Though ballet was his life, George Balanchine was a person of complexity and depth. OBT’s “Celebrating Balanchine” program offers a glorious spectrum of his art. Here, we have an opportunity to get a beyond-the-ballet picture of this genius, known to those who worked with him as Mr. B. Read More
The West Coast Premiere of Matthew Neenan's "At the border"
He was trying “to get to the tiger inside,” says Matthew Neenan of his ballet At the border. Read More
Beginnings and Ends: A Philosophical Discussion with Pontus Lidberg
The first time I see New York-based choreographer Pontus Lidberg, he’s sitting cross-legged on a chair in Oregon Ballet Theater’s Studio 1, watching his dancers. He sits completely still, in perfect meditative posture, not speaking. The dancers are moving in fluid, twirling patterns across the expanse of floor, like ripples in a bubbling brook or leaves gently blown around by the wind. Read More
A Functioning Cog: The Fleet Foxes Connection to a World Premiere Ballet
Trey McIntyre’s new work, Robust American Love, is choreographed to four songs by NW Indie Folk band, Fleet Foxes. The lyrics below are from the song Helplessness Blues off their most recent record: Read More
Trey McIntyre's "Robust American Love"
“When we’re in the presence of brilliance, we know it. Yo-Yo Ma with his cello, for example. Born for his art, devoting his life to perfecting it. Trey McIntyre is just such a luminary among makers of dance.” I wrote that in 1998 for one of my first assignments at OBT, when I interviewed Trey… Read More