NWPDP  }  Directors

Sarah Slipper, Artistic Director

"Sarah Slipper is truly gifted." "This is what dance should be ... she found the point at which the form, of dance (steps, technique, feet, performance) combine to create a work of art." - The News Record

Sarah Slipper was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and received her professional training at the Royal Ballet School in London, England and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. In 1980, she made her professional debut with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as a corps de ballet member, and became one of the company's leading dramatic ballerinas. Ms. Slipper worked closely with many internationally renowned directors, choreographers and teachers, including Arnold Spohr, Rudi van Dantzig, Hans van Manen, Jirí Kylián, Agnes deMille, Galina Yordanova, and Alla Savchenko. Ms. Slipper was noted for her classical line and dramatic abilities, dancing the principal roles in classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. In addition to the classical repertoire, she received worldwide acclaim for her performances of contemporary ballets, most notably Nobert Vesak's The Ecstasy of Rita Joe and the award winning Belong pas de deux.

After Ms. Slipper left the stage, she continued her passion for music and drama, studying theatre at the honours level at the University of Winnipeg, and in Oxford, England. During the 1996/97 season, she served as ballet mistress of Alberta Ballet, and from 1997/99 as ballet mistress of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Ms. Slipper's command of classical and contemporary styles is demonstrated in her active role of teaching and coaching younger dancers. As a guest master teacher, Ms. Slipper has worked with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet Austin, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Jefferson Dancers and the Dance Departments of the University of Utah, Cornish College of the Arts, and the University of Iowa.

An award winning independent choreographer, Ms. Slipper is presently based in Portland, Oregon, creating dance worldwide. She has worked with prominent dance companies including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Nashville Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet Jorgen, Louisville Ballet, Fugate/Bahiri BalletNY, Alberta Ballet, Ballet Pacifica, Cornish Dance Theater, the Northwest Professional Dance Project and The Jefferson Dancers. She was awarded the Grand Prize for Choreography at the International Choreographic Competition Saint Sauveur 2000 for her ballet Shattered Night, which was created on the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. During her choreographic residency at Festival des Arts in Quebec, Canada, her ballet A River In A Dry Land, was described by the Montreal Gazette as "one of the finest choreographies produced in residency." Ms. Slipper's works have been described as "absolutely remarkable ... grippingly pits breezy romanticism against a sinister undercurrent." (The Oregonian) and "... a complete, enclosed world, a somber yet hopeful winter landscape across which the three couples thread in a long, smoothly unfolding skein of dance." (The New York Times)

A Fine Balance, her pas de deux created during the inaugural NWPDP, was a finalist for the prestigious Benois de la Danse award in 2006 and was performed at the Bolshoi Theatre as part of the award's gala celebration.

Ms. Slipper is currently working on several new creations and serves as the Artistic Director of the Northwest Professional Dance Project.

Steve Gonzales, Associate Artistic Director

Steve Gonzales started dancing and acting at Jefferson Performing and Visual Arts High School in Portland, Oregon under the direction of Mary Vinton Folberg. After high school, he performed with Pacific Ballet Theater (now Oregon Ballet Theatre). Mr. Gonzales continued his dance training at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he was a member of the Second Avenue Dance Company. At NYU, he worked with directors and choreographers Jenny Way from Twyla Tharp, Kevin Wynn, Elisa Monte and Stephen Petronio. He also choreographed several pieces for Second Avenue Dance Company members and collaborated with other choreographers at NYU. He performed Charles Wiedman's role in the Humphrey-Wiedman retrospective performance of New Dance Variations and Conclusions, presented at the Danny Kaye Playhouse in New York. He began dancing with MOMIX Dance Theatre days after graduating from NYU in 1994.

Under the direction of Moses Pendleton, he has been performing MOMIX's entire repertoire throughout Europe, Canada, South America, Australia, Israel, Greece, Russia, Japan and the United States, including their annual season at the Joyce Theater in New York. In addition to performing, he has also been teaching master classes worldwide, performed for several television shows in Spain, Italy, Germany and for the BBC in London, has appeared in numerous European fashion magazines and has assumed the responsibilities of rehearsal director, choreographer and company spokesperson to ambassadors and dignitaries around the world.

Mr. Gonzales was featured in Michael Curry's world premiere production of Spirits in 2001. He has worked closely with choreographers Moses Pendleton, David Parson, Trey McIntyre, Jamey Hampton, Ashley Roland. Sylvia Hase and Sarah Slipper. In 2003, Mr. Gonzales performed with MOMIX in Moses Pendleton's full-length Passion, which closed the 70th anniversary of Jacob's Pillow.

As the Artistic Director of the Jefferson Dancers, Mr. Gonzales has taken the company to a whole new level. In addition to bringing in cutting-edge choreographers, he has set new and exciting works on the company, including Rhythm is the Key, Primitive, Cancao do Mar, and Eye of Ra which were performed in gala concerts at the National High School Dance Festivals in Long Beach, CA, Miami, FL, and Philadelphia, PA.

Mr. Gonzales serves as Associate Director of the Northwest Professional Dance Project.