Miranda Weese

Miranda Weese (born )

Weese started dancing at age five, after a doctor recommended it to help her with knock knees and otherwise bad health. She later trained with Catherine Joyce while living in La Puente, then with Shery Gilbert upon returning to Orange County, becoming Gilbert's first student. at age fifteen, Following her return, she started watching videotapes of both herself and other dancers to help her progress. In 1994, she was promoted to soloist, and started to substitute others in principal roles when required, including once in Balanchine's Walpurgisnacht Ballet, after only one rehearsal.

In 1996, shortly before she turned 21, Weese was named principal dancer. She was the first woman to be promoted to this rank in the company since 1991. Apollo, "Emerald" and "Rubies" from Jewels, Symphony in C, Who Cares?, The Four Temperaments, Ballo della Regina, Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze, and as Sugar Plum Fairy and Dewdrop in The Nutcracker. Evenfalls and Shambards. She also created a role in Twyla Tharp's The Beethoven Seventh.

In 1999, Weese performed in a televised performance of Swan Lake as Odette-Odile under an hour's notice, in order to replace Darci Kistler, who got injured earlier that day. While Weese was Kistler's standby, she had never rehearsed her partner Damian Woetzel. In late 2001, she underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in her hip, and was off stage for a year. While recovering, she gained significant weight and feared she would not be able to perform again. She returned to California to train with her teacher, then back to New York with ballet master Susan Hendl, while fellow dancers Peter Boal, Jock Soto and Woetzel also volunteered to work with her. She resumed performing in early 2003. She stated the Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she had made a guest appearance before, has "a schedule and a lifestyle that's very appealing" to her, as she would have more time to prepare for roles, and the rehearsal and performance periods do not overlap. She first signed on for three seasons, then was added to the company roster as a principal dancer, and retired in 2010.