Kent Stowell & Francia Russell, Founding Artistic Directors

Board of Trustees

Artistic Staff

Otto NeubertRehearsal Director

Otto Neubert became a rehearsal director for Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1992. Mr. Neubert assists the artistic director in rehearsing, teaching, and scheduling the Company, and also rehearses PNB School students in their roles for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker^® and other productions.

Mr. Neubert has performed as a guest artist in PNB’s The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and Swan Lake. Prior to joining PNB, he danced as a soloist with New York City Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet. Born in Munich, Germany, he received his early training with Alex Ursuliak, ballet master of Stuttgart Ballet and director of the John Cranko School in Stuttgart. Mr. Neubert was also trained at Stuttgart Ballet School, the School of American Ballet, and with Marika Besobrasova in Monte Carlo.

Anne DabrowskiRehearsal Director

Anne Dabrowski joined PNB as a rehearsal director in 1997. Originally from San Diego, Ms. Dabrowski received her early dance training from California Ballet School. She danced professionally with Hartford Ballet and continued there as company teacher and assistant ballet master and also served as a principal faculty member of the School of the Hartford Ballet. Ms. Dabrowski assists the artistic director in teaching, rehearsing, and scheduling the Company and rehearses PNBS students in their roles for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker^® and other PNB ballets.

Giovanni VillalobosRehearsal Director

Giovanni Villalobos was born in Puerto Rico, where he began dancing at the age of eight under the guide of Roberto Rodriguez. He studied at the School of American Ballet (with Peter Boal, Jock Soto and Andrei Kramarevsky) and the Royal Danish Ballet (as part of the D.A.N.C.E student exchange program), and he choreographed for the New York Choreographic Institute. In 2003, he was awarded the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise, and a year later he joined New York City Ballet. He has worked with prominent choreographers, including Christopher Wheeldon, Susan Stroman, Eliot Feld, Benjamin Millepied, and Liam Scarlett, and he appeared in the film version of Jerome Robbins’ Opus Jazz. In 2014, he was chosen to become a member of the Teachers Fellowship at SAB. Mr. Villalobos was a guest teacher at Pacific Northwest Ballet School in 2015, and joined PNB School as a year-round faculty member in the fall of 2018. In June 2019, he became a rehearsal director for Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Alejandro CerrudoResident Choreographer

Alejandro Cerrudo is a Chicago based-choreographer born in Madrid, Spain. His professional career includes work with Stuttgart Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC). Cerrudo became HSDCʼs Resident Choreographer in 2008 and held that position until 2018. In 2020, Peter Boal named Cerrudo the first Resident Choreographer of Pacific Northwest Ballet, a post he will hold for three seasons, beginning in Fall 2020.

Cerrudo’s body of work has been performed by more than 20 professional dance companies around the world. In March 2012, upon receiving the Joyce Theater Foundationʼs second Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance, Cerrudo was invited by Pacific Northwest Ballet to choreograph his first work for the company, Memory Glow. Additional honors include an award from the Boomerang Fund for Artists (2011) and the Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work from the Prince Charitable Trusts (2012) for his acclaimed major work, One Thousand Pieces. In 2014, he was awarded the USA Donnelley Fellowship by United States Artists.

Mr. Cerrudo was one of four choreographers invited by New York City Balletʼs Wendy Whelan to create and perform original duets for her program Restless Creature. In 2017, Cerrudo was invited by Daniil Simkin to choreograph a site-specific performance for the Guggenheim Rotunda, a Works & Process Rotunda Project commission featuring Daniil Simkin, with original costumes by Dior. Cerrudoʼs Sleeping Beauty, created for Ballet Theater Basel in 2016, was nominated as Production of the Year in Switzerland in Tanz, Jahrbuch 2016 by Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

