In ballet, extension is everything. The ability to lift and hold the limbs in the air is the basis for much of a dancer’s movement and artistic expression. No one knows this as well as Lucien Postlewaite, who, at 42, has been dancing for almost his entire life. A principal at Pacific Northwest Ballet—and the last remaining dancer hired by the company’s longtime former artistic directors Kent Stowell and Francia Russell—Postlewaite is set to retire when this season ends. While many would struggle with walking away from the thing that has defined them for decades, Postlewaite, who has performed some of ballet’s most iconic roles, is motivated and ready, confident as he strides into a new chapter.

“A lot of people talk about the grief that comes with ending a dance career, but I’m excited to share the lessons I’ve learned from my highs and lows and transform them into helping other people find their light and engage with their purpose.”—Lucien Postlewaite, Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal Dancer

“I feel prepared,” he says during an early spring interview. “I’ve given myself a really nice runway as far as my retirement, and in that space, have given myself a lot of time to really be present with each moment. A lot of people talk about the grief that comes with ending a dance career, but I’m excited to share the lessons I’ve learned from my highs and lows and transform them into helping other people find their light and engage with their purpose.”

Come June, after his last curtain call, Postlewaite will focus full-time on personal coaching, where he hopes to help clients work through the issues holding them back from unlocking their full potential in their careers, relationships, and lives. This kind of expansion—a word he uses several times in our interview—is vital for creative growth. When it comes to the rigid world of ballet, which has long operated within strict boundaries surrounding acceptable body types, age, and gender roles, Postlewaite admits, “as expansive as I’ve been able to be in it, it has its limits.”

Postlewaite, who joined PNB as an apprentice in 2003 (and secured a spot as a principal in 2008), is known for his athleticism and his 1000-watt stage presence. He’s conquered dozens of roles, including the classic Nutcracker prince, the sultry male lead in Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun, the emotion-driven titular character in George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son, and tempestuous young Romeo in Roméo et Juliette. Originally choreographed by Jean-Christophe Maillot for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, the latter was the first full-length work acquired for PNB by current artistic director Peter Boal. In preparation for its debut, Maillot and three stagers from the Monaco-based dance company spent weeks in Seattle working on the production. It was a pivotal moment for Postlewaite.

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Lucien Postlewaite in Ulysses Dove’s Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven.

Photo by ANGELA STERLING.

“The commitment and the passion that they approach all of their work with was really intense,” he says. It was also attractive to the 28-year-old. “I was at a point where I was looking for new challenges in my life.”

At the time, Postlewaite was established in Seattle. “I was married, we had a condo, we were considering children,” he says. “There was a part of me that was just like, ‘I need to blow this up so that I can make room for a bigger version of me.’” In 2012, he joined Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and moved to Monaco. He credits the five years he spent at the company with expanding his physical skills and opening the door to the rest of the world.

Postlewaite returned to Seattle and PNB in 2017. “If I’m honest, it wasn’t what I imagined,” he says. He and his husband had gone through a painful, public divorce, and there were a handful of new principal dancers in the company—it was hard to mesh with the group. He was also 33, which, in ballet years, is closer to the end of a career than the beginning. “It was going to be harder for me to maintain the precision that classical work takes.” He admits to feeling isolated and sidelined; where he used to headline opening nights, he was now getting roles in the third cast.

For a while, he coped by putting his head down and working doubly hard, but even as he proved himself skill-wise, he sank deeper into depression. “There was a point where I was so broken that I couldn’t do it anymore,” Postlewaite says. That’s when he reached out to a professional for help with his mental health. Between therapy sessions and bravely sharing his struggles on social media, Postlewaite found a supportive community—and the will to keep moving forward with his career. “That really woke up this spirit in me of being there for other people … and reminding people that they’re not alone.”

PNB’s principal dancer Lucien Postlewaite.

Photo by LINDSAY THOMAS

In March, Postlewaite performed in Ulysses Dove’s Red Angels, a rapid-paced audience favorite that requires extreme precision, strength, and athleticism. The lack of sets or elaborate costumes lays bare a dancer’s skill—and the emotion brought to the stage with each performance. Postlewaite was glowing as he danced, his energy radiating across the stage and into the audience. He may be closing the curtain on one chapter of his life, but he’s determined to take everything he’s learned into the next. “I’m still growing here,” he says. “I’m still expanding.”

To contact Lucien Postlewaite or schedule a coaching season, visit www.lucienx.com.