The lights dimmed and the wood ceiling above the stage then became a cathedral, seemingly lit from inside the bark itself, for the Northern Hemisphere premiere of Andrea Schermoly’s “Romeo and Juliet Pas de Deux.” This new take on a familiar pas, to Sergei Prokofiev’s score that needs no introduction, was executed with compelling emotion and deft partnering by Isabella Seo and Angel Ramirez. The latter dancer is one of Cuban triplets, including Cesar and Marcus, all of whom dance. Marcus joins his brother Angel in the program. 

A near-perfect follow-up was “UnSaid” by Oregon Ballet Theatre director Dani Rowe to music by Ezio Bozzo. Staged by former San Francisco Ballet principal Sofiane Sylve, the pas de deux performed by Paige Nyman and Jorge Garcia opened with the couple in a corner, Nyman clutching her long blue dress. Yearningly, Garcia, his shirt open, moved, picked up and put Nyman down, her turned-out feet and legs following, in a heartbreakingly chiseled surrender. Someone in the audience afterwards remarked to me that “UnSaid” resembled the previous “Romeo and Juliet” pas de deux if the characters had lived, gotten married and were still together. Indeed, the piece in all its black and white melancholy hit harder after the exuberant balcony pas de deux.