Far & Away: dancing and living abroad

Far and Away

Six Principal dancers from six world renowned companies talk about dancing out of their countries. Big roles, sacrifices, favorite partners and dishes: six conversations on the challenges of living (and working) abroad

Carla Körbes
Born in Brazil, she is Principal dancer at the Pacific Northwest Ballet.

What brought you to the Pacific Northwest Ballet?
A desire to expand myself as an artist. I loved dancing at the New York City Ballet. It was my first job as a professional dancer, and while there I got to perform incredible roles as a corp member, and Principal roles as well. However, after six years with the company I felt I needed more challenges in terms of getting to dance roles that perhaps I wasn’t comfortable with. At the NYCB I got to dance many lyrical ballets, but I didn’t get to explore the classics or more contemporary work. Since I arrived in Seattle, eight years ago, I have had the chance to explore leading roles in ballets such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, but I have also had the opportunity to dance ballets by William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Jiří Kylián. I love how diverse PNB’s repertory is, and how it allows us dancers to grow in many different ways.