Hello PNB Level VII families!
Just reaching out with a reminder about the October Mentorship & Wellness Schedule. You have two sessions this month and the details are below.
| Saturday, October 21st | 10:45-11:45 | PNB Library | Mental Wellness Seminar |
| Saturday, October 28th | 10:45-11:45 | Board Room | Mentorship |
Hello PNB Level VI families!
Just reaching out with a reminder about the October Mentorship & Wellness Schedule. You have two sessions this month and the details are below.
| Phelps Center – Seattle | |||
| Saturday, October 7th | 11:45-12:45 | Board Room | Mental Wellness Seminar |
| Saturday, October 21st | 11:45-12:45 | Board Room | Mentorship |
| FRC – Bellevue | |||
| Saturday, October 14th | 10:00-11:00 | FRC Studio | Mental Wellness Seminar |
| Saturday, October 21st | 10:00-11:00 | FRC Studio | Mentorship |
Good Afternoon PNB Families!
This is a reminder that locker assignment agreements are due by Saturday, September 16th. Lockers are strongly encouraged this year to help reduce the number of shoes, bags in the studio, and items left in the hallways. Please sign the agreement that was emailed to you and return via in person or email.
Bellevue Locker Agreements (Level IV-VI)
Seattle Locker Agreements (Level III-VIII)
Please reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you!
PNB Staff
Greetings Level IV families! We just wanted to provide a few reminders for our Freed fittings:
Please reach out to the school if you have any questions regarding these Freed fittings, or your scheduled fitting time! For more information regarding the fittings, please see the previously posted information below:
Fitting Details:
Pointe shoe fitters from Freed of London’s New York office will be at the Francia Russell Center and the Phelps Center to fit pointe shoes for all Level IV students. Most students will be fit in the Freed “Studio” shoe. Payment may be made with cash, check, VISA or Mastercard at the time of your fitting. The School is grateful to take advantage of this very rare opportunity to be fit with expert guidance.
Level IV Sewing Seminars
The first pointe class after Freed fittings will be an official sewing day for students. A list of required materials will be provided at your fitting.
Do not sew your shoes until the scheduled sewing day! Faculty must approve your shoes before sewing, and pointe shoes are to be worn only in class!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the school with any questions!
Dear PNB School Families,
For this year’s performances of Family Matinee, PNB is pleased to present a new production of Harold and the Purple Crayon. Harold was originally created for six dancers of the second company of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 2010 by choreographers Terry Marling and Robyn Mineko Williams. You will love this whimsical tale of Harold’s adventures in a world born of imagination, exploration and, of course, a purple crayon.
Both choreographers will be with us in February and March, working alongside Ezra Thomson who will serve as rehearsal director. While I’ve worked with Robyn and Terry to expand the cast in order to include more students, the cast will be smaller than those from past Family Matinees. Twelve Professional Division students and six Level VIII or Advanced C students will be needed for one cast. We will have at least two casts perform. These students will be selected by artistic staff during classes.
Though there will be less students involved in this production, there are many other performing opportunities for our students throughout the year in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake, Harold, Coppélia and School Performance, where selected students will perform a new staging of the Garland Dance from The Sleeping Beauty.
Sincerely,
Peter Boal (he/him)
Artistic Director
Dear PNB Families,
Welcome back to another wonderful school year at PNB! We’re busy planning this season’s production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®. Each September, we anticipate the energy, joy, and laughter that accompanies this holiday tradition. In this letter you will find all the information regarding auditions, casting, rehearsals, performances, and an update on COVID protocols for this year’s production.
We intend to use as many students as possible this year. We will continue to utilize “swing” roles and will communicate those in the initial casting process. Students considered for Party Kids and Polichinelles may be cast in a role that doesn’t match their gender identity (e.g., girls may be cast as Party Boys or Polichinelle Boys). This is consistent with past practices for PNB’s Nutcracker, and standard for Nutcracker productions all over the country. All students, including those cast in swing roles, will have performance dates. Casting decisions are based on size, performing ability, musicality, technique, and behavior.
Students must be no taller than 5’2” at the audition time. Students injured on the audition date are not eligible to audition for The Nutcracker. All casting decisions are made by the Artistic Staff. While we encourage all eligible students to audition, we do not have roles for every student who auditions. Please discuss the possibility of disappointment with your child before the audition.
While participation in The Nutcracker is a rewarding experience for a young dancer, it does require a considerable commitment of time and energy from the entire family at a busy time of year. Please consider the following before your child auditions for The Nutcracker.
· Students are expected to be available for the entire rehearsal and performance period from October 2 through December 27, 2023. Please do not have your child audition if you anticipate any conflicts during that time.
· We cannot excuse students from rehearsals or performances for vacations, family events, school events, etc.; the only acceptable reasons for missing rehearsal are illness, injury, and family emergencies.
· Auditioning for The Nutcracker is a commitment from the student and parent. Dropping out of the production for any reason, other than illness, injury, or family emergency (including dissatisfaction with casting), is a break in the child’s commitment. The student will not be able to participate the following year if the commitment is broken.
· All rehearsals and performances will be at the Phelps Center and McCaw Hall.
Parents’ participation is essential to the success of The Nutcracker. All parent volunteers must complete a background check to be eligible for a volunteer position. Assignments will be made by Student Cast and Parent Volunteer Coordinator Lauren Kirchner.
COVID continues to factor into our plans. We try to keep our policies consistent with the School’s polices, however, due to multiple union agreements, we may implement certain policies that differ. At this time, masking will be optional in rehearsals and backstage, and students will be unmasked onstage. If we need to implement masking and/or testing, we will do so.
Please click here for detailed information on auditions and a general schedule, including rehearsals and performance dates and important meetings. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, September 24.
Sincerely,
Peter Boal & Artistic Staff
Artistic Director
Dear Seattle Level VI students and families,
Due to availability on Wednesday, September 13th, class will start at 5:30pm.
Technique class will be from 5:30-7:00pm.
Pas de Deux class is still scheduled from 7:30-8:30pm.Due to studio availability on Thursday, September 14th, we will be combining the Advanced C’s with the Level VIII’s.
Technique class will be from 4:15-5:45pm.
Advanced C Strength is still scheduled to take place from 6:00-6:45pm.
Dear Level V and VI families,
We are very excited to announce that we have launched our at home conditioning program!
These videos are for our students to practice at home to help your dancer achieve their goals. Your student’s will be receiving instruction on how to properly execute these exercises in class but please know that these are all achievable at home.
You will be receiving updates throughout the school year with new videos that will build upon the curriculum that they are learning in class and will help them progress through the year.
Password: PNB5-6
(There are 5 videos in this set)
We ask that you do not share these videos with those who are outside of PNB.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions!
Dear Level IV families,
We are very excited to announce that we have launched our at home conditioning program!
These videos are for our students to practice at home to help your dancer achieve their goals. Your student’s will be receiving instruction on how to properly execute these exercises in class but please know that these are all achievable at home.
You will be receiving updates throughout the school year with new videos that will build upon the curriculum that they are learning in class and will help them progress through the year.
Password: PNB4
(There are 5 videos in this set)
We ask that you do not share these videos with those who are outside of PNB.
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions!
