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Oregon Ballet Theatre has announced principal dancer Jessica Lind will retire at the end of the current season after being at the company since 2011.
“OBT has been my home for the last 14 years,” Lind said in a statement. “I have seen the company through a lot of change, but through it all, the support from the people I work with has been unwavering. Dancers share a unique career which bonds us together in an incomparable way, and because of this, I will definitely miss my OBT family.”
Lind joined OBT’s professional division in 2011. She became an apprentice in 2013 and worked her way up to principal dancer in 2022. Originally from San Jose, Calif., Lind started ballet at age 4.
This season, Lind danced the title roles in Giselle in February and Marilyn in April. WW called Lind’s depiction of Marilyn Monroe, “delicate yet agile in a surprisingly acrobatic ballet.” Some of her other favorite roles at OBT include Dew Drop in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and Princess Florine in Christopher Stowell’s The Sleeping Beauty, according to her bio.
In the retirement announcement, Lind thanked OBT’s choreographers, teachers, directors, fellow dancers and Portland audiences. On her future beyond dance, Lind plans to take a moment to breathe and discover new interests, she wrote.
“I am passionate about working with young athletes and I have some ideas moving forward, but for now, I want to enjoy wrapping up my career and not jump into anything right away.”
Lind’s final performances will be in The OBT Collection at Newmark Theatre on June 5-8, a suite of four one-act ballets. The last show, at 2 pm on Sunday, June 8, will be dedicated to Lind and she will perform a special pas de deux, After the Rain, by Christopher Wheeldon.
SEE IT: The OBT Collection at the Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 503-222-5538, obt.org. 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday and 2 pm Saturday-Sunday, June 5-8. $32-$125.