by Amy Brandt | Sep 2, 2025 | Digital Cover Star, Pointe+
Something happens when you watch Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist Clara Ruf Maldonado perform: You find yourself leaning in as she draws you into the story. In Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, which the company performed last spring, every expression reads...
by Gavin Larsen | Jun 26, 2023 | Health & Body, Pointe+, Summer Study, Training
Sarah Whitehead, now a dancer with Ballet Tucson, remembers the sinking feeling of getting an injury during a summer intensive. As a teenager hoping to land a spot in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s year-round Professional Division program, she felt pressure to dance to...
by Marcie Sillman | Jun 16, 2023 | News, The Latest, Videos
One year ago, Dylan Wald didn’t know if he’d ever perform again. The Pacific Northwest Ballet principal had just undergone major surgery: insertion of a metal rod into his left tibia in a last-ditch attempt to repair a nagging stress fracture. For Wald, now 27, there...
by Kyra Laubacher for Dance Teacher | May 18, 2023 | News, The Latest
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since Noelani Pantastico joined the faculty of her alma mater, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. The beloved dancer had officially hung up her pointe shoes only a few months prior, capping off an incredible...
by Kyra Laubacher | May 2, 2023 | News, The Latest
The past few weeks have brought another exciting round of career news—check out the latest farewells, appointments, promotions, and more in this month’s roster roundup. Promotions and Appointments Miami City Ballet artistic director Lourdes Lopez has promoted Chase...
by Marcie Sillman | Feb 7, 2022 | Profiles, The Latest
Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Noelani Pantastico gives her final performance on February 13, the culmination of her 25-year career. After she hangs up her pointe shoes, the ballerina will join the faculty at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Pantastico,...
by Abigail Rasminsky | Jan 30, 2020 | Health & Body, Instagram, Trending
Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Noelani Pantastico was returning to dance after an injury when she made a “rookie mistake”: After three months of intensive physical therapy to deal with an osteochondral defect—which caused damage to the cartilage and...
by Marcie Sillman | Aug 15, 2019 | Career, Dance Magazine, Instagram, Profiles
On a sunny July weekend, hundreds of Seattle-area dance fans converged on tiny Vashon Island, a bucolic enclave in Puget Sound about 20 miles from the city. They made the ferry trek to attend the debut performance of the fledgling Seattle Dance Collective. SDC is not...