Photo: THEGINGERB3ARDMEN

Emil de CouMusic Director/Principal Conductor

Emil de Cou assumed the full-time position of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Music Director and Principal Conductor at the start of the 2011-2012 season. He was associate conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, participating in a wide range of NSO performances and events following his Wolf Trap debut in 2000. Mr. de Cou debuted at Carnegie Hall as guest conductor for the New York Pops and has also conducted Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and Colorado Symphony Orchestra. He was Principal Pops Conductor for the San Francisco Symphony and served as musical consultant for NASA collaborations, including “Salute to Apollo, the Kennedy Legacy” at the Kennedy Center. In 1985, Mikhail Baryshnikov hired Mr. de Cou to conduct American Ballet Theatre and in 1994, he joined the staff of San Francisco Ballet. He has also conducted New York City Ballet, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Netherlands Dance Theatre, Hong Kong Ballet, and National Ballet of Holland, among others. Mr. de Cou was born in Los Angeles and studied at the University of Southern California. He was the subject of a documentary on National Public Radio and was chosen from 200 candidates to study in Leonard Bernstein’s master class at the Hollywood Bowl.

Sarah Kolat, Executive Assistant to Peter Boal
Ezra Thomson, Jonathan Porretta, Family Matinee Rehearsal Directors
Christina Siemens, Principal Company Pianist
Josh Archibald-Seiffer, Conductor/Company Pianist
Laure Struber, Company Pianist
Rodger Burnett*, Orchestra Personnel Manager
Stephen Barnes*, Jeff Junkinsmith, Emi Oguri, Megan Phillips, Katja Rubin, Shelley Sutton-Bolton, Don Vollema, Annastasia Workman, Company Class Pianists
Mona Butler*, Orchestra Librarian
Sheila Dietrich*, Archivist

Kent StowellFounding Artistic Director, Pacific Northwest Ballet

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 he 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 Pacific Northwest Ballet. During his tenure, Mr. Stowell choreographed thirty-six ballets for the Company. His many contributions to the repertory include Swan Lake, Cinderella, Stowell & Sendak 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, an Honorary Doctor of Arts from the University of Washington, 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.

Francia RussellFounding Artistic Director, Pacific Northwest Ballet

Francia Russell was Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet School from 1977 until her retirement in June 2005. She is responsible for the addition to the Company’s repertory of many works of George Balanchine. In addition to teaching, rehearsing, and promoting the potential of Company dancers, Ms. Russell enriched the curriculum of PNB School by adding related subjects of study and engaging a team of expert consultants. She also oversaw the development of an extensive community education program and founded the DanceChance program in 1994. These components of the School were distinguished as ahead of their time in American dance education.

Ms. Russell’s most influential teachers were Felia Doubrovska, Antonina Tumkovsky, Vera Volkova, Robert Joffrey, and George Balanchine. She joined New York City Ballet in 1956 and was promoted to soloist in 1959. She retired from the company in 1961, danced for a year with Jerome Robbins’ Ballets USA, and taught on the faculty of the School of American Ballet in 1962-1963. In 1964, Balanchine appointed her ballet mistress of NYCB. Ms. Russell was one of the first ballet masters chosen by Balanchine to stage his works. To date, she has staged 246 productions of Balanchine ballets worldwide. In 1987, she staged the first Balanchine ballet in the People’s Republic of China for the Shanghai Ballet, and in 1988-1989, she staged the historic first authorized performance of Balanchine’s work in his homeland for the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg. From 1975 to 1977, Ms. Russell and Kent Stowell were Co-Artistic Directors of Frankfurt Ballet.

Ms. Russell’s numerous awards include the Washington State Governor’s Arts Award, the Dance Magazine Award, an Honorary Doctor of Arts from the University of Washington, an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Seattle University, and the Brava Award from Women’s University Club of Seattle. In 2004, Ms. Russell received the Arts Fund 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 her achievements in the arts.

