Pacific Northwest Ballet
| Pacific Northwest Ballet | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Name | Pacific Northwest Ballet |
| Previous names | Pacific Northwest Dance Association |
| Year founded | 1972 |
| Principal venue | Marion Oliver McCaw Hall |
| Website | http://www.pnb.org/ |
| Senior staff | |
| Director | Peter Boal |
| Artistic staff | |
| Principal Conductor | Emil de Cou |
| Other | |
| Orchestra | Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra |
| Official school | Pacific Northwest Ballet School |
| Formation | Principal Soloist Corps de Ballet |
Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington. In the United States it is considered an "elite" company. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 44 dancers; there are over 100 performances throughout the year.
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.
Pacific Northwest Ballet was founded in 1972, after the two-month residency of First Chamber Dance Company, as part of the 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.Peter Boal succeeded Stowell and Russell as Artistic Director following their retirement. In 2013, the company and its orchestra toured to New York for the first time in 16 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.
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