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About the Artists
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(Photo: Angela Sterling)
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Kent Stowell
Founding Artistic Director
Choreographer
Kent Stowell was Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer of Pacific Northwest Ballet from 1977 until his retirement in June 2005. Mr. Stowell began his dance training with Willam Christensen at the University of Utah, later joining San Francisco Ballet. He joined New York City Ballet in 1962 and was promoted to soloist in 1963. In 1970, he joined the Munich Opera Ballet as a leading dancer and choreographer. In 1973, Mr. Stowell was appointed Ballet Master and Choreographer of Frankfurt Ballet and was named, with Francia Russell, Co-Artistic Director of the company in 1975. In 1977, Mr. Stowell and Ms. Russell were appointed Artistic Directors of PNB. His many contributions to the repertory include Swan Lake, Cinderella, Nutcracker, Carmina Burana, Firebird, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Hail to the Conquering Hero, Carmen, and Silver Lining. In 2001, the University of Utah honored Mr. Stowell with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Stowell's other awards and honors include the Washington State Governor's Arts Award, the Dance Magazine Award, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Seattle University. In 2004, Stowell received the ArtsFund Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award, the Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and was recognized by the King County Council for his achievements in the arts.
Maurice Sendak
Scenic and Costume Designer
Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York, and studied at the Art Students League. Sendak co-authored his first published book, Atomics for the Millions, when just nineteen. His talents came to the attention
of Ursula Nordstrom, children's book editor at Harper's, for whom he illustrated Marcel Ayme's The Wonderful Farm (1951). His illustrations for Ruth Krauss' A hole is to dig (1952) and Elsie Minarik's Little Bear (1959) drew widespread acclaim. As both writer and illustrator, he has produced a number of children's books which have already become classics, including Kenny's Window (1956), Very Far Away (1957), The Sign on Rosie's Door (1960), The Nutshell Library (1962), Where the Wild Things Are (1963), Higglety Pigglety Pop! (1967), and In the Night Kitchen (1970). His work on Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker (1983) has helped to make it unique among hundreds of Nutcracker productions. In October 2003, Hyperion Books released Brundibar, illustrated by Sendak and written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright Tony Kushner. Mr. Sendak's designs include sets for Houston Opera's production of The Magic Flute, New York Opera's The Cunning Little Vixen, and Glyndebourne Opera's The Love for Three Oranges. His numerous awards include the American Library Association's Randolph Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are (1964), Illustrator's Medal of the Hans Christian Andersen Award (1970), American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (1983), National Medal of Arts
(1996), and the Swedish government's Astrid Lingren Memorial Award (2003).
Randall G. Chiarelli
Lighting Designer
Randall G. Chiarelli served as PNB's technical director and lighting designer from 1979–2005. He
created the lighting designs for most of PNB's repertory including Kent Stowell's full-length Swan Lake, Firebird, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Carmina Burana, Cinderella, and Carmen, and re-created the lighting designs for PNB's entire Balanchine repertory. His scenery designs for PNB include Les Biches, Divertimento No. 15, Capricious Night and Carmen. Mr. Chiarelli also served as Technical Director of San Francisco Ballet 2005–2006. Student and apprentice to pioneer lighting designer Thomas R. Skelton, Mr. Chiarelli is a Seattle native and received painting and sculpture degrees from the University of Washington.
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