Production

Norbert HerrigesTechnical Director

Norbert Herriges began working in Seattle theater after receiving a degree in Theatre Arts at Southern Oregon State College in Ashland, Oregon. In 1984, he started at ACT as a scenic builder and in 1991 moved to Seattle Repertory Theatre, where he worked for fifteen years as a shop carpenter and later as Scenic Coordinator. In the course of his 28-year career in local theater, Mr. Herriges has worked backstage for PNB in various capacities. Most recently, he coordinated the set construction for PNB’s new production of George Balanchine’s Coppélia. He became Interim Technical Director for PNB in February 2011 and assumed the position of Technical Director in July of 2011. Mr. Herriges oversees and coordinates all technical aspects of PNB’s productions, assisted by an exceptional staff of stage technicians and managers.

Reed NakayamaResident Lighting Design Coordinator

Reed Nakayama is a Lighting and Projection Designer, who moved to Seattle in 2003 to study at Cornish College of the Arts. He joined PNB in 2013 as a stagehand, and in 2019, was promoted to caretaker of the company’s copious and diverse designs. Here, he has illuminated stages in collaboration with a perpetual medley of truly transcendent artists, such as Alexei Ratmansky (Wartime Elegy), Jessica Lang (Ghost Variations), and Christopher Wheeldon (Curious Kingdom).

Sandra Barrack, Production Stage Manager
Alexandria Wommack, Stage Manager
Jeffrey Stebbins*, Master Carpenter
Owen Sharp, Assistant Carpenter
Allen Hiskey*, Flyman
Michael Grogan, Master Electrician
Jonathan Hackett*, Production Electrician
Christine Brauch, Assistant Electrician
Kevin Krist*, Master of Properties
Jay Gosselin*, Leah Harris, Properties Assistants
Jan Harvey-Smith*, Master Scenic Artist
Scott Bennet, Jennifer Law, Scenic Artists
Dominic Iacono, Lighting Technician
Toby Basiliko, Sound
Jordan Whiteley, Projectionist
Jim Austin*, Tammy Martin, Followspot Operators
Jack Taylor, Videographer

Costume Shop

Meleta BuckstaffCostume Shop Manager

Meleta Buckstaff grew up in Jackson, Wyoming, where she was a student at Dancers’ Workshop and developed a love of the art form at a young age. Meleta holds a BA in Dance and American Studies from Smith College and an MFA in Costume Design from the University of Washington. She joined the PNB costume shop in 2017 and in 2022 was promoted to Costume Shop Manager. Creative highlights include her years of collaboration with choreographer Babs Case, production designer Erin O. Kay, and her work at PNB with the many and varied choreographers and designers who work with the company.

Mary C. Woll, Wardrobe Manager
Jennifer Oaster, Wardrobe Assistant
Patrick Stovall, Men’s Cutter and Wardrobe Assistant
Hannah Larson, Costume Shop Assistant
Luna Pham, Draper
Olivia Mason, Draper
Pauline Smith*, First Hand
Rob Newton, Costume Technician
Wyly Astley, Dyer/Craftsperson
Shelby Rogers, Hair and Makeup Lead

Executive Office

Terrie FlamingDirector of Human Resources

Ms. Flaming brings 16 years of experience in Human Resources leadership and development, in diverse industries including Architecture and Engineering, Telecommunications, Manufacturing and Non-Profits Arts. She holds a Master of Arts in Human Resources Development from Hawaii Pacific University and has earned her Senior Professional Human Resources credentials from the Human Resource Certification Institute. Her primary areas of expertise include Employee Relations, Labor Relations, Leadership Coaching and Development, HR Administration and Project Management.

Jason Darland, IT Manager
Kristen Ramer Liang, Executive Assistant to Ellen Walker & Board Liaison

Finance

David ThorpeChief Financial Officer

Mr. Thorpe was a senior manager at the accounting firm Bader Martin, PS before joining PNB in 2010. He is a CPA and received his B.A. in business from the University of Washington.

Kaleriya Maslyak, Accounting/Payroll Associate

Operations

Brian Zenk, Maintenance Supervisor
Lauren Kirchner, Office Manager & Covid Supervisor

Marketing & Advancement

Lia ChiarelliChief Marketing & Advancement Officer

Lia Chiarelli is a marketing, communications, and development leader devoted to growing, retaining, and motivating audiences at Pacific Northwest Ballet and beyond. Lia oversees the Marketing, Box Office, and Development departments (Revenue Team) at PNB. This cross-functional group of professionals is charged with growing, retaining, and motivating audiences across a continuum of engagement. Lia has a degree from the University of Washington and serves as the chair of the Dance/USA Marketing Directors Affinity Group.

