In praise of Stanko Milov

We in our family have become big fans of Stanko Milov, one of the principal dancers with the Pacific Northwest Ballet.

We saw him dance the Prince with the great Patricia Barker as adult Clara in "Nutcracker" in December, and were instantly smitten with his grace, power, storytelling, and elegance. And he is one of the few male dancers who can competently and equally partner Patricia Barker.

On Saturday night, we went to see Patricia Barker dance Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" with Stanko Milov as her Prince Siegfried. What tipped the scales for us was that Stanko is partnering her in this, her final full-length ballet before retirement.

Last Sunday we met Stanko at the annual Pacific Northwest Ballet School's annual Winter Wonderland Ball. He taught the "folk" dance class, and we found him charming and congenial. He is also 6 ft. 5 in. tall, the same height as my dh. He and dh seemed to bond over this fact, and Stanko said, "You must come see me in "Swan Lake!"

We hemmed and hawed all week, and ran the risk of not getting tickets (Patricia Barker is only set to dance two performances, and we cannot, practically, attend her final performance next weekend), but when I called on Friday morning, when only singles were left, we were able to snag two sets of two seats in the best seats in the Hall -- Orchestra, director's preferred (and in the dead center of the section -- 14 rows from the stage), and the Dress Circle, second row center.

At this point, I have a confession to make. The one other time I saw "Swan Lake" I was bored and annoyed by it. I didn't consider a story about a failed love romantic, I had no sympathy for Prince Siegfried who I thought was selfish, and I thought most of the ballet was dan

cers showing how long they could hold difficult poses. I missed the storytelling completely. Thankfully, PNB's production is not in the least boring.

Patricia Barker was perfection, bringing to her dual roles an emotional, technical and interpretive maturity that in almost unmatched. This ballet is all about the women, and

at the center of it all is the prima ballerina; Patricia Barker surpasses the requirements of the role.

But into this ballet of women bursts Stanko Milov; tall, ripped, virile and desireable. From the moment he walks on stage in Act One, he is the focus. He "gets" his character, and gives the audience a young,

passionate young man who is not willing to settle for less than true love. He establishes and develops his character through the first act, so by the time he meets Odette in the second act, and falls in love, we feel like we know and understand him. Not a mere prop for the diva, but a partner in storytelling. When we walked out of the performance hall, we heard more people commenting on Stanko Milov than Patricia Barker. And that is saying something!

But his greatest charm is as a partner. He thoroughly understands that the male dancer must framework the female to her best advantage for the maximum impact, while still managing to be his character fully engaged in the moment. And he always deferred graciously and respectfully to Patricia Barker at the end of each pas de deux, allowing the audience to accolade her. Only when the applause was prolonged would he do a slight bow before acknowledging her again.

So while Seattle fans acclaim one of their favorite athletes, let us give praise to Stanko Milov, whose power, athleticism, grace, and talent have kept him out of the shadow of his most frequent partner, and at her side to equally accept the accolades and love.