Clara
Ruf
Maldonado
Clara Ruf Maldonado is from New York, New York. She studied on scholarship at the School of American Ballet, where she was a 2015 Mae L. Wien Award recipient, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She attended summer courses at Ballet Academy East, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Chautauqua Institution, Houston Ballet Academy, Miami City Ballet School, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Clara was an apprentice with New York City Ballet before joining Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2018. She was promoted to corps de ballet later that year, and became a soloist in 2023.
Leading Roles
George Balanchine
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
(Sugar Plum Fairy, Columbine, Marzipan)
Agon
Duo Concertante
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Butterfly)
Donald Byrd
Kyle Davis
William Forsythe
One Flat Thing, reproduced
Ronald Hynd
The Sleeping Beauty
(Fairy of Joy, Red Riding Hood)
Jessica Lang
Let Me Mingle Tears With Thee*
Vincent Michael Lopez
Op. 21*
Amanda Morgan
This Space Left Intentionally Blank*
Anabelle Lopez Ochoa
Crystal Pite
Alexei Ratmansky
Kent Stowell
(Spring, Columbine)
Price Suddarth
*Originated role
Pointe Shoe: Ballet’s Beloved Illusion
Ballet has become synonymous with the pointe shoe—every time a little one dreams of spinning around on a massive stage under glowing lights dressed in a sparkling tutu, their feet are clad in such shoes. PNB's Artistic Director, Peter Boal, says “to be honest, I don’t know where PNB would be without the pointe shoe…. [E]verything balances on the pointe shoe.” Read on to learn more about this fundamental tool of ballet dancers and what PNB dancers have to say about their relationship with pointe shoes!
Dancer Promotions! Clara Ruf Maldonado, Kuu Sakuragi, and Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan
Before the curtain-raiser performance of Alexei Ratmansky’s Wartime Elegy on opening night of LOVE & LOSS, Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal and Associate Artistic Director Kiyon Ross announced to the audience that corps de ballet dancers Clara Ruf Maldonado and Kuu Sakuragi have been promoted Soloists, and Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan has been promoted to Principal dancer.
Q&A with Corps Member Clara Ruf Maldonado
Describe your perfect day off. I’m usually pretty exhausted from the week, so I tend not to go far from home on my rest days. I would consider a perfect off day to be a quiet night in cooking to some tunes over a glass of wine with fellow dancer Ryan Cardea while we get harassed by my beagle, Bob.
Celebrating our Latinx, Chicana, & Hispanic Dancers
Celebrating our Latinx, Chicana, & Hispanic Dancers September 15 to October 15 is Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month. To celebrate, we asked PNB artists identifying as Hispanic and Latinx share the many ways their heritage informs their artistry. Keep reading to hear from dancers Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan, Amanda [...]