<BR>Patricia Barker who danced the Fairy Queen<P><BR>It looks like PNB wowed the audiences in Hong Kong with Francia Russell's staging of Balanchine's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Writes Kevin Ng (also a criticaldance.com contributor) in his review for Hong Kong iMail (formerly the Hong Kong Standard), "This Balanchine version is by far the best dance presentation of the Shakespeare classic..."<P> <A HREF="http://www.hk-imail.com/iconnect/public/article_v.cfm?articleid=4296&intcatid=18" TARGET=_blank>http://www.hk-imail.com/iconnect/public/article_v.cfm?articleid=4296&intcatid=18</A>

Thank you very much for the fine review, Kevin. Will the two casts be the same for the second weekend?

Francis, yes, I think so. Patricia Barker/Seth Belliston will dance Titania/Oberon on Friday, and Louise Nadeau and Olivier Wevers will dance the great Act 2 pas de deux. On Saturday afternoon, Barker and Jeffrey Stanton will dance the Act 2 pas de deux, and the lead roles of Titania and Oberon will be taken by Lisa Apple and Paul Gibson. The Sha Tin Town Hall is slightly smaller than the HK Cultural Centre where they performed last weekend.<BR>You must be looking forward to PNB's performances back home in Seattle in late August.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Kevin Ng (edited July 26, 2000).]

Seth as Oberon? This is novel. (He is classically cast as Puck.) I believe I failed to mention that he would be an excellent interview subject....As I believe I *did* mention, Lisa Apple is someone to watch. Louise and Olivier are matchless in the Divertissement.<P>I believe that our season here begins with Coppelia in late September. Originally, they were scheduled to perform as one of several companies in the Balanchine gala at Kennedy Center, but opted out due to conflicts with dates and repertoire with other companies. There is obviously a great deal of overlapping repertoire; however, they might have taken Midsummer, which I do not believe is being done by anyone else. Then there was the rehearsal crunch due to our late September Coppelia opening.

Seth did do Oberon last Sunday with Patricia Barker. Tonight in the second theatre, Patricia Barker actually danced with Paul Gibson instead. There are more cast changes. The Divertissement pas de deux was danced by Lisa Apple and Christophe Maraval, and Butterfly was danced by Noelani Pantastico. Tomorrow is the final performance.<p>[This message has been edited by Kevin Ng (edited July 28, 2000).]

Grace, yes, please therefore schedule the next CD meeting for the administrators and moderators to be held in Hong Kong!<BR>This afternoon I look forward to watching Olivier and Louise Nadeau in the Divertissement pas de deux in Midsummer. I think Lisa Apple is to dance Titania. The company is to return to Seattle early on Sunday morning.<p>[This message has been edited by Kevin Ng (edited July 28, 2000).]

Oh darn, Grace, you've let the cat out of the bag. I thought we were going to surprise Kevin!

Grace, alternatively you may arrange for the CD meeting to be held in the lovely Gold Coast in Western Australia. I am sure that Stuart and Azlan will appreciate it.<p>[This message has been edited by Kevin Ng (edited July 30, 2000).]

What about inviting some dancers...?<P>

Olivier, excellent idea. By the way, your dancing is missed in Hong Kong this week! How are things in Japan? I am sure that everyone is eager to hear about your experiences in Osaka and Tokyo. Also, have you done some good shopping in your spare time?<P>By the way, the weather in HK has been rainy and miserable this week after PNB's departure. It is fortunate that the weather was perfect last week when all of us went out on the boat.<p>[This message has been edited by Kevin Ng (edited August 01, 2000).]

Of course you can come Olivier. But only on condition that we get a full PNB performance of 'Midsummer Night's Dream' on the beach, including the kids from the Company school. I'll organise a Marley floor, but there's not much I can do about the rake.

PNB performed in the Melbourne International Festival in 1995 -- Olivier was with Royal Winnipeg from 1990-97, prior to joining PNB.

Yes, that's right. Olivier was with RWB then. I believe our own Lucy had a hand in that.

No, they have only been to Australia once, and it was in 1995. Australian Ballet (with La Fille Mal Gardee) was part of PNB's season subscription here in Seattle that year as part of an exchange package. They were supposed to go to Sydney last winter (January/February); however, the promoter was unable to come up with full funding and the tour was cancelled. Both Hong Kong and Istanbul (this year) were a direct result of visits to Edinburgh in 1998 and Sadler's Wells in 1999.