Out There

Jonathan Porretta is one of the most beloved dancers at Pacific Northwest Ballet. But his journey to principal dancer wasn't easy. He grew up different: gay, lonely, and teased in a small New Jersey town, following a dream that others couldn't understand. Award-winning arts journalist Marcie Sillman chronicles the dancer's tale in a new, all-ages coffee table book called Out There: Jonathan Porretta's Life in Dance.

The book's message of "Be yourself and people will love you for who you are" comes through clearly in Sillman's crisp, engaging prose. Family snapshots and exquisite dance photography by Angela Sterling show key moments in Porretta's life thusfar.

Out There is an expanded version of a 2,000-word article Sillman published on KUOW.org in January 2016. In addition to Sillman's 5,000-word essay, Out There includes a complete list of Porretta's lead roles (plus 10 favorites highlighted with personal commentary by Porretta), a bibliography of articles about Porretta, and a timeline.

Marcie Sillman has been covering the Seattle arts scene for 30+ years. Her work is heard in Seattle on the NPR-affiliate KUOW FM, and has appeared in the Seattle Times, Crosscut, and on the Seattle Channel. Nationally, she reports for NPR and has written for Pointe and Dance Teacher magazines. She was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in dance journalism in 2009. More of Sillman's writing can be found on her blog, And Another Thing, at marciesillman.com.

Rosie Gaynor has more than 15 years' experience helping people say what they want to say. She taught English at Roosevelt High School in Seattle for seven years and then went on to work in the marketing/PR departments of Seattle Opera, the Glass Art Society, and NBBJ. In 2009, she ventured out on her own as a writer, focusing on her first love: dance. (She studied for 10 years as a child, in Milan and in Minneapolis). She published locally, founded the blog SeattleDances.com (which has subsequently been run by Kirsten Legg and then by Mariko Nagashima and Anna Waller), and received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in dance journalism. Her writing eventually appeared in City Arts, Pointe, Dance, Dance International, and in the London Financial Times. She even published an article in the IEEE's Engineering Management Review on what engineers can learn from ballet dancers. In 2012, Rosie began studying graphic design at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle, and in 2014 she founded Seattle Scriptorium-the business of beautiful communication. She has done production and/or design on the following brands and more: TCS World Travel (including their clients Four Seasons and National Geographic), Starbucks, Seattle Bride magazine, Seattle Business magazine, Holland America, Aladdin, and Alaska Airlines magazine. This is her third book. In 2014 she edited and designed the Seattle Dance Annual 2013 (free online). She recently finished design for a Regency romance she wrote way back in 1995: The Misogynistic Marquis. (!) Rosie would love to work with you on your book.

After a successful career as a soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Angela Sterling turned to her second passion, photography. She has created images commercially and for many marketing campaigns around the world. Along with shooting for more than ten years for companies like Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les ballets de Monte-Carlo, Dutch National Ballet, Boston Ballet, Alonzo King's LINES, & Dresden Semper Opera Ballet, Sterling's images are seen regularly in the New York Times, USA Today, Dutch VOGUE, Paris ELLE, and international dance publications. Images can be seen on her website, angelasterlingphoto.com. Recent work includes photographing for friend and Tony Award Winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon for his new Broadway show An American in Paris.