PNB MOB Garden Party

Carol Wright, Ken Hatch

Yesterday, Ken and I attended the annual Pacific Northwest Ballet MOB (Members of the Barre) Garden Party at the lovely home of Jim Leslie and Jeannie Tweten.  It was a beautiful partially sunny, partially cloudy afternoon in the garden as Chairman of the Board, Aya Hamilton, and Artistic Director, Peter Boal, shared some of the activities going on in the studios right now as PNB gets ready to kick-off its new 2011-2012 season beginning with an All Wheeldon program featuring the works of choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon.

There was buzz about the dancers coming back from vacation break and being expected to perform 32 consecutive fouettes (an extremely physically challenging move done by ballerinas on one leg) on their first day back in the studio by the stager that was here working on the upcoming repertoire to be performed.  A few were nursing sore muscles as a result of such a fast start.   

Chairman of the Board, Aya Hamilton and Past Chairman
of the Board, Peter Horvitz

The new PNB Orchestra Music Director, Emil de Cou was introduced and we saw lots of friends including Kelly Boal, Gail & Tom James, Carol Wright, Winnie & Richard Baxter, Carole Ellison, Joe Norman, Artistic Director Olivier Wevers of Whim W'Him, and had a chance to reconnect and also see current PNB dancers and meet some of the newest PNB dancers including Carrie Imler, Lucien Postlewaite, Emma Love, Matthew Renko, and Kylee Kitchens.

I am so looking forward to the new PNB season!