FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2016
MEDIA CONTACT:
Gary Tucker
206.441.2426 or
[email protected]
Pacific Northwest Ballet Announces SCULPTURED DANCE
Collaboration with Seattle Art Museum at Olympic Sculpture Park
Free Summer at SAM event to feature new site-specific dance works created by
five local choreographers, performed by dancers from Pacific Northwest Ballet,
PNB School, Spectrum Dance Theater, and Whim W’Him.
6:00 pm
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Olympic Sculpture Park
2901 Western Avenue
Seattle, Washington, 98121
SEATTLE, WA— In a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Seattle Art Museum, Pacific Northwest Ballet
Artistic Director Peter Boal has announced an evening of new dance works performed in, on, and
around Olympic Sculpture Park artworks during the Summer at SAM series. As part of The Wallace
Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative, PNB has commissioned works from five
local choreographers, created in conversation with sculptures on-site at the park. This free public
event features five new works created by Donald Byrd, Kiyon Gaines, Ezra Thomson, Kate Wallich and
Olivier Wevers, performed by dancers from Pacific Northwest Ballet, PNB School, Spectrum Dance
Theater, and Whim W’Him. SCULPTURED DANCE will be presented one night only, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
on Thursday, August 11, 2016, at SAM’s Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Avenue on Seattle’s
waterfront. For more information visit PNB.org/sculptureddance or visitSAM.org/summer.
“Since the opening of the Olympic Sculpture Park, I’ve wanted to program dance in and around the
art,” said Mr. Boal. “In fact, [SAM Director Emerita] Mimi Gates suggested it to me at the opening
night celebration in 2006. A lunch two years ago with Kim Rorschach [Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director
and CEO] opened the door to this possibility, and now it’s a reality. The site is naturally conducive to
movement as viewers are lured from one sculpture to the next. Adding dance into the mix seems a
perfect fit.”
Added Ms. Rorschach, “We are thrilled to have these extraordinary dancers activate the Olympic
Sculpture Park with this one-night-only performance. It’s sure to be a highlight of our Summer at SAM
programs.”
Mr. Boal continued: “We have met with great success building our audiences over the past several
years through our work with The Wallace Foundation. As a next step in this process we wanted to test
the boundaries by literally changing the boundaries and leaving the theater behind. For an art form
that has traditionally been presented in a proscenium theater, this is a new frontier for PNB. We are
experimenting with the unexpected, and loving it.
“Bringing dance to the Olympic Sculpture Park offers the brilliant backdrop of great art as inspiration
for dance. Add in the cross-pollination of unfamiliar pairings between three different dance companies
and five innovative local choreographers, throw in a little unpredictable weather and an occasional
train whistle, and you get something completely thrilling and fresh. There are elements we can’t
control and the randomness becomes exciting. No curtain time, no seat assignments, just art, dance
and you.”
The line-up for Summer at SAM: SCULPTURED DANCE includes:
Untitled
Choreography by Donald Byrd
Music by Astor Piazzolla
Danced by Pacific Northwest Ballet
Performed at Roy McMakin’s Untitled
Do. Not. Obstruct.
Choreography by Kiyon Gaines
Music by Theoretics
Danced by Pacific Northwest Ballet
Performed at Richard Serra’s Wake
Stinger
Choreography and Music by Ezra Thomson
Danced by Spectrum Dance Theater
Performed at Tony Smith’s Stinger
Little Bunnies (response to Roxy Paine’s “Split”)
Choreography by Kate Wallich
Music by Yan Wagner
Danced by Whim W’Him
Performed at Roxy Paine’s Split
undercurrents
Choreography by Olivier Wevers
Danced by PNB School Professional Division
Performed at Alexander Calder’s The Eagle
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Donald Byrd has served as the artistic director of Spectrum Dance Theater since 2002. He has
created over 100 modern and contemporary dance works for his own groups as well as for the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and Philadelphia Dance
Company (Philidanco), Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem,
Aterballetto, MaggioDanza diFirenze, and Oregon Ballet Theater.
Kiyon Gaines is a former PNB soloist, current PNB School faculty member, choreographer, and
stager, most recently staging Twyla Tharp’s Waiting at the Station for PNB. Mr. Gaines has created
works for PNB’s annual choreographers’ showcase as well as for the company repertory. He has
participated in the New York Choreographic Institute and was recently named resident choreographer
for Ballet Arkansas.
Ezra Thomson has danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet since 2009. He is a freelance choreographer
and has created works for Spectrum Dance Theater, Seattle International Dance Festival, Pacific
Northwest Ballet School, and other US companies and schools.
Kate Wallich is a Seattle-based choreographer, director and teacher – named one of DANCE
Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2015. Her work blends highly crafted dance movement with film, sound
and visual designs to create visceral and immersive performances.
Brussels-born Olivier Wevers founded Whim W’Him, a Seattle contemporary dance company, in
2009. Before establishing the company, he was a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet and
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Theoretics is a five-piece livetronica band from Seattle, known for their well-crafted instrumentals
and collaborations with soulful vocalists. (They will be performing their own sets in addition to
accompanying Kiyon Gaines’ Do. Not. Obstruct. at SCULPTURED DANCE.)
Founded in 1972, Pacific Northwest Ballet is one of the largest and most highly regarded ballet
companies in the United States. Led by Peter Boal since 2005, the company of nearly 50 dancers
presents more than 100 performances of full-length and mixed repertory ballets each year at Marion
Oliver McCaw Hall at Seattle Center, and on tour.
Pacific Northwest Ballet School trains over 1,000 students each year, including its Professional
Division, where invited students concentrate on perfecting technique and developing artistry through a
full-time, 40-week comprehensive program designed to help them transition from student to
professional dancer.
Spectrum Dance Theater was founded in 1982 to bring dance of the highest merit to a diverse
audience composed of people from different social, cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds. Under
Donald Byrd’s visionary artistic leadership since 2002, the organization has embarked on an
exhilarating transformation that has attracted world-class dancers, produced some of the most
ambitious works in contemporary dance, and generated local and national praise.
Led by choreographer and former PNB principal dancer Olivier Wevers, Whim W’Him presents allnew works from global artists and is committed to innovation, collaboration, and high caliber, relevant
art that engages and challenges audiences. Since 2009, Whim W’Him has created and presented 40
new works from 25 choreographers.
# # #
The Olympic Sculpture Park’s Summer at SAM series features two months of activities and
performances that combine visual art, music, and community. All Summer at SAM programs are free,
open to the public, and all-ages. For a complete schedule of events, check out visitSAM.org/summer.
SCULPTURED DANCE is made possible by generous support from The Wallace Foundation’s Building
Audiences for Sustainability (BAS) initiative. Special thanks to Glenn Kawasaki. Pacific Northwest
Ballet’s 2016-2017 season is proudly sponsored by ArtsFund and Microsoft. Season support also
provided by 4Culture, National Endowment for the Arts, and Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.
PUBLICITY CONTACTS
For Pacific Northwest Ballet:
Gary Tucker, Media Relations Manager
206.441.2426
[email protected]
For Seattle Art Museum:
Rachel Eggers, Manager of Public Relations
206.654.3151
[email protected]
Schedule and Programming Subject to Change.