[6] Under the directorship of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, originally of New York City Ballet,[7] it broke away from the Opera in 1977 and took its current name in 1978.

[9] A portrait by artist Michele Rushworth was painted of Stowell and Russell and installed in the Phelps Center, Seattle, to commemorate their careers and retirement.

[10] In July 2005, Peter Boal succeeded Stowell and Russell as artistic director following their retirement.

[citation needed] In 2013, the company and its orchestra toured to New York for the first time in sixteen years.

Pacific Northwest Ballet is noted for choosing dancers that have physique, expressivity and a variety of body shapes.