ALICE
World Premiere November 9, 2020 at 6:00 PM (PST)
choreographed by Penny Saunders
directed & filmed by Bruno Roque
music by Michael Wall
featuring Noelani Pantastico
Guided by the brilliant and timeless words of Lewis Carroll, ALICE takes us on a mesmerizing one-woman journey down the rabbit hole from the confines of one very tiny, white room. With its fantastical twists and turns, this abridged version of the classic story fully embraces the surreal, while also drawing striking parallels to the world we find ourselves in today.
ALICE is a co-production of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Seattle Dance Collective.
ALICE is generously underwritten by Azlan Ezaddin and Leslie & Tachi Yamada
Behind the Looking Glass
The majority of ALICE was shot inside My Little White House, a small 170 square foot studio, which made for challenging logistics. Choreographed exclusively over Zoom, the nine-minute piece took just over a day to film using two iPhones, with director Bruno Roque behind the cameras and choreographer Penny Saunders tucked away in a corner of the room. Lighting proved tricky, as equipment needed to be kept out of view amid mirrored surfaces and natural light changed throughout the day. With no lunch breaks and only a small space heater to keep warm, the team powered through to create a visually striking work of art.
Filming on the set of ALICE with Director Bruno Roque and Noelani Pantastico
More from
Penny Saunders
While creating the film ALICE, Penny Saunders was also busy staging another new work for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s digital season entitled, Wonderland. To watch this and more, subscribe to PNB’s Rep 2 streaming November 12-16.
Penny has been able to continue a particularly prolific period of work - even during the pandemic. Find out about Penny’s path to becoming a choreographer in SDC’s Fall 2020 Newsletter.
Penny Saunders © Tom Maday