NYC ballet leaader to head Seattle ballet

SEATTLE, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Peter Boal, longtime leading dancer with the New York City Ballet, has been named artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle effective July 1.

Pacific Northwest, founded in 1972 and considered one of the nation's leading companies, is currently directed by former City Ballet dancers Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, who are retiring from their directorial posts. Boal, 39, was chosen from a field of 50 applicants on the basis of his work with Seattle dancers in October.

Boal's final performance with the City Ballet will be a gala tribute to him on June 5 at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He is considered one of the company's purest classical dancers although he also has performed in modern dance works. He has been a teacher at the City Ballet's affiliated School of American Ballet for the past decade.