PNB School Faculty Spotlight: Kurt Froman
Today, we are featuring PNB School Men’s Division Coordinator Kurt Froman! Kurt Froman (he/him), born in Fort Worth, TX, joined Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s faculty in 2024. His professional dance career began in New York after he was awarded the first Rudolf Nureyev Scholarship, allowing him to study at the School of American Ballet. After six […]
PNB School Welcomes New Managing Director, Lauri-Michelle Houk
Pacific Northwest Ballet School has welcomed Lauri-Michelle Houk back to Seattle as the School’s new Managing Director. Coming most recently from San Diego where she served as Founder, Director, and CEO of the San Elijo Dance and Music Academy, Houk is also a former soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet (1987– 1995) and faculty member with the PNB […]
2025 Summer Course By the Numbers
PNB School’s 2025 Summer Course ended last week, and we are so impressed with our students! During this five-week intensive, they learned new movement styles, made friends, and elevated their ballet training to new heights. Today, we’re breaking it all down with some fun numbers… In January and February of 2025, PNB School faculty visited […]
Meet PNB’s 2025 Summer Course Counselors
Each summer at PNB School, hundreds of joyful ballet students take the halls of the Phelps Center for five weeks of top-tier ballet training, growing friendships, and the beauty of Seattle summer. Our team of Summer Course counselors cares for these talented students and ensures they have tons of fun amidst their technique classes. Dave Jensen, […]
A Sensory Prelude to a Larger Mexican Tale | Kyle Davis & Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan NEXT STEP 2025
By Leah Terada Ballet has always been more than movement; it is memory, mood, metaphor. But in Pas de Deux from an Unnamed Story, choreographers Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan and Kyle Davis invite audiences to go even further. They ask us to taste and smell, to feel, and to remember. Set in 1800s Veracruz, Mexico, this duet, premiering June 13th as part […]
PNB School Retirements: Denise Bolstad and Abbie Siegel
PNB School director Peter Boal recently announced the retirements of esteemed PNB School faculty members Denise Bolstad and Abbie Siegel. “Denise Bolstad, PNB School Managing Director, will retire at the conclusion of Summer Course, and Abbie Siegel, PNB School Principal, will retire from her position after School Performance. It is hard to imagine PNB School […]
A Day in the Life of a Professional Division Student: Operating Puppets in The Sleeping Beauty
PNB’s world-premiere production of The Sleeping Beauty is a reimagining of the classic tale. The performance is full of innovative and exciting elements, like Preston Singletary’s Indigenous Northwest Coast-influenced set designs, Paul Tazewell’s stunning costumes, and puppets designed by Basil Twist! The Sleeping Beauty is PNB’s largest production ever, and PNB School’s Professional Division students (PDs) are operating many of these […]
Announcing New PNB Faculty Member Kurt Froman
Pacific Northwest Ballet School has announced that Kurt Froman has been hired to lead the School’s Men’s Division. An accomplished and highly respected teacher and mentor with dancing careers at New York City Ballet and on Broadway, Mr. Froman was the resident choreographer of the Broadway show Billy Elliot, The Musical, training and coaching the young actors […]
2024 Summer Course by the Numbers
Over the summer, PNB’s studios are full of dedicated young dance students here for our annual Summer Course. Today on the PNB Blog, we’re breaking down some fun numbers to see just how hard these students are working. Join us in celebrating them and all their achievements this summer! Students attended 18 to 21 classes […]
A Day in the Life of a Professional Division Student: Rehearsing Swan Lake
This past month, all of PNB has been busy preparing for Swan Lake. Joining the Company dancers in rehearsals are some of PNB School’s Professional Division (PD) students, who are advanced students elevating their training to the next level. The PD Program is designed to help students transition from student to professional dancer by perfecting their […]