Leaping from Caricature into Character
By Phil Chan, co-Founder, Final Bow for Yellowface As a Chinese person, the second act of The Nutcracker has always bugged me. Looking more broadly at the historic depictions of “Chinese” people on the Western performing arts stage, we see fantasy elements of what Europeans thought Chinese people looked like handed down to us from the baroque era. Sallow “grotesque” […]
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 Morgan, Dammiel Cruz, Jonathan Batista, and Clara Ruf Maldonado. “My mom is from Puebla, Mexico […]
Q and A with Steve Sneed, PNB’s Race and Social Justice Consultant
Steve Sneed works closely with Pacific Northwest Ballet leadership and PNB’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee as a race and social justice consultant. He has been consulting with PNB since Fall 2020. Steve began his career at the age of 15 as the Leader of the African Drum and Dance group the Ogundas. […]
PNB Celebrates Kiyon Ross
Kiyon Ross has had an illustrious career at PNB: from Company Soloist (you may remember him as Kiyon Gaines) to PNB School faculty member, Next Step Program Manager, and most recently PNB’s Director of Company Operations, he has moved our organization and art form forward over the past twenty years. Kiyon is also an established […]
PNB School’s New Mentorship Program
In early 2020, PNB dancer Amanda Morgan made a suggestion to PNB’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (I.D.E.A.) Committee for a new mentorship program that would connect PNB School upper level students with PNB Company dancers. With the approval of Peter Boal and PNB School, Amanda and fellow Company dancer, Cecilia Iliesiu, spearheaded the creation […]