Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Jessika Anspach took her final bow on the Seattle Opera House stage last June. The longtime PNB dancer enjoyed 12 years in the Company, and 14 years in the School before then.

I first encountered Jessika during the writing of the second edition of Finding Balance. The book features images of a teenage Jessika participating in conditioning exercises of various sorts. What struck me at the time was her commitment, her dedication to the project. Since then, I have seen her perform, maybe a dozen times a year. I have seen her grow into a mature, confident dancer, with a mesmerizing persona and personality. Entries in PNB’s blog, as well as posts in her just-jessika.blogspot.com, reveal a passionate advocate for dance and lifelong learner. This gracious and skilled ballerina will have more noteworthy exploits, documented in her writing. We eagerly await news of them.

https://www.google.com/search?q=PNB+Jessika+Anspach+photos&espv=2&biw=1307&bih=659&tbm=isch&imgil=d1T8y_UZNfRKcM%253A%253BalIT1Ofh9IBr5M%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fpnbunleashed.wordpress.com%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=d1T8y_UZNfRKcM%253A%252CalIT1Ofh9IBr5M%252C_&usg=__W2QEO71QIxq20-zpc4_Y1HLe7uw%3D&ved=0ahUKEwjXgIms-azRAhUFMGMKHRzoA58QyjcIOQ&ei=u0BvWJe3M4XgjAOc0I_4CQ#imgdii=UxLKFjIgX_v13M%3A%3BUxLKFjIgX_v13M%3A%3BCSE5VEAQ8H6BGM%3A&imgrc=UxLKFjIgX_v13M%3AA hard worker, writing as well as dancing