The Newsfeed: PNB banks big on ‘Sleeping Beauty’ reboot
With 268 new costumes, a set inspired by Coast Native design and a $4 million price tag, the Seattle ballet is modernizing the 19th-century classic.
Pacific Northwest Ballet corps de ballet dancer Ryan Cardea (left) and PNB School student Yui Kohno dance as the wolf and Red Riding Hood during a rehearsal of Act 5’s wedding scene. (M. Scott Brauer/Cascade PBS)
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You know you’re in for a massive spectacle when the individual rhinestone count is nearly 80,000.
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s costume-shop workers have spent months affixing these multicolored jewels to tutus, bodices, wings and headpieces — adding sparkle to more than 268 new costumes created for the world premiere production of The Sleeping Beauty (Jan. 31 – Feb. 9).
The company’s reimagining of the beloved 19th-century Russian ballet comes with a price tag of $4 million — more than the nonprofit has spent on any other production.
In addition to 90+ craftspeople and artisans, PNB enlisted some big names to collaborate on the artistic vision: costume designer Paul Tazewell, known for his costumes in Wicked and Hamilton; scenic designer Preston Singletary, the Seattle-based and internationally renowned glass artist; and acclaimed puppet designer Basil Twist.
All of the visual elements are influenced by Singletary’s Tlingit heritage, which shows up in thick black outlines as seen in traditional Northwest Coast Native formline design.
In this episode of The Newsfeed I go behind the scenes for a look at the costumes and rehearsals in progress, and speak with PNB artistic director Peter Boal about why the ballet is betting big on this new production of a classic tale.
Read more about the production — and see more photos from behind the scenes — in our expanded story.
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Paris Jackson is the host of The Newsfeed. She’s an Emmy Award-winning journalist who's spent more than 15 years in commercial television and public media.
Paris Jackson is the host of The Newsfeed. She’s an Emmy Award-winning journalist who's spent more than 15 years in commercial television and public media.
Shannen Ortale is a producer at Cascade PBS. She formerly worked as a freelancer & film festival programmer. She also served as a producer & educator for community media & public television in Boston.
Shannen Ortale is a producer at Cascade PBS. She formerly worked as a freelancer & film festival programmer. She also served as a producer & educator for community media & public television in Boston.
