Francia Russell, co-artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB), is right now in St. Petersburg, Russia working with the Kirov on three George Balanchine ballets: "Serenade," a rewritten "Apollo," and "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux."

Premiere evenings are coming up.

This is not Ms. Russell's first trip to Russia. During the 1988-89 season in Leningrad, she staged the first authorized Balanchine performances for the Kirov.

Ms. Russell is known throughout the United States and Europe for her more than 100 Ballanchine stagings. In 1987 she went to the People's Republic of China to stage the master's work for the Shanghai Ballet.
Francia Russell was one of the original dancers in the Stravinsky/Balanchine "Agon" when New York City Ballet debuted it at City Center (1957).

In 1977, when she and her husband, Kent Stowell, took over at PNB, she introduced the work of Balanchine to help bring life to the floundering company.

Follow these links for more information about Francia Russell:
The Pacific Northwest Ballet Website
Beginnings of PNB (Seattle Times, 11/9/97)

Sources:
Kirov Ballet
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Seattle Times

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