PNB’s Beloved “Romeo” Exits, Stage Left

Principal dancer Lucien Postlewaite bids farewell to PNB this month.

By Seattle Mag May 21, 2012

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This article originally appeared in the June 2012 issue of Seattle magazine.

The news that principal dancer Lucien Postlewaite was leaving Pacific Northwest Ballet at the end of this season had many fans asking, “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” The dancer, who joined PNB as a teenager and performed with the company for nine years, quickly became known for his absolutely riveting portrayal of a certain Mr. Montague in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s modern ballet version of the Shakespearean love story. Maillot created this stripped-down, sensual take on Roméo et Juliette in 1996, specifically for Monaco-based company Les Ballets de Monte Carlo—which, in a twist worthy of the Bard, is precisely whom Postlewaite is leaving us for in September.

You have only one last chance to see Postlewaite’s lithe and lyrical moves on the PNB stage: at the season encore show this month, a sort of “greatest hits” performance that will showcase his talent in a variety of roles. Married to fellow former PNB principal dancer Olivier Wevers, Postlewaite says he plans to visit often (perhaps to perform with Wevers’ company, Whim W’Him), so romantics can hold out hope he’ll return to Seattle anon.

6/10. 6:30 p.m. Prices vary. McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St.; 206.441.2424; pnb.org

 

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