New Dancers and Roster Changes, 2015-16

[Helene]

I haven't seen a press release yet, but the following dancers have been added to the corps on PNB's website (images coming):

• Henry Cotton: trainee with San Francisco Ballet, then apprentice with Oregon Ballet Theatre.
• Cecilia Illiesiu: Carolina Ballet, from corps to Soloist.
• Madison Sugg: apprentice with Ballet West. People may remember her from her appearances as a PD.

As noted in another thread, graduating PD Angeli Mamon is an apprentice, joining Nancy Casciano, Nicole Rizzitano, and Dylan Wald.

[sandik]

I do remember Madison Sugg -- it will be interesting to see how she's developed.

[seattle_dancer]

I see a couple more new corps members on the PNB website: Guillaume Basso and Miles Pertl.

[sandik]

Ah, thanks for the heads-up!

[Helene]

The name Miles Pertl sounds very familiar. I think I might have seen him dance when he was a student at International Ballet Academy, whose founder Vera Altunina was a panelist at the DCA conference on "Giselle." The dancers in the school get lovely training.

Here is the press release:

Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal Announces New Hires for 2015-2016 Season

Seattle, WA –Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Artistic Director Peter Boal has announced the hiring of six new dancers to join the Company’s ranks in the upcoming 2015-2016 season. Guillaume Basso, Henry Cotton, Cecilia Iliesiu, Miles Pertl and Madison Sugg will all be joining PNB as members of the corps de ballet. Mr. Boal also hired Angeli Mamon as an apprentice, making her the first female student from Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s DanceChance program to join the Company.

Guillaume Basso is from Dijon, France. He trained with Sylvain Boniface at the Conservatory of Dijon and with Bernard Boucher at the Paris Opera Ballet School, and he attended a summer course at Houston Ballet School. Mr. Basso joined Houston Ballet II in 2010 and the Joffrey Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2012. While a member of Houston Ballet II, Mr. Basso performed leading and featured roles in Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli’s Giselle, John Neumeier’s Nijinsky, Marius Petipa’s Paquita, Raymonda, and Swan Lake (Black Swan pas de deux); Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker; and Stanton Welch’s Blue, Brigade, and Long & Winding Road. At Joffrey Ballet, he performed leading and featured roles in Gerald Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Alexander Ekman’s Episode 31, Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker, and Yuri Possokhov’s RAkU. Mr. Basso was a semi-finalist in the 2010 Prix de Lausanne and 2014 Jackson International Ballet Competition. He has also performed as a guest artist with the Grand Theatre of Dijon.

Henry Cotton is from Portland, Oregon. He began his training at The Portland Ballet and continued at San Francisco Ballet School. He attended summer courses at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet. Mr. Cotton joined San Francisco Ballet as a trainee in 2013, and joined Oregon Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in 2014. While a trainee at San Francisco Ballet, Mr. Cotton performed and toured with the company, working with numerous choreographers, including Christopher Wheeldon. He performed roles in Helgi Tomasson’s Giselle and Nutcracker and Wheeldon’s Cinderella. At Oregon Ballet Theatre, he performed works by George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Nicolo Fonte, James Kudelka, and Ben Stevenson. Mr. Cotton has also performed as a guest artist with The Portland Ballet, performing Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, among other works. In 2014, he performed in the 10th anniversary festival of Men in Dance.

Cecilia Iliesiu is from New York, New York. She studied at the School of American Ballet and also with Francois Perron and Deborah Wingert at Studio Maestro. She attended summer courses at Boston Ballet School, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Chautauqua Institute, San Francisco Ballet School, and William Forsythe’s ART of workshop under Kathryn Bennetts. Ms. Iliesiu joined Carolina Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2009 and was promoted to soloist in 2014. At Carolina Ballet, Ms. Iliesiu danced leading and featured roles in George Balanchine’s Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, The Four Temperaments, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Rubies; Marius Petipa’s Giselle; Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free; Christopher Stowell’s Rite of Spring; and Robert Weiss’ Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. She also originated numerous roles in ballets by Zalman Raffael and Robert Weiss.

Miles Pertl is from Seattle, Washington. He trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, International Ballet Academy in Kirkland, Washington, and the John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart, and he attended summer courses at San Francisco Ballet School. Mr. Pertl joined Stuttgart Ballet as an apprentice in 2010 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2011. He next joined Het Nationale Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2012. While a member of Stuttgart Ballet, Mr. Pertl performed leading and featured roles in Bridget Breiner’s Double Bass Concerto, Marco Goecke’s Black Breath, and Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto. At Het Nationale Ballet, he performed leading and featured roles in Juanjo Arques’ Roulette; Frederick Ashton’s The Dream (Lysander); George Balanchine’s Agon, Serenade, and Symphony in C; Jorma Elo’s Shape; Michel Fokine’s Les Sylphides; Marius Petipa’s Giselle (Peasant pas de deux) and Raymonda; and Peter Wright’s The Sleeping Beauty. In 2007, Mr. Pertl won the Youth America Grand Prix Semi-Finals in San Francisco and Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York. He has also performed as a guest artist for gala performances in England, Italy, Moscow, and New York. He has choreographed works for the Noverre Society in Stuttgart, Danza Estate in Gubbio, Italy, and New Moves in Amsterdam.

Madison Sugg is from Gig Harbor, Washington. She trained on scholarship at Tacoma City Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet School and attended summer courses at American Ballet Theatre and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She participated in PNB School’s exchange with the Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, where she also performed with Dresden Semperoper Ballett. Ms. Sugg joined Ballet West as an apprentice in 2014. At Ballet West, Ms. Sugg performed roles in George Balanchine’s Square Dance, Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker, and Adam Sklute’s Giselle and Swan Lake.

Angeli Mamon is from Seattle, Washington. She trained on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, beginning as a DanceChance student in 2003. She attended summer courses at PNB School, Miami City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet. In 2014, Ms. Mamon participated in PNB School’s exchange with the Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, where she also was a guest apprentice with Dresden Semperoper Ballett. While a student at PNB School, Ms. Mamon performed corps de ballet roles in Company performances of George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Serenade, Peter Boal’s Giselle, Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quixote, and Kent Stowell’s Nutcracker. She also originated a leading role in a ballet by Kyle Davis for PNB’s annual NEXT STEP choreographers’ showcase and performed leading roles in dances from Le Corsaire for PNB School’s Annual School Performance.

PNB congratulates our newly hired dancers!

[Helene]

Here's a photo of the six new members:

left to right: Henry Cotton, Cecilia Illiesiu, Guillaume Basso, Madison Sugg, Miles Pertl, Angeli Mamon

https://instagram.com/p/7bpHsHmeiW/?taken-by=pacificnorthwestballet

PNB's average height among the men has risen.

[tutu]

What's the latest on Noelani Pantastico's return? I remember that word was she'd be back in November -- is that still the case?

[Helene]

November is when she starts rehearsing; she may already have started. Peter Boal mentioned several times in Q&A's that she'll perform first in "Nutcracker."

[tutu]

Glad to hear it! Thanks, Helene.