Pacific Northwest Ballet

Ballet company of Seattle, USA

Pacific Northwest Ballet

General information
Name| Pacific Northwest Ballet
Previous names| Pacific Northwest Dance Association
Year founded| 1972; 53 years ago (1972)
Founders|

* Kent Stowell
* Francia Russell

Principal venue| Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
Website| www.pnb.org//
Artistic staff
Artistic Director|

* Kent Stowell
* Francia Russell

Music Director| Emil de Cou
Other
Orchestra| Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra
Official school| Pacific Northwest Ballet School
Associated schools|

* Royal Danish Ballet
* Canada's National Ballet School

Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is an American ballet company based in Seattle, Washington. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States,[1] with 11,000 subscribers in 2004.[2] The company consists of 49 dancers and hosts more than 100 performances throughout the year; it is especially known for its performance of the Stowell/Maurice Sendak Nutcracker, which it presented from 1983 through 2014 and produced as a feature film in 1986.[3][4]

In 2006, the company was chosen to perform at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and New York City Center's Fall for Dance Festival.

PNB performs at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in the Seattle Center.

## History

[edit]

Pacific Northwest Ballet was founded in 1972 following the two-month residency of the First Chamber Dance Company,[5] as part of Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association.[6] Under the directorship of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, originally of New York City Ballet,[7] it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978.[8] Stowell and Russell left at the end of the 2004–2005 season.[9] A portrait by artist Michele Rushworth was painted of Stowell and Russell and installed in the Phelps Center, Seattle, to commemorate their careers and retirement. Both had studied with and danced for George Balanchine.[10]

In July 2005, Peter Boal succeeded Stowell and Russell as artistic director following their retirement.[9] After dancing with the New York City Ballet for 22 years, he had been a full-time faculty member at The School of American Ballet from 1995-2005.[citation needed]

McCaw Hall, PNB's principal venue

In 2013, the company and its orchestra toured to New York for the first time in sixteen years. The New York Times dance critic Alastair Macaulay, stated of their presentation that "This is a true company," more "unified in its understanding of Balanchine" than the New York City Ballet.[11]

In 2012, PNB brought in Twyla Tharp as its first artist in residence for a year-long residency.[12]

## Pacific Northwest Ballet School

[edit]

The Pacific Northwest Ballet School was founded in 1974.[13] Formerly directed by Francia Russell, and now directed by Peter Boal, it has been considered to be "one of the leading, if not the definitive, professional training school in the country."[14] The teaching is structured on that of the School of American Ballet.[15] Pacific Northwest Ballet holds an annual summer course in the month of July and is considered one of the leading summer dance education facilities in the country.

## Dancers

[edit]

Pacific Northwest Ballet is noted for choosing dancers that have physique, expressivity and a variety of body shapes.[16]

### Principals

[edit]

Name  | Nationality  | Training  | Joined PNB  | Promoted to Principal  | Other companies
(incl. guest performances)

|
|
|
|
|

Jonathan Batista  |  | English National Ballet | 2021  | 2022  | Boston Ballet
Cincinnati Ballet
Oklahoma City Ballet
Leta Biasucci  |  | Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet
San Francisco Ballet School  | 2011  | 2018  | Oregon Ballet Theater
Kyle Davis  | Makaroff School of Ballet
Rock School for Dance Education
North Carolina School of the Arts
Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2009  | 2020  |
Angelica Generosa | School of American Ballet
Princeton Ballet  | 2012  | 2020  |
Cecilia Iliesiu  | School of American Ballet
Studio Maestro  | 2015  | 2022  | Carolina Ballet
Elle Macy  | Orange County Dance Center
Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2013  | 2021  |
Elizabeth Murphy  | Academy of Ballet Arts
Rock School for Dance Education  | 2011  | 2015  | Pennsylvania Ballet
Ballet West II
Ballet West
Lucien Postlewaite  | School of American Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2004  | 2008, 2017  | Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan | Rock School for Dance Education
Metropolitan Ballet Academy
School of Pennsylvania Ballet  | 2017  | 2023  | Pennsylvania Ballet
Dylan Wald  | Minnesota Dance Theatre
The Dance Institute
Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2015  | 2020  |

### Soloists

[edit]

