Q&A with Artistic Director Peter Boal on his 20th Anniversary Season
The 2025/26 Season marks Artistic Director Peter Boal’s 20th year with the company. PNB has thrived under Peter’s leadership, and we are so excited to celebrate his remarkable achievements. Read on to learn more about Peter’s tenure and what he’s most looking forward to next season!
Peter Boal observes a rehearsal of Marco Goecke’s Place a Chill, 2010. Photo © Angela Sterling.
How do you choose what ballets to include in an upcoming season?
Peter: It’s complicated. There are so many factors to consider. I’m lucky to have our Associate Artistic Director Kiyon Ross to help me. Though we end up with a long list of works we were not able to include, we are happy with the ones that make the cut. I put great value on building collections of works by choreographers. PNB has had an enviable wealth of works by George Balanchine staged by Founding Artistic Director Francia Russell. I’ve been able to add ten more to that collection during my tenure. Additionally, I have consciously amassed a repertory of works by Alejandro Cerrudo, Ulysses Dove, Jiří Kylián, Jessica Lang, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Justin Peck, Crystal Pite, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, and Christopher Wheeldon, among many others. These choreographers were new to PNB, with the exception of two works by Robbins. They offered such a wealth of discovery for dancers and audiences alike. I look for works that will showcase the company, make great use of the PNB Orchestra, and inspire audiences. Then comes the budget. The programs have to float the boat, so finding the right combination of revenue from ticket sales and patron support is part of the equation. In the end, I fall in love with each season. Each is unique with home runs and a few foul balls, but the journey never disappoints. I can’t wait for the next one.
What’s your favorite part of your job? What’s the most challenging part of it?
Peter: Sometimes I sit in the audience and watch a dancer step into a new role; it could be a world premiere, a first Juliet, Mopey, or Nutcracker Prince, or a Professional Division student who was thrown on for the corps of The Seasons’ Canon. I’m quite literally crying in my seat. I’m so deeply proud, and I take great pride in knowing I helped in some small or big way to make that moment happen for the dancer and for the audience who’s right there with me.
Challenges? What challenges? Seriously, it’s hard to let people down – talking through the timeline of an injury, the inability to get a fourth cast on stage, a promotion that won’t happen then and there, telling a student they didn’t get the dream job. Sometimes leadership sucks.
Any thoughts as you look back at your inaugural season at PNB?
Peter: Not bad! It’s crazy to think about what my life was like when I developed that first season. I was a principal with New York City Ballet performing a full load of Swan Lakes, Prodigal Sons, and A Midsummer Night’s Dreams, teaching thirteen classes a week at School of American Ballet, running and performing in my own small company (Peter Boal & Company), guesting with Molissa Fenley and Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and helping my wife Kelly raise three kids. I guess I had to come to Seattle to rest. Founding Artistic Directors Kent and Francia were a huge help, and many individuals on the Board and staff really stepped up to make sure I got off to a good start.
Peter Boal teaches Company class at New York City Center, 2013. Photo © Lindsay Thomas.
What advice would you give to yourself 20 years ago as you began your career at PNB?
Peter: That’s easy. Schedule vacations. I forgot to do that for the first fifteen years. Former Executive Director David Brown told me pretty early on to trust my instincts. It’s been a beacon for me ever since. I think Chief Marketing & Advancement Officer Lia Chiarelli told me, “It’s only ballet.” I like that one too. I’ve told myself to try to show up every day, do good work, and do what’s right by and for every individual you encounter. Simple stuff, but it seems to work.
What’s a favorite PNB memory?
Peter: You know, there are so many. The first that comes to mind is watching and participating in Dance for PD classes. PD stands for Parkinson’s Disease. This is a program founded by Mark Morris and managed by Seattle Theatre Group. For all of us, dance offers such joy. I’ve wanted to keep working on the definition of “all of us,” and when we introduce dance to people for the first time, through Dance for PD, our Open class program, creative movement, DanceChance, Discover Dance, Sculptured Dance, Five Dollar Fridays (anyone remember those?) the joy becomes infectious.
Peter Boal gives notes during on an onstage rehearsal of Opus 19/The Dreamer, 2017. Photo © Angela Sterling.
How have you seen the PNB audience change in the past 20 years?
Peter: I think people see the ballet as theirs. They show up as themselves and feel invited. Some clad in a Belle dress for Beauty and the Beast, some in mouse costumes for The Nutcracker (seriously), some holding hands with loved ones or on a first date. Ballet sometimes has barriers for entry – PNB is working to break down those barriers, and people get that.
Where do you see PNB 20 years from now?
Peter: Well, I’ll be seated somewhere in the audience watching as a season subscriber. Someone else will be directing. The company will still perform some of the great ballets they have always performed, but there will be countless new works, new dancers, new audience members, new touring destinations. They might have more collaborations across this great community. I suspect that PNB will be inspiring and delighting people through the dance.
Preston Singletary, Paul Tazewell, and Peter Boal bow at The Sleeping Beauty premiere, 2025. Photo © Angela Sterling.
What are you most excited for in the 2025/26 season?
Peter: I’m curious what Amanda Morgan and Christopher D’Ariano have up their sleeves as they co-choreograph a new work. Their creativity knows no bounds. I’m fond of their composers and curious about the work of their costume designer. Her designs incorporate environmental awareness. I last saw Firebird when I was Artistic Director designate with Kiyon Ross as the lead Monster! I love Ming Cho Lee’s sets and the Stravinsky score. We have two chances to see the sublime work of costume designer Jérôme Kaplan – George Balanchine’s Jewels and Giselle. Momotaro, Little mortal jump, Jessica Lang… okay, I’ll stop.
