The Seasons’ Canon

The Seasons’ Canon is the third work of Crystal Pite‘s to enter Pacific Northwest Ballet‘s repertoire after Emergence and Plot Point.

Creation for me is like looking through a lens. It’s a way to see the world in greater detail and clarity; it’s a magnified experience. It is the act of making that sharpens my awareness and connects me most deeply to the natural world and all the brutality and beauty it contains. The Seasons’ Canon is a gesture, an offering. It is as much my way of coping with the vastness and complexity of the natural world as it is a way of giving thanks for it.

Crystal Pite

Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite was invited by Paris Opera artistic director Benjamin Millepied to create the ballet for the company’s opening gala for the season, though he resigned months before the premiere and was succeeded by Aurélie Dupont. At the time, Pite was already an established choreographer, though she was largely unknown in France.

The Seasons’ Canon is set to Max Richter’s recomposition of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. The choreography is inspired by the movements of tectonic plates. The ballet is performed by 54 dancers. The original cast includes étoiles Marie-Agnès Gillot, Ludmila Pagliero and Alice Renavand, as well as several premier danseurs. Despite casting some dancers from the higher ranks, she noted, “They have featured roles, but it was important to me that they were women into the community as well.”

Pite was only given four weeks to work on the choreography, which she described as “a sprint.” Pite regards herself as a contemporary dance choreographer, and found it difficult to fit into ballet when she was a dancer. However, she enjoyed working with classical ballet dancers because “the kind of architecture they have in their bodies is so ecstatic and beautiful.”