Lesley Rausch Bows Farewell in June

• Studied with Shir Lee Wu at Columbus Youth Ballet
• Studied at Pacific Northwest Ballet School
• Attended summer courses at School of American Ballet, International Dance School at Jackson, Mississippi, and PNB School
• 1998 – Finalist in Concours International de Danse de Paris
• 2001 – Joined PNB as a corps de ballet member 
• 2007 – Promoted to Soloist
• 2011 – Promoted to Principal

Lesley has danced leading roles in:

• George Balanchine’s Agon, Apollo, Concerto Barocco, Coppélia, Diamonds, Emeralds, The Four Temperaments, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, La Valse, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Prodigal Son, Rubies, Serenade, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and Symphony in C;
• Peter Boal’s Giselle;
• Val Caniparoli’s The Bridge and Lambarena;
• David Dawson’s Empire Noir and A Million Kisses to My Skin;
• Ulysses Dove’s Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, Red Angels, Serious Pleasures, and Vespers;
• Nacho Duato’s Jardí Tancat;
• William Forsythe’s Artifact II, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, New Suite, and One Flat Thing, reproduced;
• Kiyon Gaines’ ə{SCHWA};
• Paul Gibson’s The Piano Dance and Rush;
• Ronald Hynd’s The Sleeping Beauty;
• Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land and Petite Mort;
• Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Cendrillon and Roméo et Juliette;
• Mark Morris’ Pacific;
• Crystal Pite’s Emergence and Plot Point;
• Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH, Don Quixote, and Pictures at an Exhibition;
• Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun, The Concert, Fancy Free, Glass Pieces, and Other Dances;
• Kent Stowell’s Carmina Burana, Cinderella, Nutcracker, and Swan Lake;
• Twyla Tharp’s Brief Fling, In the Upper Room, Nine Sinatra Songs, Opus 111, and Waterbaby Bagatelles; and
• Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia. 

She originated leading roles in Caniparoli’s The Seasons, Kyle Davis’ Las Estrellas, Gaines’ Sum Stravinsky, Edwaard Liang’s The Veil Between Worlds, Benjamin Millepied’s 3 Movements, Susan Stroman’s TAKE FIVE…More or Less, and Price Suddarth’s Signature.

In addition to her performing career, Lesley has been a guest teacher at Ballet Hawaii, Evergreen City Ballet, New American Youth Ballet, and Punahou Dance School. She also is on the faculty of Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Lesley is a Stott Certified Pilates Instructor and a certified instructor in Tai Ji Quan Moving for Better Balance and Madeline Black’s Series One and Two.