GiveBig2020

1 R Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020 13 Walking down the halls of Pacific Northwest Ballet is normally a thrilling experience. Life and dance bubble out of every room. Tiny first-year students with their hands on their hips scurry in front of you like ducklings be- hind their teacher. Through a studio window, you see brilliant choreographers like Alejandro Cerrudo collaborating with PNB dancers to create their next artistic triumph. Racks of sparkling costumes roll out of the costume shop while sewing machines hum in the background. The floor is strewn with dancers stretching and making last-minute adjustments to their pointe shoes. Music wafts from Music Director Emil de Cou’s office as he considers the instrumentation for an upcoming ballet. It is electrifying; it is invigorating. Now, the halls stand empty, a testament to what we must give up in order to protect our community from this devastating disease. No music, no dancing — these once happy and bustling spaces have become echo chambers of the joy they used to create. There is not yet a return date for when PNB School students will be back in the studios, or when Company dancers will leap back on to the stage at McCaw Hall. The void is a large one. PNB reaches 220,000 people each year through performances, ballet training and community education. Rich Smith of The Stranger perfectly described the loss this way: “We underestimate the real social benefit of providing a big dark room where it’s perfectly acceptable to cry in public, which is yet another reason we need to fight to keep these arts institutions, big and small, alive.” The fight will be a tough one. PNB needs to raise at least $3 million to offset losses in- curred through April, keep employee benefits intact, and return to the stage when it’s safe to do so. If there was ever a time to “Give Big,” this is it. Any and every gift will help PNB return to the stage and studio at the next pos- sible opportunity. Relief funding for Pacific Northwest Ballet PROVIDED BY PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET GiveBIG has never had a more important moment. Organizations you love need you more than ever. Does PNB bring you or a loved one joy? If so, we hope you’ll consider PNB in your philanthropic efforts today. Donate at PNB.org/GiveBIG. Noelani Pantastico and Lucien Postlewaite with Company dancers in George Balanchine’s “Emeralds.” (© Angela Sterling photo)