Mona Butler has been a bassoonist in Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra since the orchestra was founded in 1989, and PNB's Music Librarian since the position was created in 1996. Marketing Assistant Maris Antolin sat down with Mona in late February to talk about what a Music Librarian does, the years-long process of putting together the orchestra parts for Alejandro Cerrudo's One Thousand Pieces, and the hard-working artists of PNB's orchestra.

Pacific Northwest Ballet

Q & A - Music Librarian, Mona Butler

In 2015, Price Suddarth was the youngest choreographer to create a work for Pacific Northwest Ballet - we're happy to have Signature back this season. George Balanchine's Tarantella is a total showpiece, originally choreographed for NYCB firecrackers Patricia McBride and Edward Villella (the same original cast for Rubies). José Limón's The Moor’s Pavane is a dramatic and emotional re-telling of Shakespeare’s Othello, all in the form of two couples dancing. And we close the performance with George Balanchine's Theme and Variations, which is the ultimate display of classical ballet.

Themes & Variations (2018-2019 Season)

We have performed A Midsummer Nights' Dream over 100 times in the history of  Pacific Northwest Ballet, we have taken it on tour to many places including Istanbul, Hong Kong and Scotland. In fact, Doug Fullington went on the 2001 tour to London (where it was filmed and released by the BBC) and was in charge of the 24 student "bugs"! Learn how ballet companies have to get permission from the Balanchine Trust to alter George Balanchine's works, and who started out as a Hound, and is now performing the role of Titania.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018-2019 Season)

After 36-years of working in the PNB costume shop, Larae Hascall has some stories to tell. In her final season as Costume Shop Manager, we get to ask questions about the original build of A Midsummer Night's Dream and all the nitty gritty behind the scenes details. The interview was led by Audience Education Manger, Doug Fullington.

Q & A - Costume Shop Manager, Larae Hascall

Doug Fullington always has the inside scoop on all things PNB: we learn why Bacchus’ costumes are hues of purple, his admiration of Alicia Walter’s voice in Robyn Mineko Williams’ The Trees The Trees, and the challenges of conducting an Orchestra for ballet (which Doug is doing in Director’s Choice!).

Director's Choice (2018-2019 Season)

No one is better suited to take you through the rich history of The Sleeping Beauty than Doug Fullington. He explains the "Vision Scene" and how it emulates the super natural ballets of the 1800's, like Giselle and La Sylphide. This production closely follows the Royal Ballet's version of The Sleeping Beauty. It's staged by Ronald Hynd who joined the Royal Ballet in 1951 and his wife Annette Page often danced the role of Aurora there. They set the ballet on us in 2001, and eighteen years later, this will be the last time we perform this version of The Sleeping Beauty.

The Sleeping Beauty (2018-2019 Season)

The ALL PREMIERE program includes three new-to-Seattle dance works and Doug Fullington, Audience Education Manager gives you all the information you need to know to best enjoy this performance. Kyle Davis' A Dark and Lonely Space uses the music of cinematic composer, Michael Giacchino (Up, Coco, the new Stars Wars) and a cast of 24 dancers for his first commission for PNB. Silent Ghost is the second work on the program, choreographed by Alejandro Cerrudo. It is an intimate work without being sentimental, and leaves you wanting more. Cacti is Alexander Ekman's response to the culture of arts critics. This hilarious commentary on contemporary dance is a must see (plus you won't want to miss Doug Fullington CONDUCTING the Orchestra in this work!).

All Premiere (2018-2019 Season)

Doug Fullington brings you the behind the scenes of LOVE & BALLET. All four of these ballets were choreographed in the last 13 years, Christopher Wheeldon created After the Rain pas de deux for New York City Ballet in 2005 and Tide Harmonic for Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2015. Benjamin Millipied created Appassionata for Paris Opera Ballet in 2016 and Year of the Rabbit put Justin Peck on the map in 2012. Thank you for supporting the ballet!

Love & Ballet (2017-2018 Season)

Doug Fullington dives into the histories and complexities of this mixed bill (called EMERGENCE) that includes Alejandro Cerrudo's Little mortal jump, Yuri Possokhov's RAkU and Crystal Pite's Emergence. Thank you for listening!

Emergence (2017-2018 Season)

Doug Fullington, our Audience Education Manager, talks about how Ezra Thomson's world premiere, The Perpetual State, is inspired by the real-life passing of his father, why William Forsythe removed Slingerland Duet from PNB's program the year it premiered, and the "trigger choreography" of Forsythe's One Flat Thing, reproduced. If you would like to do a deep dive into One Flat Thing, reproduced, Doug recommends visiting Ohio State University's Synchronous Objects.

Director's Choice (2017-2018 Season)

Audience Education Manager Doug Fullington changes up the regular lecture format, and dedicates the 30-minutes of Ballet Talk to a Q&A for the attending audience. He answers questions like, "do the dancers look forward to this ballet?" and "are there different endings to Swan Lake?". Of course, as always, Doug is an encyclopedia of dance and music history and he has the audience laughing with his replies. And don't forget, you can always listen to Ballet Talk live, one hour before every performance at McCaw Hall.

Swan Lake (2017-2018 Season)

Doug Fullington shines the light on the unique-to-PNB works in Her Story. While Peter Boal did not intend to create a repertory including exclusively female choreographers, that's what happened with works by Twyla Tharp, Crystal Pite and Jessica Lang.

Her Story (2017-2018 Season)

We were fortunate to have choreographer Crystal Pite in our studios for 4 weeks as she choreographed and reworked Plot Point. Originally choreographed for Nederlands Dans Theater in 2010, we are proud to present the American premiere here in Seattle. The evening before opening night, PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal had a few questions for Crystal. Hear her discuss her beginnings in ballet, her own Company, Kidd Pivot and of course, Plot Point.  

Q&A with Crystal Pite

Did you know the first performance of Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds a) wasn't even called Jewels and b) was on a mixed bill that included Prodigal Son? PNB Audience Education Manager Doug Fullington is back with all of his historical fun facts and insider knowledge about how we get our ballets from studio to stage. And don't forget, you can always listen to Ballet Talk (previously Pre-Performance Lectures) live, one hour before every performance at McCaw Hall.

Jewels (2017-2018 Season)

Doug Fullington takes us behind the scenes on the last rep of our season, Pictures at an Exhibition. George Balanchine choreographed La Source to help push an upcoming dancer (John Clifford) to his highest potential, Jerome Robbins choreographed Opus 19/The Dreamer on Mikhail Baryshnikov during the year he was a dancer at New York City Ballet, and we learn why Alexei Ratmansky chose Wassily Kandinsky's work as the backdrop for Pictures at an Exhibition.

Pictures at an Exhibition (2016-2017 Season)

Join Audience Education Manager Doug Fullington for an informal 30-min introduction to each performance.

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