Name  | Nationality  | Training  | Joined PNB  | Promoted to Soloist

|
|
|
|

Madison Rayn Abeo  |  | Cornish Preparatory Dance Program
Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2017  | 2022
Luther Demyer  | Indiannapolis School of Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Miami City Ballet School  | 2019  | 2024
Dammiel Cruz-Garrido  | School of American Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet  | 2016  | 2022
Christopher D'Ariano  | School of American Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2017  | 2022
Clara Ruf Maldonado  | School of American Ballet | 2018  | 2023
Amanda Morgan  | Dance Theatre Northwest
Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2017  | 2022
Miles Pertl  | Pacific Northwest Ballet School
International Ballet Academy
John Cranko Schule | 2015  | 2021
Christian Poppe  | Pacific Northwest Ballet School
Cornish College of the Arts Preparatory Dance
Dance School in Everett
Johnson and Peter's Tap Dance
Ballet Bellevue
Betty Spooner's Creative Arts Foundation  | 2014  | 2022
Kuu Sakuragi  | Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2020  | 2023
Price Suddarth  | Central Indiana Dance Ensemble
School of American Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet School  | 2011  | 2018
Leah Terada  |  | Dallas Metropolitan Ballet

School of American Ballet

| 2015  | 2022

### Corps de ballet

[edit]

* Luca Anaya
* Malena Ani
* Emerson Boll
* Dylan Calahan
* Ryan Cardea
* Mark Cuddihee
* Ashton Edwards
* Melisa Guilliams
* Connor Horton
* Zsilas Michael Hughes
* Rosalyn Hutsell
* Kali Kleiman
* Larry Lancaster
* Audrey Malek
* Noah Martzall
* Joh Morrill
* Ginabel Peterson
* Samuel Portillo
* Juliet Prine
* Yuki Takahashi
* Genevieve Waldorf
* Lily Wills
* Destiny Wimpye

## Notable former dancers

[edit]

* Rachael Bade[17]

* Patricia Barker[18][15]
* Maria Chapman
* Karel Cruz
* Brent Davi
* Lindsi Dec
* Chalnessa Eames
* Laura Gilbreath
* Carrie Imler
* Carla Körbes
* Stanko Milov
* Louise Nadeau[18]
* Kaori Nakamura[19][18]
* Noelani Pantastico
* Lesley Rausch
* Julie Tobiason[20]
* Miranda Weese

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Flatow, Sheryl (July 1, 1995). "Full Length Ballets". Dance Magazine. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
2. ^ Macdonald, Moira (February 12, 2004). "Ballet's artistic directors to retire". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
3. ^ "Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker". Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
4. ^ "The Artists". Pacific Northwest Ballet (Press release). 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
5. ^ Campbell, R.M. (January 2, 2003). "Dance professional Bennett raised standard in Seattle". Seattle PI. Retrieved January 10, 2012. Campbell cites the residency as occurring in 1971.
6. ^ Campbell refers to the organization as the Pacific Northwest Ballet Association.
7. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (March 28, 1984). "The New York Debut of Pacific Northwest". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
8. ^ "PNB History and Fact Sheet" (PDF). Pacific Northwest Ballet. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
9. ^ a b "PNB Vision and Mission". Pacific Northwest Ballet. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
10. ^ Macaulay, Alastair (September 27, 2007). "An Idiomatic Balanchine, Walking the Walk in Seattle". The New York Times.
11. ^ Macaulay, Alastair (17 February 2013). "Performers From the West Coast Serve Up Balanchine". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
12. ^ Kaderlan, Alice (23 September 2013). "Pacific Northwest Ballet debuts its talented new status symbol". Crosscut. Seattle: Crosscut Public Media. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
13. ^ "School Philosophy". Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
14. ^ Horosko, Marian (February 1, 1996). "Pacific Northwest Ballet School: doing it right". Dance Magazine.
15. ^ a b Campbell, R.M. (June 16, 2008). "Pacific Northwest Ballet school's annual spring performances brim with talent". Seattle PI. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
16. ^ Datz, Melody (20 March 2013). "Approaching Heaven". The Stranger. Seattle. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
17. ^ "Rachael Bade". agoradance.org.
18. ^ a b c Macaulay, Alastair (9 June 2015). "Carla Körbes Grandly Bows Out of Pacific Northwest Ballet". New York Times. New York, United States. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
19. ^ Datz, Melody (28 May 2014). "Bowing Out: When and Why Ballet Dancers Retire". The Stranger. Seattle, United States.
20. ^ Holdcroft, Lesley (6 June 2002). "Moving on: PNB dancers Tobiason, Apple, 5 others are bowing out". Seattle Times. Retrieved 16 November 2024.

### Reviews

[edit]

* NY Times by Alastair Macaulay, November 5, 2007
* NY Times by Alastair Macaulay, September 25, 2007
* Sunbreak Magazine by Rosie Gaynor, June 14, 2011
* Seattle Post-Intelligencer by R. M. Campbell, September 26, 2003

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Pacific Northwest Ballet at HistoryLink

* v
* t
* e

Dance companies in the United States

Ballet|

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South
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* v
* t
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