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<< Previous   of   Next >> Photo by Angela Sterling, digital composite by Ben  (click to enlarge) Alexandra Dickson (right) and Pacific Northwest Ballet School student Nathaniel Solis perform in "Pinocchio."   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, February 6, 2009 A 'Pinocchio' geared to novices Herald staff You never know what type of transformation children might undergo during their first time at the ballet. Perhaps they'll pursue dancing. Perhaps new worlds will open up to them. Pacific Northwest Ballet is giving parents the chance to find out when they present the special children's matinee production of "Pinocchio," this Saturday and Sunday at McCaw Hall in Seattle. This one-act production is geared for the younger audience: This ballet is narrated, illustrated by storybook sets and costumes based on the original stories by author Carlo Collodi and is only an hour long for those with shorter attention spans. The show is performed by about 60 students of the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, who range in age from 12 to 19, and is billed as an affordable ballet introduction for children and families. "Pinocchio" was particularly choreographed by PNB's Bruce Wells for family audiences. "I feel very strongly that these children's matinees are a win-win on both sides of the curtain because children love to see other children on stage and certainly my students deserve an opportunity to perform outside the confines of the bigger ballets that they do," said Wells, choreographer and PNB school faculty member, in a video on the PNB Web site. This Pinocchio is indeed made of wood, has a nose that grows and does transform into a real boy. This production, in fact, starts out with Pinocchio as a real boy when he sees his puppet image reflected in a mirror. Then, the puppet Pinocchio steps out of the mirror and the real boy steps in. More and more, Pinocchio's memory is jogged to the past, beginning with his father, Geppetto, crafting him as a puppet and ending with the Blue Fairy rewarding him for saving Geppetto from the whale. "Pinocchio" Performances at 1 p.m. Saturday and noon and 3:30 p.m. Sunday at McCaw Hall, 301 Mercer St., Seattle. $22 to $67: 206-441-2424, www.pnb.org. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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