Liza Madison, Director of Development/Donor Engagement
Carrie Mood Okada, Director of Development/Individual & Planned Giving
Gary Tucker, Director of Communications
Jen Shealy, Tessitura Database Manager

Development

Caitlin Bell, Institutional Giving Manager
Jackson Cooper, Major Gifts Manager
Will Moser, Foundation and Government Relations Manager
LiLi Pigott, Annual Fund Manager
Christine Mamer, Special Events Manager
Nickolas Clark, Donor Data Coordinator
Leah Dooley, Gift Officer

Marketing & Communications

Lindsay Thomas, Videographer
Noel Pederson, Director of Marketing
Cassandra Lea-Saxton, Senior Manager of Digital Experience
Maris Antolin, Marketing Manager
Kate Farwell, Manager of Amusements

Patron Services

Max Frauel, Patron Experience Manager
Amanda Mulvihill, Patron Services Manager
Julie Jamieson, Group Sales
Oleander Lewis, Lead Patron Service Representative
Julia Gyory, Zoe Meadows-Sahr, Shae Wirth, Patron Services Representatives

Orchestra

Orchestra

Violin 1
Michael Jinsoo Lim, Concertmaster
Jennifer Caine Provine, Associate Concertmaster
Emilie Choi, Assistant Concertmaster
Stephen Daniels**
Tom Dziekonski**
Ella Marie Gray**
YeSol Im
Lynn Bartlett Johnson**
Petro Krysa

Violin 2
Rita Lee, Principal
Ingrid Fredrickson**
William E. Boyd**
Anne Cady**
Adrianna Hulscher
Laurie Wells
Kim Zabelle**

Viola
Alexander Grimes, Principal
Betty Agent**, Assistant Principal
Kayleigh Miller
Joyce Ramée**
Laura Renz
Eileen Swanson**

Cello
Page Smith**, Principal
Virginia Dziekonski**, Assistant Principal
Meg Brennand**
Andrea Chandler**
Charles Jacot
Brian Wharton

Bass
Todd Larsen**, Principal
Stephen Schermer**, Assistant Principal
Maurice Clubb
Ben Musa**

Flute
Evan Pengra Sult, Principal
Laura Werner**

Piccolo
Laura Werner**

Oboe
Dan Williams**, Principal
Tad Margelli**

English Horn
Tad Margelli**

Clarinet
Jennifer Nelson**, Principal
Denise Lum

Bass Clarinet/E-Flat
Denise Lum

Bassoon
Mona S. Butler**, Principal
Dana Jackson

Horn
Rodger Burnett**, Principal
Danielle Lemieux
Richard Reed**
Ryan Stewart

Trumpet
Sarah Viens, Principal
Richard Werner**

Trombone
Mark Williams**, Principal

Bass Trombone
Douglas Nierman**

Tuba
Ryan Schultz, Principal

Tympani
Phil Hanson**, Principal

Percussion
Matthew Kocmieroski**, Principal
Gunnar Folsom**

Harp
John Carrington**, Principal

Keyboard
Christina Siemens, Principal
Joshua Archibald-Seiffer

Personnel Manager
Rodger Burnett**

Music Librarian
Mona S. Butler**

*Founding members of PNB Orchestra (1989).
**25 plus years with PNB Orchestra.
The Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra is composed of musicians represented by the PNB Orchestra Players Organization.
Steinway & Sons is the official piano of PNB.

