Catharsis

  • Choreographer: Yoshiaki Nakano
  • Music: Joep Beving, Maya Beiser and Anne Müller
  • Costumes: Costume Design: Kristin McLain and Yoshiaki Nakano
  • Lighting: Lighting Design: Joseph Walls
  • World Premiere: October 7, 2022 by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
  • PBT Performance Date: October 7-9, 2022

Program Notes

A world premiere by PBT Principal Dancer Yoshiaki Nakano, Catharsis looks at universal experiences in human connections and relationships. It portrays a landscape recognizable to all of us—from the isolation of feeling unseen and unknown by another, to the intimacy and joy of deep emotional bonds. The work includes four movements that unfold in a journey from dark to bright.

Nakano notes  that his movement style is “always, always” neoclassical, characterized by demanding physicality, abstract shapes, free-flowing speed, and minimalist storyline, costumes and sets. In Catharsis he utilizes this aesthetic to explore the emotional content and power that is innate in human movement. This is Nakano’s fifth commissioned mainstage work for the PBT Company.

MUSIC DETAILS:

  • “An Amalgamation Waltz 1839 – Vocal Version written by Joep Beving, Courtesy of Decca Music Publishing.
  • “Slow Seasons: Summer”, Moonlight Sonata: Adagio” composed and performed by Maya Beiser, ©2019 Islandia Music. Used by permission.
  • “Drifting Circles” written and performed by Anne Müller, Courtesy of Erased Tapes.