Company History
PACB is built upon the legacy of Ballet Workshop Productions, founded in 1970 by local dance pioneer Sylvia Joyce Wanner, making it the oldest classical performing ensemble on the Olympic Peninsula.
Upon Wanner’s retirement in 2013, the tenure of Ballet Workshop Productions came under the new directorship of Kate Robbins, who expanded upon Wanner’s vision for a larger performing arts impact in the region.
Port Angeles City Ballet was founded in as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with a mission to produce standout ballet performance opportunities and productions, as the official regional ballet company of the Olympic Peninsula.
Performing Artists
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The season casting of PACB operates on a rotating roster of principal & soloist guest artists from leading national ballet companies, alongside local Trainee & Junior Artists from the Sylvia Joyce Wanner School, the official academy of PACB. The company is actively seeks to hire new guest artists for their upcoming season, from established principal/soloist level artists, to corps or apprentice level dancers looking for guesting experience.
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Since 2016, guests have included artists from American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Houston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Sarasota Ballet and Orlando Ballet II. Each PACB season aspires to bring together North America’s finest leading dancers with local emerging talent, to enrich our community’s exposure to high caliber performing arts in WA state.
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PACB offers competitive guesting compensation and performance contracts. Dancers interested in performing in PACB’s season as a guest artist should apply between July 1st to September 1st for “Nutcracker” 2023, and between October 1st to December 15th for “Don Quixote” 2024.
Founder Emeritus | Sylvia Joyce Wanner
Sylvia J. Wanner (1940-2021), moved to Port Angeles, WA in the 1960’s and formed Ballet Workshop Productions in 1970. Under her tenacious leadership, alongside her husband Ted Wanner, Ballet Workshop produced some of the most elaborate ballet productions seen on the Peninsula throughout the 1980’s & 90’s, including full-length stagings of “Alice”, “The Six Swans”, “Coppelia”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Nutcracker”, “Aladdin” and “Cinderella”.
Well regarded as the '“godmother” of classical ballet in the Olympic region, Wanner’s ballets were known county-wide for their superb theatricality, intricate costume designs and hand-crafted sets. Between 1970-2013, Wanner personally oversaw the ballet education of multiple generations of dancers, inspiring hundreds of young artists, and becoming a beloved treasure and fixture of the community.
Before her passing, in 2021, Ms. Wanner expressed her blessing and excitement towards expanding and transforming Ballet Workshop Productions into a regional company and pre-professional ballet school for the Olympic region. PACB owes its existence to the vision of Wanner’s formidable leadership, spanning over four decades of commitment to the city of Port Angeles.
Artistic Director | Kate M. Robbins
(PACB & SJW School)
Ms. Robbins assumed tenure of Port Angeles’ Ballet Workshop Productions in 2015, and is the founder of PACB. Under her direction, PACB has inherited five full-length ballets produced by BW Productions, including “The Nutcracker”, “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Don Quixote” and “Coppelia”.
Ms. Robbin’s extensive teaching & staging background was shaped by the long-term mentorships of Sadler Wells/Royal Ballet artist Glenn Gilmour, Shanghai Ballet School director Chen Jian Nian, and CPYB founder Marcia Dale-Weary. After dancing with Goh Ballet & Ballet British Columbia, Ms. Robbins founded the award-winning VJPD Ballet in Vancouver, Canada, winning consecutive YAGP awards for coaching & school direction from 2011-2015. Graduates from her programs continue to be recognized at Jackson IBC, ADC-IBC, and Prix de Lausanne. Ms. Robbins is a regular guest instructor and repetiteur at private academies & colleges throughout Asia & North America, staging ballets & sharing her expertise on European training syllabi and repertoire. She is also a member of the University of Washington’s Global Executives EMBA program and is a two-time Gemini nominee for her work in Canadian film & television.
Mr. Long is a former soloist with the National Ballet of Canada from 2005-2012, during which time he represented the company at the 2009 International Erik Bruhn Competition. His soloist and principal roles with the company include the lead in the world premiere of Davide Bombana’s Carmen, the title role of “The Man” in James Kudelka’s The Four Seasons, “Von Rothbart” in Kudelka’s Swan Lake, first cast principal in Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, first cast principal in the premiere of Marie Chouinard’s 24 Preludes and Peter Quanz’ In Color, as well as “Riff” in Jerome Robbins West Side Story and soloist roles in the company’s premieres of Crystal Pite’s Emergence and Wayne McGregor’s Chroma. In 2017, Mr. Long began his leadership role at The Ballet Workshop as Director of Productions and Boys Program Director. From 2017-2023, he oversaw the original staging of PACB’s The Nutcracker, and the creation of four original full-length ballets for PACB, including a three-act Swan Lake, an original three-act adaptation of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Don Quixote, a two-act Sleeping Beauty, and a full-length original Coppelia. Mr. Long brings a wealth of expertise in classical repertoire, partnering, staging and producing to his role, traveling regularly to direct & facilitate the integration of esteemed professional guest artists into PACB’s professional productions on the Olympic Peninsula.
Director of Productions | Noah Long
Board of Directors
Mr. Knott is originally from Poway, CA and holds a BA from UCLA. He is an arts philanthropist, real estate investor, and the former owner of the exclusive men’s shoe store “Alden of Carmel”.
Adam Knott | President
Mr. Wood hails from Seattle, WA and holds an AA & CNC Certificate from Peninsula College. He has been the Production Manager of Ballet Workshop Productions since 2015, and formerly Stage Managed from 1998-2003 with PALOA, JFFA and other performing groups.
Chris Wood | Vice President
Miss Casad is a native of Port Angeles, and brings her extensive twenty-one years of experience in bookkeeping to her role as Treasurer of PACB. From 2015-2023 Miss Casad served as Executive Administrator of Ballet Workshop Productions, overseeing their season budget, accounting and general operations.
