New Hires and Promotions

[sandik]

Voila, the press release:

Pacific Northwest Ballet Announces New Hires and Promotions

SEATTLE, WA – Pacific Northwest Ballet Artistic Director Peter Boal is pleased to announce that he has hired Joshua Grant to join the company as a member of the corps de ballet. Mr. Grant was a member of the company from 2001 to 2004 before joining National Ballet of Canada, followed by five years with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. He returned to PNB on November 14. Additionally, two new apprentices will join the company on November 21: Angelica Generosa and Charles McCall, both of whom were most recently members of the PNB School Professional Division.

Mr. Boal has also announced three additional promotions, which will take effect at the start of the new year: Corps de ballet dancers Kiyon Gaines, Kylee Kitchens and Jerome Tisserand will all be promoted to soloists, beginning January 9.

Joshua Grant is from Niceville, Florida. He trained at Northwest Florida Ballet, Harid Conservatory, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and he attended summer courses at Virginia School of the Arts, the Rock School, Harid Conservatory, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Mr. Grant joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2001 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2002. In 2004, he joined National Ballet of Canada, and in 2006, he joined Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. He performed as a principal dancer with Trockadero until 2011 when he rejoined PNB.

With Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Mr. Grant performed leading roles in Chopiniana, Gaîté Parisienne, Giselle, Go for Barocco, Majisimas, Paquita, Pas de Quatre, Swan Lake, Trovatiara, Vivaldi Suite, and La Vivandiere. He also performed the solo Dying Swan, as a guest artist on the Titus Command Gala in Dallas and for PNB’s Laugh Out Loud! Festival in 2008. At National Ballet of Canada, he performed leading and featured roles in John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Michel Fokine’s Petrushka, and James Kudelka’s Désir and Nutcracker. He also originated the role of the Horse in Kudelka’s An Italian Straw Hat. At Pacific Northwest Ballet, he performed leading and featured roles in Lew Christensen’s Il Distratto, Peter Martins’ Fearful Symmetries, and Lynne Taylor Corbett’s Ballad of You and Me. In 2008, he performed on the Royal Variety Show at London’s Palladium Theatre in the presence of HRH Prince Charles.

Angelica Generosa is from South River, New Jersey. She studied on scholarship at the School of American Ballet and Princeton Ballet, and she attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet, Chautauqua Summer Program, and New Jersey Ballet. She also studied with Gina Forcella in Sayreville, New Jersey. While a student at the School of American Ballet, Ms. Generosa performed leading roles in George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Bourée Fantasque, and Stars and Stripes, as well as roles in Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie and Christopher Wheeldon’s Scènes de Ballet. She performed works choreographed by Justin Peck for the New York Choreographic Institute, and she also performed as Clara in the 2005 Radio City Christmas Spectacular in New York. Ms. Generosa was the recipient of the Youth American Grand Prix Regional Hope Award in 2005, and she was a YGAP New York finalist in 2007. She was also the recipient of the School of American Ballet Mae Wien Award for Outstanding Promise. Ms. Generosa has performed as a guest artist with American Academy Ballet.

Charles McCall is from St. Louis, Missouri. He trained on scholarship at Alexandra Ballet, Ballet Chicago, the School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and he attended summer courses on scholarship at Ballet Chicago, the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and Chautauqua Summer Program. While a student at the School of American Ballet, Mr. McCall performed leading roles in George Balanchine’s Bourée Fantasque and Christopher Wheeldon’s Scènes de Ballet. At Pacific Northwest Ballet School, he performed leading roles in Balanchine’s Western Symphony and Paul Gibson’s Menuet and Allegros. He also originated roles in Kiyon Gaines’ A Piece in P-I-E-C-E-S, Barry Kerollis’ It Gets Better, Margaret Mullin’s Forward, and Pride Suddarth’s All the Reich Moves, all for PNB’s 2011 Next Step performance. Mr. McCall has performed as a guest artist with SD/Prism Dance Theatre.

Full bios for Kiyon Gaines, Kylee Kitchens and Jerome Tisserand are available on PNB’s website.

[Helene]

Congratulations to Ms. Kitchens Mr. Gaines and M. Tisserand and welcome/welcome back to the new corps and apprentices!

Peter Boal wasn't kidding when he said Sunday afternoon that we could practically hold our breath until Jerome Tisserand, the guest dancer at the Q&A, would receive a promotion.