Arts
Read More ›
Spring Arts Preview 2016: Dance/Performance
Upcoming ballet and dance performances this spring
This article originally appeared in the March 2016 issue of Seattle magazine.
Brave New Ballet
Seattle choreographer Kate Wallich, who Dance Magazine included among its “25 to Watch in 2015,” is one of the most important and original artists to emerge from the city’s vibrant dance scene in the past few years. Perhaps more than any other dance maker in our midst, the 27-year-old Wallich brings the pressing issues of contemporary life to the forefront of her work. Her latest full-length piece, Industrial Ballet, has been commissioned by Velocity Dance Center as part of its Made in Seattle series and will be performed at The Moore Theatre on March 26.
The work, which she describes as an “innovative performance spectacle bridging the gap between the growing Seattle tech community and its thriving arts scene,” will include live music composed and directed by Johnny Goss with collaborator Andrew J.S. of synth-pop band Heatwarmer. In a city where most artists see only conflict between themselves and a tech industry that has displaced them from their traditional spaces, Wallich’s efforts to connect the two worlds may prove revelatory. 3/26. 7:30 p.m. The Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave.; 206.682.1414
Various
Coppélia
4/15–4/24
Balanchine’s classic ballet Coppélia, based upon E.T.A. Hoffmann’s dark tale Der Sandmann, returns to McCaw Hall to tell the story of a young man bewitched by a beautiful doll. Times and prices vary. McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St.; 206.441.2424
Dance
A Rap on Race
5/8–5/22
As part of its 2016 season focusing on race relations, Spectrum Dance Theatre presents the world premiere of A Rap on Race, a collaboration between Spectrum artistic director Donald Byrd and acclaimed actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith. The work is inspired by a famous 1970 conversation between white cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead and black novelist and essayist James Baldwin. Times and prices vary. Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St.; 206.325.4161
Performance
Cherdonna
6/2–6/4
The first of a three-part suite, Clock that Mug or Dusted is Jody Kuehner’s conceptual homage to feminist performance artists, from Anna Halprin to Janine Antoni, channeled through her charismatic stage persona: drag/dance bio-fem icon Cherdonna Shinatra. 7:30 p.m. Prices vary. Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave.; 206.325.8773
Ballet
American Stories
6/3–6/12
Pacific Northwest Ballet presents three works that showcase American themes and traditions: Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, George Balanchine’s Square Dance and Twyla Tharp’s unwieldy Waiting at the Station, which is set to music by the recently deceased jazz legend Allen Toussaint. Times and prices vary. McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St.; 206.441.2424
Dance
Whim W’Him
6/3–6/11
Out-spoken, the third program in the Seattle company’s Inside Out season, includes choreography by James Gregg, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and artistic director Olivier Wevers. 8 p.m. Prices vary. Cornish Playhouse at Seattle Center, 201 Mercer St.; 206.726.5113; Whim W’Him.
Various
Northwest New Works Festival
6/10–6/19
The annual two-week festival of new dance and performance by artists from throughout the region remains one of the greatest showcases of our vibrant local dance scene. Many of the works may reappear in longer form elsewhere throughout the year. Times and prices vary. On the Boards, 100 W Roy St.; 206.217.9886
Follow Us
Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
YOUR VOTE MATTERS Everyone has a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or local boutique. Call me old-school, but I will die on the hill that Caffe Vita has the best coffee in town. Disagree with me? Now’s your moment to speak up. Each year, we survey Seattle magazine readers, asking them to weigh in on everything…
Studio Sessions: Ling Chun
The Seattle-based artist brings playful color to ceramics and neon while exploring memory, transformation, and life between cultures.
For Ling Chun, creating begins with something sensed before it can be named. Working with clay, glass, light, and sometimes synthetic hair, the Hong Kong-born artist gives physical form to things that words cannot always hold. “For me, the magnitude of making goes far beyond the object that is eventually produced,” Chun says. “The object…
The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever
PAX West draws more than 100,000 people to Seattle each year. Co-founder Jerry Holkins reflects on what the gaming convention set out to change, how its community has grown and why gathering face to face still matters.
Access to game news as it was happening was difficult back in the day. Even with the advent of the internet, communication between game publishers and journalists was still a very elite affair. I used to fake credentials—via fax machine!—to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, mostly just known as E3. It was simultaneously as loud…
Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026
Navigate Seattle’s wildest end-of-summer weekend with 20 picks spanning Death Cab for Cutie, Blood Orange, wrestling, skateboarding and—obviously—movies made in 48 hours.
Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…