Cecilia
Iliesiu
Cecilia Iliesiu (she/her) 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. Cecilia joined Carolina Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2009 and was promoted to soloist in 2014. She joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2015, was promoted to soloist in 2020 and principal in 2022.
In 2018, Cecilia choreographed A Meditation for NEXT STEP. In 2022, she was featured in Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher Magazine, and traveled to Nigeria to perform and lead a 5-day teaching workshop.
Cecilia holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Media Studies from Fordham University. This degree was funded in part by Second Stage, PNB’s career transition program for dancers.
Featured & Leading Roles
George Balanchine
Agon
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Helena, Hippolyta)
The Nutcracker
(Sugar Plum Fairy, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Dewdrop)
Rubies
Peter Boal
Giselle
(Myrtha)
Alejandro Cerrudo
One Thousand Pieces
Silent Ghost
David Dawson
Empire Noir
Ulysses Dove
Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven
Red Angels
Alexander Ekman
Cacti
William Forsythe
New Suite
One Flat Thing
Ronald Hynd
The Sleeping Beauty
(Fairy of Wit)
Alonzo King
The Personal Element
Jiří Kylián
Petite Mort
Jessica Lang
Ghost Variations
Edwaard Liang
The Veil Between Worlds
José Limón
The Moor’s Pavane
Jean-Christophe Maillot
Cendrillon
(The Exotic)
Roméo et Juliette
(Lady Capulet, Rosaline)
Benjamin Millepied
3 Movements
Appassionata
Matthew Neenan
Bacchus
Crystal Pite
Emergence
The Seasons’ Canon
(Octopus Woman)
Alexei Ratmansky
Wartime Elegy
Jerome Robbins
The Concert
Price Suddarth
Signature
Kent Stowell
Carmina Burana
Cinderella
(Stepmother, Autumn, Winter)
Swan Lake
(Odette/Odile, Persian, Spanish)
Twyla Tharp
Afternoon Ball
Waiting at the Station
(Golden Girl)
Christopher Wheeldon
Tide Harmonic
Original Roles
Donald Byrd
Love and Loss
Untitled
Jessica Lang
Her Door to the Sky
Nia-Amina Minor
And yet here we are
Amanda Morgan
This Space Left Intentionally Blank
Kiyon Ross
…throes of increasing wonder
Dani Rowe
The Window
Penny Saunders
Wonderland
Eva Stone
F O I L
Price Suddarth
The Intermission Project