Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Announces New Company Members, Promotions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2012
Contact: Meghan McNamara
Marketing Coordinator
412-454-9117
Email: mmcnamara@pittsburghballet.org

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Announces New Company Members and Promotions for 2012-2013 Season


(Pittsburgh, PA) – Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has signed three new apprentices to the 2012-2013 company roster and promoted two company dancers to soloist and principal positions.

Christine Schwaner has been promoted from soloist to principal, and Amanda Cochrane has been promot- ed from the corps de ballet to soloist. Joining the company as apprentices for the 2012-2013 season are three Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School graduates: JoAnna Schmidt, Casey Taylor and Corey Bourbonniere.

A native of Brazil, Christine Schwaner began her training in her hometown of Bello Horizonte. She first came to the United States to participate in the New York International Ballet Competition, where she was a finalist and was invited to join Cleveland Ballet in Ohio. Schwaner is now entering her seventh season
with PBT, where she has performed a variety of feature roles, including Swanilda in Coppélia, Svetlana in Dracula and the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. Her repertoire also includes Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Roland Petit’s Carmen, Giselle, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Don Quixote as well as George Balan- chine’s Theme and Variations and The Four Temperaments.

Amanda Cochrane of Spokane, Washington, will begin her fourth season with PBT. Cochrane received her training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s Graduate Program, Ballet Arts Academy and Sandra Olgard’s Studio of Dance. She has also studied at summer programs, including Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, American Ballet Theatre and Ballet West. Cochrane has danced the part of Tinker Bell in PBT’s Peter
Pan, and performed feature roles in a variety of PBT productions, including Uncommon and The Nutcrack- er.

2012-2013 Apprentices

Corey Bourbonniere of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, joins the company from the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s Graduate Program. Prior to coming to Pittsburgh, Bourbonniere received his training at the State Ballet of Rhode Island and Heritage Ballet in Rhode Island. Bourbonniere has performed in past PBT pro- ductions, including The Three Musketeers, The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, Uncommon and Coppélia.

Originally from Mount Dora, Florida, JoAnna Schmidt trained at the Academy of The Central Florida Ballet prior to joining the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School Graduate Program in 2010. Schmidt has also attended intensive summer programs at the Miami City Ballet Academy in Miami, Florida, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in New York City. Schmidt has danced in past PBT performances, including Coppélia, The Nutcracker, Dracula, Peter Pan and The Three Musketeers.

Casey Taylor grew up in Pittsburgh attending the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. In addition to the PBT School Graduate Program, Taylor has also trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Professional Division and attended summer courses at The School of American Ballet and Boston Ballet. Taylor has danced in PBT’s
2011-2012 productions of Coppélia and A Streetcar Named Desire and has previously performed with
Pacific Northwest Ballet and with Dresden Semperoper Ballet as a guest dancer.

The 2012-2013 Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre company roster will make its main stage debut in Giselle at the
Benedum Center from October 26-28, 2012.

2012-2013 Performances
Giselle — October 26-28, 2012 - Benedum Center
The Nutcracker — December 7-30 - Benedum Center
Moulin Rouge - The Ballet — February 14-17, 2013 - Benedum Center
Unspoken — March 8-17, 2013 - August Wilson Center
Cinderella — April 19-21, 2013 - Benedum Center


Subscription packages for the 2012-2013 season are now available online at www.pbt.org or by calling
412-454-9107.

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