YUKA IINO / "Iino Enumerates Career"
by Dean Speer and Francis Timlin
Critical Dance, November 2007

We met with Yuka Iino following company class amidst Oregon Ballet Theatre's "OBT Exposed!" week in the Park Blocks of downtown. Read the full article.

GAVIN LARSEN / "Why I Dance"
by Gavin Larsen
Dance Magazine, September 2009

"I have always been a performer. I have (very fuzzy) early memories of demanding to “put on a show” for my parents’ dinner party guests, prancing and twirling around the coffee table to whatever music happened to be on the stereo, finishing with a grand exit through the double doors. Those childhood performances were the first way I found to satisfy the weird combination of shyness and show-off that shapes my personality." Read the full article

"Instruments of Art"
by Dean Speer and Francis Timlin
Critical Dance, June 2007

We met with Larsen between shows during Oregon Ballet Theatre's recent April 2007 season of the "Eyes On You," program of "Apollo," "il nodo," and "Eyes On You," a ballet to music of Cole Porter. Read the full article.

KATHI MARTUZA / Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch, 2005

Kathi Martuza, 25, squeezes every last drop out of her movement phrases, mindfully shaping every inch of her athletic and elegant frame with quiet effort. Read the full article.

ANNE MUELLER / "Ballerina in the Dell"
by Dean Speer and Francis Timlin
Critical Dance, March 2007

While enjoying Oregon Ballet Theatre's "under-the-ballet-tent" initiative, "OBT Exposed!," we had a chance to talk with company member Anne Mueller about her career during her break. Read the full article.

ALISON ROPER / "Roper Reaches Epicenter"
by Dean Speer and Francis Timlin
Critical Dance, April 2007

The dazzling Oregon Ballet Theatre principal dancer Alison Roper met with us on a cool Northwest day over warm drinks at a local Starbucks Coffee Shop between shows during OBT's March "All Premiere" repertory run. We had been trying to schedule this for about a year, so we were particularly excited to chat with Roper. She is a very focused and highly accomplished dance artist who is "one of those to watch." Read the full article.

"A Disciplined Soul"
by Martha Ullman West
Dance Magazine, June 2006

Hard work, as much as talent, makes Oregon Ballet Theatre's Alison Roper a star.

Alison Roper, wearing black tights and rehearsal tutu, feet fluttering in agitated bourrees, extends her pleading, yearning arms towards fellow principal Artur Sultanov. On the second day of rehearsal for Oregon Ballet Theatre's new Swan Lake, Roper already expresses Odette's fear and vulnerability in her first encounter with Prince Siegfried. Her loverly classical line and acute musicality are in evidence as she learns the Swan Queen's steps as set by artistic director Christopher Stowell. Read the full article.

GRACE SHIBLEY / "Home Grown Charmer: Oregon Ballet Theatre's Grace Shibley makes it look natural."
By Rosie Gaynor
Pointe Magazine, December 2009

With a name like Grace, long legs, flexible hips and an innate elegance, Grace Shibley seems to have been destined for ballet. But when asked what comes easily for her, a smile breaks out on her pretty, heart-shaped face: "I don't feel like anything comes easily!" Read the full article.

"A young Sugar Plum Fairy floats to fore: Teen draws attention, opportunities in rise from apprentice ranks"
by Eric Bartels
The Portland Tribune, December 11, 2008

Grace Shibley says her rapid rise at Oregon Ballet Theatre is a simple matter of the chances she’s been offered.

Assuming she’s recovered from a recent foot injury, the 19-year-old Portland native will be one of five dancers portraying the coveted role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in OBT’s run of “The Nutcracker,” which opens Friday. Read the full article.

ARTUR SULTANOV / "Getting to "Da" with OBT's White Knight"
by Dean Speer and Francis Timlin
Critical Dance, April 2004

We recently caught up with one of Oregon Ballet Theatre's latest additions to its impressive roster of dancers, Russian-born and trained Artur Sultanov. We met Mr. Sultanov and his wife, Cynthia, following OBT's last excursion into "White Nights" -- its all Russian music mixed bill program. Amidst the energy and din of a busy late-night eatery across from Keller Auditorium, we had a charming, fun, and informative discussion. What follows is an edited version of that chat. Read the full article.