Pacific Northwest Ballet | |
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General information | |
Name | Pacific Northwest Ballet |
Previous names | Pacific Northwest Dance Association |
Year founded | 1972 |
Founders |
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Principal venue | Marion Oliver McCaw Hall |
Website | www.pnb.org |
Artistic staff | |
Artistic Director |
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Music Director | Emil de Cou |
Other | |
Orchestra | Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra |
Official school | Pacific Northwest Ballet School |
Associated schools |
Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a 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.
Pacific Northwest Ballet was founded in 1972 following the two-month residency of the First Chamber Dance Company, [5] as part of the 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 ]
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]
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.
Pacific Northwest Ballet is noted for choosing dancers that have physique, expressivity and a variety of body shapes. [16]
Name | Nationality | Training | Joined PNB | Promoted to Principal | Other companies (incl. guest performances) |
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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 | ||
James Yoichi Moore | San Francisco Ballet School School of American Ballet | 2004 | 2013 | Pittsburgh Ballet Theater | |
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 | |
James Kirby Rogers | North Carolina School of the Arts | 2021 | 2022 | Houston Ballet II Kansas City Ballet | |
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 | ||
Name | Nationality | Training | Joined PNB | Promoted to Soloist |
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Madison Rayn Abeo | Cornish Preparatory Dance Program Pacific Northwest Ballet School | 2017 | 2022 | |
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 | |
Ezra Thomson | Riverside Ballet Arts Orlando Ballet School Pacific Northwest Ballet School | 2010 | 2017 | |
Ib Andersen is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. He was principal dancer for the Royal Danish Ballet 1975-1980, for the New York City Ballet 1980-1990, freelancing ballet master 1990-2000 and artistic director of Ballet Arizona 2000-2024.
Peter Boal is artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and director of its affiliated school in Seattle, Washington. He was born in Bedford, New York, in 1965 and began studies at the School of American Ballet (SAB) at age nine.
Emil de Cou is an American conductor who became associate conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in September 2003. He has led the orchestra on residency tours in five states, in subscription concerts at the Kennedy Center and on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol Building. In 2005 de Cou was named NSO at Wolf Trap Festival Conductor and will start his 15th season with that organization in the summer of 2019. He was appointed the music director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet starting with the 2011-2012 season. In 2013, he was described by New York Times critic Alastair Macaulay to be "probably...America’s finest ballet conductor."
Noelani Pantastico is an American ballet dancer. She was formerly a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle and also danced at the Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo in Monaco.
Stars and Stripes is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by John Philip Sousa, orchestrated by Hershy Kay. The ballet was made as a tribute to the United States, Balanchine's adopted country. It premiered on January 17, 1958, at the City Center of Music and Drama, danced by the New York City Ballet. It is dedicated to Fiorello La Guardia, former mayor of New York City. The ballet had been revived by multiple ballet companies, and at different special occasions.
Theme and Variations is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to the final movement of Tchaikovsky's Orchestral Suite No. 3. The ballet was made for Ballet Theatre, and premiered on November 26, 1947, at the City Center 55 Street Theater, with the two leads danced by Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch.
Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to a composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky originally intended for act 3 of Swan Lake. With costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Jack Owen Brown, it was first presented by New York City Ballet at the City Center of Music and Drama, New York, on 29 March 1960. Robert Irving conducted the New York City Ballet Orchestra. The dancers were Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow.
Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant was written by Igor Stravinsky in 1942. He composed it for a ballet production that the choreographer George Balanchine did for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The ballet was performed by fifty elephants and fifty ballerinas. In 1944, Stravinsky published an orchestration of the piece, which is now part of the repertoire of many orchestras.
Miranda Weese is an American former ballet dancer, teacher and ballet master. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1993 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1996. In 2007, she left to perform with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, first as a guest artist, then joined the company as a principal dancer, before retiring in 2010. In 2017, she joined the Boston Ballet as a children's ballet master.
Carla Körbes is a Brazilian ballet dancer who performed as a principal dancer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, then became the associate artistic director of L.A Dance Project. She is now an associate professor at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's ballet faculty.
Fanfare is a one-act ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, in celebration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The ballet premiered on June 2, 1953, the night of the coronation, at the City Center of Music and Drama, danced by the New York City Ballet.
Elegy is a composition by Igor Stravinsky for solo viola composed in 1944. It was dedicated to the memory of Alphonse Onnou, the founder of the Pro Arte Quartet. The score bears no time signature, but the metronome marking sets the tempo at = 56. The opening section is in the style of a chant above a rippling accompaniment. The middle section contains elements of a fugue, though there are never more than two independent voices. After its climax, the Elegy closes with a recapitulation of its opening. The viola is directed to play with mute throughout.
Liebeslieder Walzer is a two-part neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Johannes Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 and Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65, with original sets and lighting designed by David Hays, and costumes designed by Barbara Karinska. The ballet premiered on 12 November 1960 at the New York City Center, performed by the New York City Ballet.
Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, also known as Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker or simply Nutcracker, is a 1986 American Christmas performing arts film produced by Pacific Northwest Ballet in association with Hyperion Pictures and Kushner/Locke, and released theatrically by Atlantic Releasing Corporation. It is a film adaptation of 1892 ballet The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the 1816 short story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E. T. A. Hoffmann.
Christopher Stowell is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. He is currently the associate artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada. He was previously the artistic director of the Oregon Ballet Theatre. Before that, he danced professionally with the San Francisco Ballet for sixteen years.
Angelica Generosa is an American ballet dancer. She joined the Pacific Northwest Ballet in 2011 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2020.
Janet Reed was an American ballerina and ballet mistress. She danced with San Francisco Ballet from 1937 to 1941 as leading ballerina.
Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan is a Mexican-American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle.
Francia Russell is the former co-artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and former director of Pacific Northwest Ballet School, from 1977 to 2005. She was a soloist with the New York City Ballet, where she later became ballet master. In 1975, Russell became co-artistic director of Frankfurt Ballet with her husband, Kent Stowell, and in 1977, they accepted the position of artistic directors of Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, Washington. With Stowell, Russell built Pacific Northwest Ballet from a local organization to one of national and international prominence.
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