Made in Portland’s three choreographers have vastly different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, but they—and their dances—share at least one common motivation: community. All three say that questions of what it means to be one within a group, whether as a leader, co-creator, struggling to escape or seeking refuge, have had direct influence on the works… Read More

“It was a gift to be able to create Wooden Dimes,” says the ballet’s choreographer, Oregon Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Dani Rowe. Originally planned as a stage production for San Francisco Ballet, she had to reimagine Wooden Dimes as a highly theatrical dance film in 2020 when pandemic-era restrictions upended SFB’s planned season. Now, at… Read More

When Trey McIntyre started conceptualizing a ballet version of Peter Pan, he didn’t realize quite what he was in for. “I didn’t feel like I was making an epic production,” he remembers. “It wasn’t until we were really into it that I realized, oh gosh, this is a LOT of layers!” The story of Peter… Read More

In 2006, Christopher Stowell had been at the helm of OBT for only three seasons, but he felt the time was already right. Portlanders were eagerly watching as their resident ballet company swiftly grew in scale and scope, and saw its artistic focus shift. Stowell knew it was the perfect moment to define OBT’s role… Read More

Dancers know from the very beginning that they will have two lives: the first comprises the highly focused—some call it tunnel vision— years of training and performing, and then comes Part 2, which begins the day after the curtain falls on their final performance. The closure of the first mega-chapter of a dancer’s life brings… Read More