had created roles in Mercurial Manoeuvres, Evenfalls and Shambards. She also created a role in Twyla Tharp's The Beethoven Seventh. In 1999, Weese performed in a televised performance of Swan Lake as Odette-Odile under an hour's notice, in order to replace Darci Kistler, who got injured earlier that day. While Weese was Kistler's standby, she had never rehearsed her partner Damian Woetzel. In late 2001, she underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in her hip, and was off stage for a year. While recovering, she gained significant weight and feared she would not be able to perform again. She returned to California to train with her teacher, then back to New York with ballet master Susan Hendl, while fellow dancers Peter Boal, Jock Soto and Woetzel also volunteered to work with her. She resumed performing in early 2003. In 2007, Weese left the New York City Ballet to perform with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, a Seattle-based company headed by Boal, as a guest artist. In her final performance with the New York City Ballet, she performed Wheeldon's Evenfall. She stated the Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she had made a guest appearance before, has "a schedule and a lifestyle that’s very appealing" to her, as she would have more time to prepare for roles, and the rehearsal and performance periods do not overlap. She first signed on for three seasons, then was added to the company roster as a principal dancer, and retired in 2010. Following her departure from the Pacific Northwest Ballet, she moved to Saratoga, New York, and taught ballet and dance fitness at the National Museum of Dance School of the Arts. In 2017, she joined the Boston Ballet as children's ballet master. References Living people People from San Bernardino, California People from Orange County, California American ballerinas Ballet teachers Ballet masters New York City Ballet principal dancers Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Boston Ballet School of American Ballet alumni Dancers from California 20th-century American ballet dancers 21st-century American ballet dancers Princess Grace Awards winners American people of Cherokee descent American adoptees Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women