Alongside Patricia Barker's retirement at the end of this season, Christophe Maraval recently announced that he will be leaving the company at the end of the season, moving to Montreal and a teaching position with Ballet Divertimento de Montreal. He's performing in the upcoming Stravinsky rep, and the June 9 evening performance will be dedicated to him (he'll be doing Symphony in Three Movements and a piece d'occasion pas de deux choreographed by Peter Boal.

I'm very sad to see him go -- I've loved watching him dance and was hoping for at least a couple more years, but there it is.

When Boal mentioned in one of the post-performance Q&A's that there would be more than one retirement at the end of the season, I was hoping it would not be Maraval, one of my favorite men in the Company.

It will be very sad to see him go, but I hope he has a great experience in Montreal, one of the great North American cities.

Yes, well, in a post-show Q&A this week Boal hinted that there might be other retirements besides Barker and Maraval, at the end of this season.

There's a full-page insert in the program in "In honor of Christophe Maraval's retirement from Pacific Northwest Ballet" for the 9 June performance. (Although he is scheduled to dance in the Patricia Barker performance as well.)

On the front is a montage of photos by Angela Stirling. On the back is a short thank you in French from the company, a bio, and excerpts from reviews in which Maraval is praised.

Maraval's retirement is also noted in Peter Boal's "Director's Notebook" in the "Stravinsky 125" program: