorite Her Door to the Sky, and the moving Ghost Variations. Listen as Pete...

Moderator Mari Horita ( Seattle Kraken , One Roof Foundation ) and panelists Caitlin Oiye Coon (Archives Director, Denshō ), James Yoichi Moore (Former PNB Principal Dancer, PNB School Faculty ), and AC Petersen ( Librettist, Lyricist, Playwright ) discuss how arts, culture, and storytelling can help to express identity and advance inclusion. Read more about Momotaro Community Day and the panelist...

Doug Fullington takes our audience through ballet's preeminent ghost story, Giselle. Fullington talks about the origins of the ballet including the history of multiple versions of the ballet from France and Russia, in depth on Giselle's mad scene, PNB dancers premiering in new roles, and answer audience questions. Recorded live in the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall in Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in Seat...

Converge Media host Trae Holiday guests as moderator for the Dress Rehearsal Conversation ahead of PNB's fifth rep of the 2025/26 Season, Giselle. Listen as Trae interviews soloist Amanda Morgan and corps de ballet member Melisa Guilliams about their careers with Pacific Northwest Ballet and their experiences playing Myrtha, queen of the Wilis in Giselle. Recorded live in the Nesholm Family Lectur...

Doug Fullington introduces Pacific Northwest Ballet's fourth repertory of the 2025/26 season, FIREBIRD. On this triple bill program are Alejandro Cerrudo's Little mortal jump, Ulysses Dove's Red Angels, and Kent Stowell's Firebird. Doug covers Alejandro Cerrudo's residency at PNB, Peter Boal's history with Red Angels, fun facts about Firebird after a 20-year hiatus including Stravinsky conducting...

Listen to Artistic Director Peter Boal and retiring PNB Principal dancer Lucien Postlewaite in conversation ahead of Rep 4 in PNB's 2025/26 Season, FIREBIRD. The two cover a brief history of Lucien's life in dance, building his legacy at PNB and beyond, and passing along choreography in Ulysses S. Dove's Red Angels.  Recorded live in the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall in Seattle Center's Marion Olive...

PNB collaborator Doug Fullington talks through the history of the Cinderella story in ballet form. His Ballet Talk touches on Sergei Prokofiev's score, Kent Stowell's choreographic vision for PNB's version of the ballet, PNB's costume archives, and more! The Seattle Times calls Kent Stowell’s Cinderella “warm and joyous and deeply moving.” This ballet combines the story you know and love with spec...

Enjoy Doug Fullington's pre-show Ballet Talk for PNB's IN THE UPPER ROOM program. Doug talks through IN THE UPPER ROOM's triple-bill production including the premiere of AfterTime, a new work by PNB Company dancers Amanda Morgan and Christopher D'Ariano; Dani Rowe's intimate trio The Window; and Twyla Tharp's ballet blockbuster, the mesmerizing In the Upper Room. Fullington talks through each work...

The first rep of Pacific Northwest Ballet's 2025/26 season marked the return of George Balanchine’s Jewels to the stage after an eight-year hiatus. This trio of ballets features glittering scenic and costume design by Jérôme Kaplan and a perfect assortment of quintessential choreography by George Balanchine. Emeralds evokes French elegance, Rubies brings the glamor and jazz of America, and Diamond...

Listen along as dance historian Doug Fullington takes the Ballet Talk audience through the three works featured in Pacific Northwest Ballet's final performances of the 2024/25 Season. Twyla Tharp’s American masterpiece Nine Sinatra Songs is still sharp 40 years after its premiere. In it, Tharp effortlessly floats between dance genres, set to the familiar strains of Frank Sinatra hits. Two pieces f...

Enjoy this episode featuring Pacific Northwest Ballet Associate Artistic Director Kiyon Ross in conversation with choreographer Rena Butler ahead of the world premiere of her new work for PNB, Cracks. The two speak on Rena's upbringing in Chicago, her journey from dancer to choreographer, insights into her detailed choreographic process, and her current cultural inspirations.  This episode was rec...

Jean-Christophe Maillot’s contemporary version of Roméo et Juliette requires that dancers tap into unique skills of storytelling. Converge Media host Trae Holiday moderated this conversation with PNB dancers performing iconic roles for the first time. Listen to Angelica Generosa (Juliet), Dylan Wald (Romeo), Luther DeMyer (Friar Laurence), and Kuu Sakuragi (Mercutio) talk through how they got thei...

Listen as guest Ballet Talk lecturer Anne Searcy takes an introductory tour through PNB's fifth repertory program of the 2024/25 Season, Jean-Christophe Maillot's Romeo et Juliette. Anne Searcy is an Associate Professor of Music History at the University of Washington. Searcy covers the basic story itself, puts the original Shakespeare play in historical context, and gives a brief history of the v...

Listen to local Seattle arts journalist Marcie Sillman in conversation with PNB Company dancer Price Suddarth and collaborators on his new ballet Dawn Patrol. Hear from Price, choreographic assistant Emma Love Suddarth, scenic designer Chrisoula Kapelonis, composer Alfonso Peduto, lighting designer Reed Nakayama, and costume designer Mark Zappone. The collaborators talk through the inspiration for...

Enjoy Doug Fullington's pre-show Ballet Talk for PNB's EMERGENCE program. Doug talks through EMERGENCE's quadruple-bill production including the premiere of Dawn Patrol, a new work by PNB Company dancer Price Suddarth; Jerome Robbins' intimate Afternoon of a Faun; Marco Goecke's solo work Mopey; and another audience favorite of Crystal Pite's, the mesmerizing Emergence. Recorded live in the Neshol...

Join dance historian and The Sleeping Beauty stager Doug Fullington as he introduces Pacific Northwest Ballet's brand new production of The Sleeping Beauty in this Ballet Talk episode. Fullington covers the history of the ballet's original choreography by Marius Petipa and score by Peter Tchaikovsky, the process of restaging an 1890 ballet for modern audiences, this new productions talented collab...

Dance historian Doug Fullington gives an ALL BALANCHINE overview. He covers the brief histories of George Balanchine and his legacy, including the founding of New York City Ballet, staging Balanchine ballets and the George Balanchine Trust, and Balanchine's collaborators on the three works in PNB's ALL BALANCHINE program. This triple bill features Square Dance (1957), Prodigal Son (1929), and Stra...

Listen to Peter Boal in conversation with two PNB dancers dancing the titular role in George Balanchine's Prodigal Son for the first time. Jonathan Batista and Kuu Sakuragi talk through their personal histories with Prodigal Son, their experiences through the rehearsal process, and answer audience questions.  Recorded in the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at Seattle Center's McCaw Hall in Seattle, Wa...

In observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, and in partnership with Casa Latina Seattle, El Centro de La Raza, Joyas Mestizas, KEXP, and Union Cultural Center, in October 2023 PNB hosted Baila Conmigo, a community open house. Held at PNB’s Seattle Center studios, this free, public event featured dance performances by PNB Company dancers and local dance group Joyas Mestizas, a kids’ movement class le...

Doug Fullington introduces PNB's 2024/25 Season with our first performances of the year, THE TIMES ARE RACING. This program includes Edwaard Liang's The Veil Between Worlds, Jessica Lang's Black Wave, and Justin Peck's The Times Are Racing. Doug talks through these three works, the role of rehearsal directors in the ballet creation process, Jessica Lang's appointment as PNB's latest Resident Chore...

Listen and learn more about PNB's new Resident Choreographer Jessica Lang! Artistic director Peter Boal interviewed Lang ahead of the premiere of her new work Black Wave in PNB's first performances of the 2024/25 Season. The two cover Jessica's background dancing and choreographing career, the role of a resident choreographer, her experiences so far with PNB, and answers questions from the audienc...

Listen and enjoy Doug Fullington's pre-performance Ballet Talk on George Balanchine's Coppélia. Fullington recaps this comedic ballet, its history, and more! Recorded live in the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall in McCaw Hall in Seattle, WA in June, 2024.

Join Doug Fullington as he interviews PNB's retiring rehearsal director Otto Neubert and PNB School students performing in our final production of the 2023/24 Season, Coppélia. Listen to Otto as he recounts his incredible career from dancing to rehearsal directing, how dance steps and roles are passed dancer to dancer, and Otto's advice to dancers of all ages.  This episode was recorded live in th...

Join dance historian Doug Fullington as he takes us through the three works of Pacific Northwest Ballet's THE SEASONS' CANON. On stage this rep are Twyla Tharp's Sweet Fields™, Jessica Lang's stunning solo The Calling, and Crystal Pite's mesmerizing work for 54 dancers, The Seasons' Canon. Doug Fullington is the founder and director of The Tudor Choir who sing the Shaker hymns featured in Sweet Fi...