Clara Ruf Maldonado wears a speakly green-gold dress with an empire waist. She stands on a gray backdrop in fourth position croisé on pointe with her arms at her sides.

Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist Clara Ruf Maldonado. Photo by Angela Sterling.

Quickfire Questions With September/October Digital Cover Star Clara Ruf Maldonado

Amy Brandt

September 8, 2025

To get to know Clara Ruf Maldonado a little bit better, we asked her a series of quickfire questions. Read on to hear more about the Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist’s favorite ballets, her pointe shoe specifications, what she’s watching on Netflix, and more.

What is your favorite step in class?

Piqué turns from the corner.

What is your least favorite part of class?

Putting on my pointe shoes after barre. So painful!

Do you have a favorite spot at the barre?

I’m a back-corner girl, but I force myself to stand at the portable barres in the front. I gotta push myself out of my comfort zone.

CLara Ruf Maldonado and Lucien Postelwaite perform a pas de deux onstage. Ruf Maldonado wears a short, lavender tunic, pink tights and pointe shoes. She does a penché in croisé as Postelawite, shirtless and in black tights, holds her by the waist with both hands. — Ruf Maldonado and Lucien Postelwaite in Jerome Robbins’ *Afternoon of a Faun* Photo by Angela Sterling, courtesy PNB.

What are your pointe shoe specifications?

I wear Freeds, Crown maker. But I switched to Blochs for Sleeping Beauty because I ran out of shoes. I like them, so I’m doing both right now.

Ballet slippers: leather or canvas?

I’m wearing canvas ORZA Pros.

Coffee or tea, and how do you take it?

I’m an espresso girl, with a little bit of half-and-half. That’s it.

Do you have a go-to snack?

Anything crunchy and salty.

What or who are you listening to now?

I’ve been doing a lot of elliptical to stay in shape, so I’m listening to a lot of 2000s R&B.

What are you watching on TV?

“Somebody Feed Phil” on Netflix—I like him. And I love interior design, so I could watch English home tours on YouTube forever.

Photo by Angela Sterling.

Are you reading anything right now?

I have two books going right now: Unspoken Voice, by Peter A. Levine, and then Mona Acts Out [by Mischa Berlinski]. I love the cover because it has a beagle on it, but also, the story takes place a block away from where I grew up in New York. So that was a happy coincidence.

What is your favorite ballet to watch?

Akram Khan’s Giselle. I’m obsessed with that ballet. I could watch it over and over again.

What is your favorite ballet to dance?

Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, and anything Crystal Pite.

What are three words that best describe you?

Goofy, expressive, and tenacious.

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