Leah
Terada
Leah Terada (she/her) is from Dallas, Texas. She studied at Dallas Metropolitan Ballet and the School of American Ballet, and she attended summer courses on full scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet, the School of American Ballet, and Boston Ballet. Leah joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2015 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2016. She was promoted to soloist in 2022.
In 2020, Leah co-choreographed and co-directed Happening with fellow PNB dancer Miles Pertl for PNB’s digital season. In 2021 she choreographed On Being for PNB’s NEXT STEP. Leah was the recipient of the Danish American Nationals Cultural Exchange (DANCE) scholarship.
Leading Roles
George Balanchine
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
(Coffee, Harlequin, Hot Chocolate)
Alejandro Cerrudo
Future Memory*
Little mortal jump
One Thousand Pieces
William Forsythe
One Flat Thing, reproduced
Ronald Hynd
The Sleeping Beauty
(Fairy of Purity, White Cat)
Jessica Lang
Susan Marshall
Amanda Morgan
This Space Left Intentionally Blank*
Noelani Pantastico
Picnic*
Crystal Pite
Jerome Robbins
Price Suddarth
Robyn Mineko Williams
*Originated role
PNB Dancers You Should Follow on Instagram
Looking to beautify your feed with more ballet? We have the solution! Here’s a comprehensive list of all the PNB dancers with public Instagram accounts. Plus, be sure to follow the PNB Instagram and PNB School to stay up to date with the company.
PNB Dancers Partner with Local Seattle Businesses for Spring Spark
PNB dancers are partnering with some of Seattle’s best distilleries and favorite dessert shops to create all-new creations for Spring Spark! At this unique event, guests will sample these creations and vote on their favorite while enjoying hearty appetizers from Kristi Brown of That Brown Girl Cooks. Read on to learn more about Spring Spark, the event collaborators, and their delicious creations!
Pointe Shoe: Ballet’s Beloved Illusion
Ballet has become synonymous with the pointe shoe—every time a little one dreams of spinning around on a massive stage under glowing lights dressed in a sparkling tutu, their feet are clad in such shoes. PNB’s Artistic Director, Peter Boal, says “to be honest, I don’t know where PNB would be without the pointe shoe…. [E]verything balances on the pointe shoe.” Read on to learn more about this fundamental tool of ballet dancers and what PNB dancers have to say about their relationship with pointe shoes!
Q&A with Soloist Leah Terada
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? Build a good support system, don’t measure success too often, stay available and open to change, and always show up to life in the fullest way possible.