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, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. 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.
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 Pacific Northwest Ballet was founded in 1972 following the two-month residency of the First Chamber Dance Company, Campbell cites the residency as occurring in 1971. as part of Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association.Campbell refers to the organization as the Pacific Northwest Ballet Association. Under the directorship of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, originally of New York City Ballet, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. Stowell and Russell left at the end of the 2004–2005 season. 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.
In July 2005, Peter Boal succeeded Stowell and Russell as artistic director following their retirement. 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.
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.
In 2012, PNB brought in Twyla Tharp as its first artist in residence for a year-long residency.
Pacific Northwest Ballet School The Pacific Northwest Ballet School was founded in 1974. 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." The teaching is structured on that of the School of American Ballet. 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 Pacific Northwest Ballet is noted for choosing dancers that have physique, expressivity and a variety of body shapes.
Principals NameNationalityTrainingJoined PNBPromoted to PrincipalOther companies (incl. guest performances)Jonathan BatistaEnglish National Ballet20212022Boston BalletCincinnati BalletOklahoma City BalletLeta BiasucciCentral Pennsylvania Youth BalletSan Francisco Ballet School20112018Oregon Ballet TheaterKyle DavisMakaroff School of BalletRock School for Dance EducationNorth Carolina School of the ArtsPacific Northwest Ballet School20092020Angelica GenerosaSchool of American BalletPrinceton Ballet20122020Cecilia IliesiuSchool of American BalletStudio Maestro20152022Carolina BalletElle MacyOrange County Dance CenterPacific Northwest Ballet School20132021Elizabeth MurphyAcademy of Ballet ArtsRock School for Dance Education20112015Pennsylvania BalletBallet West IIBallet WestLucien PostlewaiteSchool of American BalletPacific Northwest Ballet School20042008, 2017Les Ballets de Monte-CarloSarah-Gabrielle RyanRock School for Dance EducationMetropolitan Ballet AcademySchool of Pennsylvania Ballet20172023Pennsylvania BalletDylan WaldMinnesota Dance TheatreThe Dance InstitutePacific Northwest Ballet School20152020
Soloists
NameNationalityTrainingJoined PNBPromoted to SoloistMadison Rayn AbeoCornish Preparatory Dance ProgramPacific Northwest Ballet School20172022Luther DemyerIndianapolis School of BalletPacific Northwest BalletMiami City Ballet School20192024Dammiel Cruz-GarridoSchool of American BalletPacific Northwest Ballet20162022Christopher D'ArianoSchool of American BalletPacific Northwest Ballet School20172022Clara Ruf MaldonadoSchool of American Ballet20182023Amanda MorganDance Theatre NorthwestPacific Northwest Ballet School20172022Miles PertlPacific Northwest Ballet SchoolInternational Ballet AcademyJohn Cranko Schule20152021Christian PoppePacific Northwest Ballet SchoolCornish College of the Arts Preparatory DanceDance School in EverettJohnson and Peter's Tap DanceBallet BellevueBetty Spooner's Creative Arts Foundation20142022Kuu SakuragiPacific Northwest Ballet School 20202023Price SuddarthCentral Indiana Dance EnsembleSchool of American BalletPacific Northwest Ballet School20112018Leah TeradaDallas Metropolitan Ballet School of American Ballet20152022
Corps de ballet
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
Rachael Bade
Patricia Barker Maria Chapman Karel Cruz Brent Davi Lindsi Dec Chalnessa Eames Laura Gilbreath Carrie Imler Carla Körbes Stanko Milov Louise Nadeau Kaori Nakamura Noelani Pantastico Lesley Rausch Julie Tobiason Miranda Weese
References
Reviews
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
Pacific Northwest Ballet at HistoryLink