National Hispanic Heritage Month begins today. This month and all year long, we celebrate the contributions of artists from and with cultural roots in Latin America.
José Limón
José Limón (1908-1972) was a crucial figure in the development of modern dance: his powerful dancing shifted perceptions of the male dancer, while his choreography continues to bring a dramatic vision of dance to audiences around the world. Born in Mexico, Limón moved to New York City in 1928 after a year at UCLA as an art major. It was here that he saw his first dance program: “What I saw simply and irrevocably changed my life. I saw the dance as a vision of ineffable power. A man could, with dignity and towering majesty, dance… dance as Michelangelo’s visions dance and as the music of Bach dances.”
In 1946, after studying and performing for 10 years with Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, he established his own company with Humphrey as artistic director. During her tenure, Humphrey choreographed many pieces for the Limón Dance Company, and it was under her experienced directorial eye that Limón created his signature dance, The Moor’s Pavane (1949). Limón’s choreographic works were quickly recognized as masterpieces and the company itself became a landmark of American dance.
WATCH: The Moor’s Pavane Excerpt from 2019 (PNB Premiere: 1986)
Nicolo Fonte
A first-generation American whose parents emigrated to the US from Argentina, Nicolo Fonte grew up in Brooklyn and began dancing at the age of 14, studying at the Joffrey Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet, and the School of American Ballet. He danced professionally with Peridance, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and Nacho Duato’s Compañia Nacional de Danza before retiring in 2000 to devote himself fully to his choreographic career.
Fonte received a Choo San Goh Award for Almost Tango, his 2002 choreography for Pacific Northwest Ballet. Almost Tango was later voted one of Dance Europe’s “Best Premieres” when restaged for The Australian Ballet in 2004. Having created over 60 works for companies spanning the globe, Fonte is recognized for a singular movement language that fuses classical ballet with a boldly contemporary aesthetic.
WATCH: Almost Tango (PNB Premiere: 2002)
Victor Quijada
Photo © Angela Sterling.
Victor Quijada has been deeply influenced by hip hop culture since childhood. He is a graduate of L.A. County High School for the Arts and a protégé of postmodern pioneer Rudy Perez. Mr. Quijada performed with Twyla Tharp, and Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech, and was a demi-soloist with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. In 2002 Mr. Quijada formed RUBBERBANDance Group, molding the diverse artistic influences of classical, contemporary, and urban aesthetics into a signature choreographic style. From 2007 to 2011, Mr. Quijada served as Artist-in-Residence at Cinquième Salle / Place des Arts de Montreal. He has created two world premieres for PNB: Suspension of Disbelief (2006) and Mating Theory (2012) and has also created work for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Met, Jeune Ballet du Québec, Peter Boal & Company, and many more.
WATCH: Suspension of Disbelief (World Premiere: 2006)
WATCH: Mating Theory (World Premiere: 2012)
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Colombo-Belgian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa completed her dance studies at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp, Belgium. In 2003, following her 12-year career in various European dance companies, Ms. Lopez Ochoa decided to focus solely on choreography. That same year she was hailed “rising star of the Dutch dance scene” (NRC newspaper) and seven years later, the Temecula Performing Arts Examiner wrote, “Ochoa is truly a masterful choreographer with an edge for what dance can and should be in this constantly changing industry.”
Ms. Lopez Ochoa’s critically acclaimed piece, Before After, is known as her signature piece. Created in 2002 for Dutch National Ballet, the work is in the repertory of Ballet Nacional Dominicano, Gothenburg Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Finnish National Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
WATCH: Before After (PNB Premiere: 2014)
WATCH: Khepri (World Premiere: 2023)
Amanda Morgan
Amanda Morgan is from Tacoma, Washington. She studied at Dance Theatre Northwest and Pacific Northwest Ballet School and attended summer courses at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Boston Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet. She participated in PNB School’s exchange with the Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, where she also performed with Dresden Semperoper Ballett.
As a choreographer, Amanda has created works for PNB’S and mainstage, NEXT STEP, and digital season, as well as the Seattle International Film Festival and for her own show at Northwest Film Forum. In 2019 Amanda launched The Seattle Project, an artist collaborative that creates new works to highlight and uplift BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists. The Seattle Project’s most recent commission, Arrivals, premiered at King Street Station in 2025. Amanda was named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch in 2020.
WATCH: This Space Intentionally Left Blank (Digital Release: 2020)
WATCH: AfterTime Excerpt (World Premiere: 2025)
Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan
Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She studied on scholarship at the Rock School for Dance Education, Metropolitan Ballet Academy, and the School of Pennsylvania Ballet; she attended summer courses at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Ellison Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, the School of American Ballet, the School of Pennsylvania Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She was named as one of Dance Magazine’s On the Rise in 2018 and was on the March 2021 cover of Pointe Magazine.
Sarah-Gabrielle has performed as a guest artist at numerous festivals and organizations, including Green Bay Ballet Theater, of which she is a co-founder. She has choreographed for PNB’s NEXT STEP, Baila Conmigo Community Day, and Gonzaga University Dance Program and Department of Theatre and Dance.
Here’s what Sarah-Gabrielle and co-choreographer Kyle Davis had to say about their 2025 Next Step premiere, Pas de Deux from an Unnamed Story: “Driven by an overwhelming sense that a narrative ballet – steeped in Mexico’s rich culture – was needed in the dance world, we began writing a synopsis for a new evening-length story ballet inspired by Sarah-Gabrielle’s Mexican heritage. While this ballet will be strongly rooted in elements profoundly Mexican – mariachi and ranchero music, the historic events of the Battle of Tampico, and the colorful traditions of Dia de los Muertos – the ballet will also highlight universal themes of coping with the loss of loved ones, war, and the need for independence and freedom. This pas de deux, conceived as the ballet’s resolution, marks the first step in the creation of a boundless project.”
