CONTACT:Cynthia Kirk
503.330.1886
About Haruka Weiser at The Portland Ballet
Haruka Weiser first attended The Portland Ballet in August 2012 when she was accepted into the MastersProgram. For two weeks, she was part of a cohort of advanced young dancers, with the daily schedule and expectations of a professional company. The guest choreographer that year was The Portland Ballet’s artistic advisor, Balanchine protégé John Clifford. During that session, choreographer and dancers created the elegant Goldberg Variations, set to Bach, which premiered at Portland’s Lincoln Hall on August 26, 2012. Haruka returned to the Master’s Program in August 2013 performing in La Sylphide and reprising Goldberg Variations, then joined TPB’s Curriculum Program that fall.
Haruka was 16 when she joined TPB. In 2013, she was accepted into Level 6, the most advanced level and graduated in 2015. She declined to join TPB’s Youth Company because of her existing commitment to Dance West at Beaverton’s Arts and Communications Magnet Academy. That decision is emblematic of Haruka’s maturity and dedication.
She participated in TPB’s 2014 Thanksgiving Weekend production, dancing principal roles as Commander and Tarantella Lead in Clifford’s The Enchanted Toy Shop.
The Portland Ballet's Founding Artistic Director Nancy Davis commented, "Haruka was not only a gifted and talented dancer but a gentle and kind spirit that everyone at TPB loved, teachers and students alike. Our hearts go out to her family and friends."
The Portland Ballet nurtures young dancers from age three to 22. TPB students are trained with professional intent by a faculty that includes some of the nation’s finest dancers and choreographers, with experience at companies such as the National Ballet, the original Los Angeles Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, Trey McIntyre Project and BodyVox. Professionally produced performance experience is at the core of TPB training and TPB is well known for its annual Thanksgiving Weekend production. TPB graduates have gone on to professional dance careers with companies such as Grand Rapids Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Sacramento Ballet, Houston Ballet, St. Louis Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Batsheva, LEV, Ballet Memphis and Ballet.
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