# Pacific Northwest Ballet

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, as part of Seattle Opera and named the Pacific Northwest Dance 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

| Name | 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

| Name | 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

* 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

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