Company Leadership
Artistic Director
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Mallory Morrison received her training with Bremerton Dance Center and joined PDT as a dancer in 1998. Much of Ms. Morrison’s dance education also stems from attending several summer dance intensive across the US. As a PDT dancer, Ms. Morrison toured with the company to France, in 2001 and in 2006, she performed at Disney World and with the Royal Caribbean Cruise line tour. Outside of PDT she has had professional opportunities to perform with Dance This! a company based in Seattle and as a backup dancer in Cheri Moon’s, One More Crazy Summer. In 2008, Ms. Morrison graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration through Central Washington University. She is also a certified ABT Teacher for levels Pre-Primary through Level 3. Ms. Morrison received the Kitsap Sun’s 20 under 40 for 2015 and the Women of Achievement for Arts, Culture, design from the YWCA in 2016. As the Artistic Director Ms. Morrison hopes to inspire every dancer to reach his or her highest aspirations.
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Assistant Artistic Director
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Nicole Cisler began her training in La Canada Flintridge, California with Ballet Petit, then went on to study with Stanley Holden, Cynthia Young and Philip & Charles Fuller where she was a member of Pasadena Dance Theater, a Regional Dance America Pacific, Honor company. She then attended North Carolina School of the Arts to study with Melissa Hayden for two years. She also studied at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Hartford Ballet School, Boston Ballet, and The Hungarian National Ballet during their summer programs. Ms. Cisler’s professional experience includes dancing with The Alberta Ballet, Ballet Omaha, Cincinnati Ballet and the Milwaukee Ballet where she danced in ballets choreographed by Petipa, Balanchine, Paul Taylor, David Parsons, Bruce Wells, and Lew Christenson among others. Her favorite roles to perform were the lead in Allegro Brilliante, demi-soloist in Theme and Variations , demi-soloist in Who Cares? , the 1st, 3rd Theme and Phlegmatic in The Four Temperaments, and Dark Angel in Serenade, as well as the Polka Girl in Paul Taylor's Company B, and the Captain of Amazons in Lew Christenson's Con Amore.
After her professional career, Nicole went on to get a B.A. degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. While in Madison, she taught for five years in the area and choreographed for Dance Wisconsin, where two of her and her husband's pieces were performed on the gala night performances. With her husband, she has choreographed several ballets for Peninsula Dance Theater which have been performed at The Ballet Alliance's (formerly Pacific Region of Regional Dance America) annual Festival. Three of which have been performed at the Gala performance of RDA Midstates by Heartland Youth Ballet. Ms.Cisler is also certified in Stott Pilates and loves to bring Pilates strengthening to all dancers. |
Founding Director
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Lawan Morrison is the founder of Peninsula Dance Theatre and served as PDT’s Artistic Director from 1973 to 2021. She also owned and operated the Bremerton Dance Center, providing dance instruction to Kitsap county. She spent many year as a ballet and jazz teacher at Olympic College in Bremerton. As a choreographer, she has collaborated with directors throughout the local area, including Oregon and Montana. In 2002, Ms. Morrison received the YWCA's coveted "Women of Achievement Award." Ms. Morrison has worked to promote the arts in the greater Kitsap community for many years. Ms. Morrison has twice served as president of Regional Dance America/Pacific, and in 1994, 1999, and 2006 had the honor of hosting the RDA/Pacific Dance Festival (now known as The Ballet Alliance.
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Alan Futterman (Music Director)
Alan Futterman is the Music Director of both the Peninsula Ballet Orchestra and the Academy Chamber Orchestra. He served on the Faculty of Central Washington University for 10 years and as Music Director of the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Dover Symphony, Principal Conductor for the Weierstrass Society Concerts of Contemporary Music (New York, NY) and Conductor in Residence for Jeunesse Musicale of Europe (Croatia). Mr. Futterman holds a Master's degree from the Juilliard School of Music, a Bachelor's degree from Manhattan School of Music, and completed two years of Doctoral Studies and advanced studies in Linguistics and Musicology at Brandeis University. Always active as a composer, Mr. Futterman's works include orchestral and chamber music. His Ode, with text by Theodore Roethke, was performed on tour in many cities throughout the United States. Lepi nash kostanich, variations on an original Istrian folk song, was premiered in the spring of 1995 and has been performed on numerous occasions in the U.S. and in Croatia. His orchestral works include Farrago and Fugue(1997); Double Trouble, a setting of the Witches' Scene from Macbeth; the World Beat Dance Suite #1 (1998); World Beat Dance Suite #2 (2000) and Fiesta Mexicana (2005).
You can hear his Chamber Orchestra here.
You can hear his Chamber Orchestra here.