Pacific Northwest Ballet School

Peter Boal, Director
Denise Bolstad*, Managing Director
Abbie Siegel*, School Principal
Marisa Albee*, Assistant Principal
Andrea Abercrombie, School Supervisor
Wendy Casper*, Assistant to the Managing Director
Eva Stone, NEXT STEP Program Coordinator
Naomi Glass, DanceChance Manager
David Jensen*, Summer Residence Director
Kristen Carder, Registrar
Rachel Henderson, Assistant Registrar
Allison Larson, Open Program & Conditioning Coordinator
Sarah Fogarty, Phelps Center Front Desk Administrative Assistant
Nora Henriksen, Scheduling Coordinator
Mairi Nicol, FRC Coordinator
Lindsay Merz, Katherine Straight, Administrative Assistants

Faculty

Marisa Albee*, Peter Boal, Nancy Crowley, Rachel Foster, Ikolo Griffin, Dana Hanson, Eric Hipolito Jr., Carrie Imler, Jonathan Porretta, Abbie Siegel*, Jennifer Turner, Le Yin

Lucie Baker, Emily Coello, Naomi Glass, Susan Gorter, Akoiya Harris, Claudia Houston-Aragon, Deborah Kenner, Miriam Landis, Ayumi Matsuda, Dina McDermott, Louise Nadeau*, Kaori Nakamura, Kiyon Ross, Eva Stone, Marjorie Thompson, Julie Tobiason*, Malia Vassar, Amber Willett

PNB Company dancers, Guest Faculty

School Accompanists

Don Vollema, Music Staff Coordinator

Jessica Andrews, Daniel Arthur, David Barela, Stephen Barnes, Darren Bartolo, Evan Captain, Jihun Cho, Tatyana Dadayeva, Oleg Dusaev, Eva Huentelman, Youngjin Joo, Jeff Junkinsmith, Marina Katsel, Adam Kessler, Vincent Newton, Emi Oguri, Michael Owcharuk, Gary Palmer, Megan Phillips, Elizabeth Purswell, Angela Rinaldi-Gribas, Katja Rubin, Shelley Sutton-Bolton, Annastasia Workman, Marina Yeremeyeva, Josh Zimmerman

Community Education

Shannon Barnes, Director
Ann Marie Caldwell, Programs Manager
Stella Margarita Gonzalez, 2022/23 Seattle Arts Fellow

Ciara McCormack Greenwalt, Robert Moore, Hayley Shannon, Ayako Shapiro, Gabriela Shutt, Suzanne Singla, Ellen Tejera, Adriana Wright, Teaching Artists

Becca Baggenstoss, Devin Bews, Noah Colbeck, Jordan Furrow, Nick Helgeson, Max Holmberg, Jeremy Jones, Adam Kessler, Accompanists

PNBConditioning Staff

Allison Larson, Open and Conditioning Coordinator

Melissa Brown, Carol Elsner, Teresa Hanawalt, Deborah Kenner, Dina McDermott, Kayoko Price, Suzanne Singla, Tara F. Stepenberg, Marjorie Thompson, Jennifer Turner

Therapy

Steven Anderson, MD, Consulting Physician
Boyd Bender, Director of Physical Therapy Services & Physical Therapist
Elizabeth Rigsbee, Lisa Van Loben Sels, Physical Therapists
Lori Brewington, Physical Therapy Assistant
Theresa Benkman, Christopher Kagen, Massage Therapists

Consultants

Henry Lu, P.T., A.T.C., Physical Therapist
Josh Spell, M.S.W., LSWAIC, Therapist
Monica Van Winkle, MS, RD, Preferred Provider, Nutrition

Special Counsel

Perkins Coie, Employment Law

MacDonald Hoague & Bayless, Immigration Law

Moss Adams LLP, Auditors

Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers and stage managers are represented by AGMA—the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFLCIO. Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra is represented by the PNB Orchestra Players Organization. Stage Crew is represented by I.A.T.S.E., local #15. Wardrobe work is performed by employees represented by Theatrical Wardrobe Union #887, I.A.T.S.E. Stage Draperies: I. Weiss, New York.

PNB is an EOE.

*25 or more years with PNB

Pacific Northwest Ballet Staff

Peter Boal, Artistic Director

Ellen Walker, Executive Director

Kiyon Ross, Associate Artistic Director