Pacific Northwest Ballet announces new season

Pacific Northwest Ballet's new season includes Alexei Ratmansky's new full-length "Don Quixote," the return of George Balanchine's "Coppélia" and Kent Stowell's "Carmina Burana," and an assortment of repertory works old and new.

The season begins Sept. 23 with an evening of Christopher Wheeldon works, all previously performed at PNB: "Carousel (A Dance)," "After the Rain," "Polyphonia" and the comic work "Variations Sérieuses." A repertory evening called "Love Stories" follows in November, featuring the PNB premieres of George Balanchine's "Divertimento from 'Le Baiser de la Fée' " and Jerome Robbins' "Afternoon of a Faun," as well as pas de deux excerpts from Jean-Christophe Maillot's "Romeo et Juliette," Kent Stowell's "Swan Lake" and Ronald Hynd's "Sleeping Beauty."

Stowell's "Nutcracker," in its 28th annual holiday run, will close out the calendar year (though it's not part of the subscription package). Ratmansky's "Don Quixote," set to Ludwig Minkus' score and based on choreography by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, opens Feb. 3, 2012. March brings an evening of new contemporary work, with world premieres of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's "Cylindrical Shadows" and an untitled new work by Victor Quijada, as well as the PNB premiere of David Dawson's "A Million Kisses to My Skin."

"Carmina Burana" will share a bill in April with Balanchine's "Apollo," and the subscription season will close with the return of George Balanchine's "Coppélia," lavishly designed for PNB last spring by Roberta Guidi di Bagno. Also at PNB next year, but not part of the subscription package, are a week of family matinees of "Snow White" in March, two performances by local schoolchildren as part of PNB's "Discover Dance" program, a final "Encore Performance" and the annual "Next Step" evening (formerly called "Choreographer's Showcase" and featuring dances made by PNB members).

New subscriptions go on sale March 21; individual tickets can be purchased starting July 18. For more information, see www.pnb.org.