Nutcracker “Grow Ups”
Performing in The Nutcracker is a rite of passage for many young dancers and something they look forward to each December. From Polichinelles to Party Children, see how Pacific Northwest Ballet Company dancers began their lifelong journey of dancing in The Nutcracker!
Emerson Boll as a Soldier in The Nutcracker
Emerson Boll as Pear Marzipan in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
Emerson Boll (she/her) is from Bellevue, Washington. She studied at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and attended summer courses at School of American Ballet, Chautauqua Institution, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Austin, Cincinnati Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She joined the company this year as an apprentice!
Melisa Guilliams as Mirliton in The Nutcracker
Melisa Guilliams as Lemon Marzipan in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
Melisa Guilliams is from Seattle, Washington. She studied at the International Ballet Academy, Souterre Ballet, Evergreen City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet and attended summer courses at Houston Ballet, Juilliard, Miami City Ballet, Arts Umbrella, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2021.
Cecilia Illesiu as a Candy Cane in The Nutcracker
Cecilia Iliesiu as Sugar Plum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
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. 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 2022, she was featured in Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher Magazine, and traveled to Nigeria to perform and lead a 5-day teaching workshop. Cecilia also 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.
Amanda Morgan as a Party Girl in The Nutcracker
Amanda Morgan as Coffee in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
Amanda Morgan (she/her) is from Tacoma, Washington. She studied at Dance Theatre Northwest and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and she attended summer courses at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Boston Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet. She participated in PNB School’s exchange with the Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, where she also performed with Dresden Semperoper Ballett. Amanda joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2016, was promoted to corps de ballet in 2017, and promoted to soloist in 2022. Amanda was named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch in 2020.
Elizabeth Murphy as an Angel in The Nutcracker
Elizabeth Murphy as Sugar Plum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
Elizabeth Murphy (she/her) is from Chelmsford, Massachusetts. She studied at Academy of Ballet Arts and the Rock School for Dance Education, and she attended summer courses on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and Chautauqua Summer Program. She was an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theater and also danced with Pennsylvania Ballet before joining Ballet West II in 2006 and Ballet West in 2007. Ms. Murphy joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2011 and was promoted to soloist in 2013 and principal in 2015.
Ms. Murphy designed costumes for Ezra Thomson’s Measure Twice, Cut Once (2016) and Kyle Davis’ Make It So (2016), both for PNB’s NEXT STEP. In 2018, she designed costumes for Kyle Davis’ A Dark and Lonely Space, her first designs for PNB’s mainstage. She designed costumes for PNB’s digital releases of Davis’ Las Estrellas (2021) and Price Suddarth’s The Intermission Project (2021). Ms. Murphy’s Label Dancewear line of handmade dance apparel is available on Etsy.
Juliet Prine as Clara in The Nutcracker
Juliet Prine as Hot Chocolate in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
Juliet Prine is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She studied at Minnesota Dance Theatre, Colburn Dance Academy, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and she attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, Chautauqua Institution, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She was a 2018 participant in Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s exchange with Paris Opera Ballet School. Ms. Prine joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2019 and was promoted to corps de ballet later that year.
Madison Rayn Abeo as Clara in The Nutcracker
Madison Rayn Abeo as Dewdrop in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
Madison Rayn Abeo is from Seattle, Washington. She studied at Cornish Preparatory Dance Program and on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and she attended summer courses at American Ballet Theatre, Los Angeles Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Summer Dance Lab, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2016, was promoted to corps de ballet in 2017, and was promoted to soloist in 2022.
Yuki Takahashi as an Angel in The Nutcracker
Yuki Takahashi as a Demi Flower in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
Yuki Takahashi is from Tokyo, Japan. She studied at Ballet Academy of Texas, Mejia Ballet International, Ballet Academy East, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and she attended summer courses at American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Ballet Academy East, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Ms. Takahashi joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2019 and was promoted to corps de ballet later that year. In addition, Ms. Takahashi was a 2014 recipient of the Kittie La Pointe Memorial Scholarship provided by the Dance Council of North Texas.
Although we’re midway through December, every one of these dancers has many, many performances of The Nutcracker left to perform. Check out the casting for PNB’s upcoming performances, and catch one of these talented performers “all grown-up!”
Photo credits: “Grow-Up” photos from George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, choreography by George Balanchine © The Balanchine Trust, photos © Angela Sterling.
