Pacific Northwest Ballet
Encyclopedia
Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company
based in Seattle, Washington in the United States. Founded in 1972 as part of the Seattle Opera
and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers. Its founding artistic directors, Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, left at the end of the 2004–2005 season. Both had studied with and danced for George Balanchine
. Peter Boal
succeeded Stowell and Russell as Artistic Director following their retirement. The company performs with 49 dancers, thirteen of whom are principals
; seven soloists, twenty-six corps de ballet
dancers, as well as three apprentices There are over 100 performances throughout the year.
In 1974, the Pacific Northwest Ballet School was founded. 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."
PNB performs in McCaw Hall
at the Seattle Center
. It is especially known for its performance of the Stowell/Maurice Sendak
Nutcracker
, which it has been presenting since 1983 as well as made into a feature film
. In 2006, the company was chosen to perform in the Fall for Dance Festival
at New York's City Center Theatre
and at the Jacob's Pillow
Dance Festival.
In October 2007, PNB dancers Noelani Pantastico
, Lindsi Dec, and Benjamin Griffiths, along with Pantastico's husband Brady Hartley, created the website PNB Unleashed. The website functions as a "more in-depth, behind the scenes perspective of the lives of PNB dancers and the necessary steps to creating a successful performance." The website includes dancers' personal thoughts on upcoming performances, links to dancers' personal websites, photo albums, interviews, and an "A Day in the Life" of a PNB dancer. It further includes a "Director's Blog" written by Boal discussing his role as artistic director.
Ballet company
A ballet company is a group of dancers who perform ballet, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round basis, except in the United States, where contracts for part of the year are the norm...
based in Seattle, Washington in the United States. Founded in 1972 as part of the Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera
The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
and named the Pacific Northwest Dance Association, it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers. Its founding artistic directors, Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, left at the end of the 2004–2005 season. Both had studied with and danced for George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
. Peter Boal
Peter Boal
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 at age nine.Mr...
succeeded Stowell and Russell as Artistic Director following their retirement. The company performs with 49 dancers, thirteen of whom are principals
Principal dancer
A principal dancer is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company....
; seven soloists, twenty-six corps de ballet
Corps de ballet
In ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...
dancers, as well as three apprentices There are over 100 performances throughout the year.
In 1974, the Pacific Northwest Ballet School was founded. 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."
PNB performs in McCaw Hall
McCaw Hall
The Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is a performance hall and opera house, located in Seattle, Washington. Inaugurated in June 2003, it was constructed within the basic steel support structure of the earlier Seattle Opera House, originally created for the World's Fair in 1962 and gutted for this...
at the Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
. It is especially known for its performance of the Stowell/Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...
Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
, which it has been presenting since 1983 as well as made into a feature film
Nutcracker: The Motion Picture
Nutcracker: The Motion Picture , is a 1986 film produced by Pacific Northwest Ballet in associates with Hyperion Pictures and Kushner/Locke. It is a film adaptation of the ballet The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as well as based on the short story by E.T.A. Hoffmann...
. In 2006, the company was chosen to perform in the Fall for Dance Festival
Fall for Dance Festival
Fall for Dance is an annual dance festival presented by New York City Center in New York City. Established in 2004 as a means to introduce new audiences to dance, and loosely based on the Delacorte Dance Festival model of the 1960s and 1970s, Fall For Dance showcases as many as five different dance...
at New York's City Center Theatre
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
and at the Jacob's Pillow
Jacob's Pillow
Jacob’s Pillow Dance is a dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The organization is known for the oldest internationally acclaimed summer dance festival in the United States. The facility also includes a professional school and extensive...
Dance Festival.
In October 2007, PNB dancers Noelani Pantastico
Noelani Pantastico
Noelani Pantastico is a ballet dancer with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo in Monaco. She was born on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.-Biography:Noelani Pantastico was born to John and Marylou Pantastico...
, Lindsi Dec, and Benjamin Griffiths, along with Pantastico's husband Brady Hartley, created the website PNB Unleashed. The website functions as a "more in-depth, behind the scenes perspective of the lives of PNB dancers and the necessary steps to creating a successful performance." The website includes dancers' personal thoughts on upcoming performances, links to dancers' personal websites, photo albums, interviews, and an "A Day in the Life" of a PNB dancer. It further includes a "Director's Blog" written by Boal discussing his role as artistic director.
Principals
- Batkhurel Bold
- Maria Chapman
- Karel Cruz
- Carrie Imler
- Carla Körbes
- Ariana Lallone
- Stanko Milov
- Kaori Nakamura
- Jonathan Porretta
- Seth Orza
- Lucien Postlewaite
- Jeffrey Stanton
- Olivier Wevers
Soloists
- Lindsi Dec
- Chalnessa Eames
- Rachel Foster
- Laura Gilbreath
- Benjamin Griffiths
- Sarah Ricard Orza
- James Moore
- Lesley Rausch
Corps de Ballet
- Chelsea Adomaitis
- Jessika Anspach
- Andrew Bartee
- Ryan Cardea
- Amanda Clark
- Kyle Davis
- Kiyon Gaines
- Eric Hipolito Jr.
- Barry Kerollis
- Kylee Kitchens
- William Lin-Yee
- Emma Love
- Stacy Lowenberg
- Margaret Mullin
- Leah O'Connor
- Brittany Reid
- Abby Relic
- Liora Reshef
- Sean Rollofson
- Carli Samuelson
- Josh Spell
- Jerome Tisserand
- Ezra Thomson
Reviews
- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/arts/dance/05nort.htmlNY Times by Alastair MacaulayAlastair MacaulayAlastair Macaulay is a dance critic for the New York Times. He was previously chief dance critic at The Times Literary Supplement and chief theater critic of the Financial Times, both of London...
, November 5, 2007]
- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/25/arts/dance/25nort.html?_r=1&oref=sloginNY Times by Alastair MacaulayAlastair MacaulayAlastair Macaulay is a dance critic for the New York Times. He was previously chief dance critic at The Times Literary Supplement and chief theater critic of the Financial Times, both of London...
, September 25, 2007]