by Steve Sucato | Jun 25, 2018 | News, Profiles
James Sofranko, longtime San Francisco Ballet soloist, will succeed Patricia Barker as Grand Rapids Ballet’s new artistic director, effective July 1. Sofranko topped a list of 40 applicants from around the world to become only the fifth artistic director in...
by Steve Sucato | Jan 4, 2018 | News, Profiles
Today Grand Rapids Ballet announced that longtime San Francisco Ballet soloist James Sofranko will succeed Patricia Barker as its new artistic director, effective July 1, 2018. The 38-year-old, now in his 18th season with SFB, topped a list of 40 applicants from...
by Julia Guiheen | Dec 6, 2017 | Everything "Nutcracker", Profiles, TBT
December is here and the holiday season—better known to ballet dancers as Nutcracker season—is in full swing. To celebrate, we’re throwing it back to Patricia Barker and Wade Walthall as Clara and the prince in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 1986 Nutcracker:...
by Rachel Hellwig | Nov 12, 2017 | Everything "Nutcracker"
Nutcracker-ed out? Or just can’t get enough holiday ballets? These unique Nutcracker interpretations and non-Nutcracker productions will make your season bright. The Hip Hop Nutcracker Through December 30 Tchaikovsky’s masterful Nutcracker score...
by Madeline Schrock | Jun 6, 2017 | Career, Profiles
In the latest round of “artistic director musical chairs,” Royal New Zealand Ballet has announced major news: Patricia Barker has been named the company’s new artistic director. Later this month, she’ll replace Francesco Ventriglia. The...
by Steve Sucato | Apr 2, 2015 | Career, Company Life
This story originally appeared in the April/May 2015 issue of Pointe. Underneath Grand Rapids Ballet artistic director Patricia Barker’s million-watt smile lies an unyielding determination to realize her artistic visions. So when friend Maurice Sendak, author of...
by Nicole Loeffler-Gladstone | Nov 27, 2014 | News
This story originally appeared in the December 2014/January 2015 issue of Pointe. Grand Rapids Ballet, under artistic director and former Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Patricia Barker, debuts a new Nutcracker on December 12. Drawing inspiration from PNB’s...