Pacific Northwest Ballet season announcement includes return of 'Cinderella'

Pacific Northwest Ballet announced its 2010-11 season Tuesday, which will feature the return of two full-length story ballets to the repertory. Kent Stowell's "Cinderella," unseen for nine years, returns to the McCaw Hall stage in February, and George Balanchine's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," last performed here in 2008, will return in April 2011.

The season, which gets underway in September, also includes four mostly contemporary mixed bills, plus the traditional holiday run of Stowell's "Nutcracker." Among the shorter ballets slated will be a world premiere choreographed by Marco Goecke (who created the angst-y, electric solo "Mopey," which premiered at PNB in 2005). The season will also include the PNB premieres of Jiri Kylian's "Six Dances," Jerome Robbins' "Glass Pieces," and Alexei Ratmansky's "Concerto DSCH."

An "All Tharp" evening will feature the two new and very different works created for PNB by Twyla Tharp last season — the lyrical "Opus 111" and the darker, quirkier "Afternoon Ball" — along with her 1994 romp "Waterbaby Bagatelles," last seen at PNB in 2006.

Also returning are Kylian's "Petite Mort" (which made its PNB debut earlier this season), Nacho Duato's "Jardi Tancat," Richard Tanner's "Ancient Airs and Dances," Mark Morris' "Pacific," and PNB ballet master Paul Gibson's "The Piano Dance." The season, which is subject to change, still includes one TBA slot.

PNB also announced that, due to financial pressures, the company is switching from eight performances per program to seven, and that programs will now open on Friday nights rather than the current Thursdays. Renewing subscribers who currently have Series A (Opening Night) or Series B (First Friday) tickets should contact the box office to see how they will be affected.

Subscriptions are now on sale, through www.pnb.org or 206-441-2424; individual tickets go on sale in July.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com

This article was published on March 9, 2010 and said that "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will close the season in June 2011. It was corrected on April 6, 2010 to say that "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will return in April 2011.