Ballet Dancers Participate in 3-Week Intensive Summer Program

Ballet students from all across Florida have flocked to Brandon for an incredible training experience.

Serious pre-professional ballet dancers, accepted by audition only, are currently participating in a three-week ballet intensive summer program under former Cuban Nation Ballet principal dancer and current artistic director of the Brandon Ballet, Octavio Martin, in addition to a number of internationally renowned professional guest artists. 

While ballet students work hard all year to hone their ballet skills, summer is the time to boost their training to the next level and attend a ballet summer intensive where they can train under professional guest artists they would not normally get to work with; this year, nearly 50 students have chosen Brandon Ballet as their school of study.

Martin has acquired an incredible roster of instructors for the 2013 Brandon Ballet summer intensive.

Faustino Rios (Flamenco instructor)- Originally from Mexico, Rios is the son of guitarist Roberto Rios, and has studied Flamenco and Spanish dance since a young age. He made his debut at age 14 with the Ramon de los Reyes Spanish Dance Theatre, and is currently performing with Jose Greco, Jose Greco II, Maria Benitez, Charo and the Boston-based companies of Ramon de los Reyes and Omayra Amaya.

Leymis Bolaños Wilmott & the Fuzion Dance Artists (Contemporary instructors)- Leymis is the artistic director and co-founder, choreographer and community outreach coordinator of the Fuzion Dance Artists. She is a recipient of the 2008 Arts Leadership Award for Artistic Achievement from the Sarasota Arts Council, the Sarasota Artist Fellowship and was nominated by Sarasota Magazine as best choreographer in a musical for "Miss Saigon," presented at the Players Theatre. Wilmott received the esteemed Dance Magazine award for Southeast Best Choreographer and was listed in Sarasota Magazine as one of the top 28 Most Powerful People in the Arts. She was one of five choreographers chosen to participate in the Choreographer Intensive at Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival. Wilmott is the first to receive a certificate in Dance and Healing from the University of Florida and has a master of fine arts in performance/choreography from Florida State University. Fuzion will be sending multiple instructors to Brandon Ballet throughout the duration of the intensive.

Natalia Magnicaballi (Ballet instructor)- Magnicaballi was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has been a principal dancer with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet since 1999 and with Ballet Arizona since 2002. A graduate from Teatro Colón, she became a principal dancer at the age of 19 with Julio Bocca's Ballet Argentino, since then she has also performed in Europe with Aterballetto and in South America with Teatro San Martin. She has toured and performed in the main houses and arena theaters on five continents, including the Paris Opera Garnier and the Mariinsky Theatre. Magnicaballi has been featured as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” and named the Best Dancer of the State of Arizona by The Arizona Republic.

Pierre Villanoba (Ballet instructor)- Recently retired after 15 years at the San Francisco Ballet, Villanoba was born in Lille Nord, France, and trained at the Lille Conservatory and Paris Opéra Ballet School. After dancing with Paris Opéra Ballet, he joined San Francisco Ballet as a soloist in 1998 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1999. He has performed at galas around the world and in several ballet films with the Paris Opéra Ballet, including Nureyev’s "Romeo and Juliet." In December 2008, Villanoba was featured as the Snow King in the PBS Great Performances broadcast of "Tomasson’s Nutcracker," co-produced by San Francisco Ballet and KQED Public Television San Francisco, in association with Thirteen/WNET New York.

Javier Torres (Ballet instructor)- Torres is ranked Premier Dancer at the Northern Ballet in England. Originally from Cuba, Torres trained at the National School of Ballet, Havana, and has performed with Ballet Nacional de Cuba. Torres performs internationally as a guest artist on a regular basis. His performance as Caesar in "Cleopatra" was voted one of the top 100 favorite performances by the critics of the UK in Dance Europe Magazine for the 2010-11 season. In 2012 he received the award "Constructores de la Danza" for his contribution to the Culture of the state of Ceara in Brazil.

Founded in 1993, Brandon Ballet is a nonprofit pre-professional ballet company that develops and promotes opportunities for aspiring young dancers. By offering a superior training program and two major performances and two mixed repertory performances each year, the Brandon Ballet helps serious dancers broaden their dance experiences.

From its humble beginnings, the company has grown to include 42 dancers of varying levels. Professional dancers and training dancers call the Brandon Ballet home. The Brandon Ballet provides Brandon and the surrounding communities with an education in the art of dance. The Brandon Ballet serves the community through performances held at public facilities. All company dancers receive the highest caliber of professional training on a weekly basis and are provided the opportunity to learn standard classical repertoire. The Brandon Ballet has and will continue to foster growth and education by bringing guest teachers and choreographers to the community.