A day of celebration of Olivier Wevers | Rose Dennis | In Good Company

It was a day of celebration Saturday for ballet star Olivier Wevers. Friends gathered to celebrate Wevers 40th birthday, his recent retirement from Pacific Northwest Ballet and his continuing role as Artistic Director for Whim W’him.

Olivier shared that “Whim W’Him has received extraordinary accolades from sources all around the country this past year, including Dance magazine. “We won a grand prize at the Dance Under The Stars competition for my piece Fragments, and made an international debut at the 4th Annual Choreography Festival in Copenhagen, the first American group to be invited to compete in their finals.” Impressive accomplishments indeed.

This past weekend W’Him presented ‘ReSet’ at the Intiman Theatre, with two of Olivier Wevers 2010 past works, ‘Monster’ from early 2011, and his new world premiere ‘It’s Not About The Money’. For those of us who have admired Olivier and many of his dancers on stage at McCaw Hall – dance classical and modern repertoires – it is memorizing to see these classically trained dancers perform these new reps.

Olivier knows that as a choreographer his works can be technically demanding to his dancers. But Kaori Nakamura, Chalnessa Eames, Jonathan Porretta, Lucien Postlewaite and Andrew Bartee (who all danced with Olivier at Pacific NW Ballet) beautifully executed what he directed them to do. Currently Whim dancers do not wear ballet or pointe shoes, only socks, when they perform. Their costumes are simple, but they recently announced that they just hired Mark Zappone, who designs for Pacific NW Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet and the Oregon Ballet, to name a few, to create more elaborate costumes for future Whim productions.

Olivier’s birthday celebration immediately followed the performance in the Intiman Courtyard – with a champagne toast, glowing candles, lots of chocolate delicacies, and dancing to a DJ under the moonlight. Guests even had the opportunity to purchase “spanking” Olivier tickets as a fundraiser for Whim.

It was the perfect evening to celebrate the talents of this fabulous dancer, who is someone to continue to watch as he emerges into the Seattle dance arena. We all wish him continued success with his new career as an artistic director and choreographer.

www.whimwhim.org.

For Wine Lovers

The Washington Wines Festival is preparing for its upcoming 20th annual “Wine Weekend” honoring winemakers Kay Simon and Clay Mackey of Chinook Winery. This fun-filled weekend is from Thursday to July 9, with proceeds benefiting the Washington Wine Education Foundation and one of my favorite causes, Camp Korey in Carnation. Camp Korey is a fabulous summer camp for young children who are fighting life -threatening diseases or illnesses. (www.campkorey.org).

Thursday night includes attending one of these great winemaker dinners for $200 per person. Flying Fish/Chinook Wines; Capital Grill/DeLille & O Wines; WSU Culinary Team and Chateau Ste. Michelle; Pearl/Bookwalter Wines; Urban Enotica with Fidelitas and McCrea Cellars; Staple & Mercantile and Sleight of Hand; Waterfront at the home of Allen & Kathleen Shoup with Long Shadows and Sparkman Wines; and Toulouse Petite at the Queen Anne penthouse condo of Julia deHaan with Winemaker Brian Carter.

On Friday there is the option to attend a winemaker dinner in Walla Walla with Amavi, Pepper Bridge, Va Piano and Woodward Canyon for $850 a person that includes charter airfare from Seattle – or $200 and you provide your own transportation. Or you can attend a magnum tasting – for $225 a person at The Waterfront Seafood Grill in downtown Seattle with Buty, Betz, Chinook and Quilceda Creek. Also, there’s Vinolution 14, for $65 a person – the brainchild of Eric Dunham, Christophe Hedges and Boo Walker at the SAM Olympic Sculpture Park. On Saturday, the main event takes place at the Bell Harbor Conference Center for $250 a person that includes wine tasting with over 50 of the top Washington state wineries, a live auction, a barbecue dinner created by El Gaucho, followed by dancing on the roof to Dusty 45’s. I’ve been told that spaces are selling quickly. To reserve your spot go to www.washingtonwinesfestival.org.