FOLLOWER Dance Film to Be Released This Friday

The inventive young American composer/pianist Thomas Nickell and percussionist Fiona Stocks-Lyons were commissioned by choreographer Christopher D'Ariano to write the music for a new work he would be choreographing for Pacific Northwest Ballet.

The piece, entitled Follower, will be presented by the ensemble's "Next Step" showcase. A dance film of this collaboration will be released this Friday, June 4, 2021, on Pacific Northwest Ballet's Facebook and YouTube.

"Next Step" is a vehicle for emerging talent, where Pacific Northwest Ballet Company dancers rise as choreographers and Professional Division students take center stage in an all-premiere lineup of works created just for them. Mr. D'Ariano is one of five choreographers being featured this year where film is the New Medium they embraced beyond the field of choreography.

This project is the latest of three collaborations among Mr. Nickell, Ms. Stocks-Lyons, and Mr. D'Ariano. The previous two projects include a 2018 "Next Step" performance of Secondsight and a 2019 "Next Step" performance of What Lies Ahead. Both works can be found on "Two Ballets," an album featuring Thomas Nickell and Fiona Stocks-Lyons. A fourth collaboration is slated for later this year.

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