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2010 INTERNATIONAL EVENINGS OF DANCE
Dancer Bios | PERFORMING ARTISTS: |  | Clifton Brown, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Clifton Brown trained at various schools including Take 5 Dance Academy, Ballet Arizona, New School for the Arts and The Ailey School, where he was a student in the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. Program in Dance. Mr. Brown is a recipient of a Donna Wood Foundation Award, a Level 1 ARTS award given by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, and was a 2005 nominee in the U.K. for a Critics Circle National Dance Award for best male dancer. In 2007, Mr. Brown received a Bessie Award in recognition of his work with the Ailey company. He has performed with Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance and as a guest artist with the Miami City Ballet. Mr. Brown joined the Company in 1999.
|  | Herman Cornejo, American Ballet Theatre, Corella Ballet Castille y Leon, Espana
Herman Cornejo was born in San Luis, Argentina and began his ballet studies at the age of eight at the Superior Institute of Art at the Colon Theatre. A multiple prize winner in several prestigious South American competitions, he went on to study at the School of American Ballet in New York as a scholarship student. He then joined Ballet Argentino as a soloist. At the age of 16, Cornejo became the youngest Gold Medal winner in the history of the International Dance Competition in Moscow (1997). He was then promoted to Principal Dancer with Ballet Argentino, alternating with Julio Bocca in all the principal roles in the repertoire during the company’s worldwide tours. Cornejo joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company (now ABT II) in 1998 and the Company's corps de ballet in 1999. Promoted to Soloist in August 2000, his roles with the Company include the Bronze Idol in La Bayadère, the Red Cowboy in Billy the Kid, the fourth movement in Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, the Jester in Ben Stevenson's Cinderella, Franz in Coppélia, Ali the Slave, Lankendem and Birbanto in Le Corsaire, It Was Spring in Dim Lustre, Basilio and the lead gypsy in Don Quixote, Puck in The Dream, the first sailor in Fancy Free, Alain in La Fille mal gardée, Albrecht and the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, The Man in HereAfter (Heaven), the Joker in Jeu de Cartes, Lescaut in Manon, the Lead Pontevedrian Dancer and the Maitre D’ in The Merry Widow, the Nutcracker-Prince and the Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Cassio in Othello, Petrouchka in Petrouchka, the Piper in The Pied Piper, the Son in Prodigal Son, Abderakman and Bernard in Raymonda, Romeo and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Prince Désiré and the Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, the Rose in Le Spectre de la Rose, Benno and the Neapolitan dance in Swan Lake, James and Gurn in La Sylphide, Eros in Sylvia, the third movement in Symphony in C, Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew, Le Grand Pas de Deux, Sinatra Suite, the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and Theme and Variations and roles in Amazed in Burning Dreams, Ballo della Regina, Baroque Game, Brief Fling, Clear, Company B, Diversion of Angels, Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes, Gong, Jabula, Marimba, Mozartiana, Overgrown Path, Petite Mort, Sinfonietta and workwithinwork. He created Fortune in HereAfter, Rabbit in Rabbit and Rogue and leading roles in The Brahms/Haydn Variations, C. to C. (Close to Chuck), Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra, Glow - Stop, Pretty Good Year, Seven Sonatas and I Dig Love in Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison. Cornejo was appointed a Principal Dancer in August 2003.
|  | Joaquin DeLuz, New York City Ballet
Joaquin De Luz was born in Madrid and received his training at the Victor Ullate School of Ballet. He danced with Victor Ullate Ballet Company from 1992 until 1995. In March 1996, Mr. De Luz won the Gold Medal at the Second Nureyev International Ballet Competition in Budapest, Hungary, and in August of that year, he joined the Pennsylvania Ballet as a Soloist. With Pennsylvania Ballet, he danced leading roles in La Bayadere, Diana and Acteon, Don Quixote, Paquita Suite, The Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake, as well as George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, Theme and Variations, and Who Cares? Mr. De Luz joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in 1997 and was promoted to Soloist in 1998. His repertory with ABT included the Bronze Idol in La Bayadere (choreographed by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa), the Red Cowboy in Billy the Kidd (Eugene Loring), the first sailor in Fancy Free (Jerome Robbins), Benno in Swan Lake (Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov), and leading roles in Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 (Clark Tippet) and Theme and Variations (George Balanchine). Mr. De Luz has appeared as a Guest Artist in numerous dance events as well as with the Ballet Mediterraneo with Fernando Bujones and with American Ballet Stars 1997 Tour of China. In February 1997, Mr. De Luz was awarded the Rising Star prize by Seven Arts Magazine in Philadelphia. Mr. De Luz represented Spain at the Expo '98 in Lisbon, dancing in the gala Stars of Spanish Ballet. Mr. De Luz joined New York City Ballet as a Soloist in 2003, and in January 2005, he was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer. Since joining NYCB, he has danced featured roles in George Balanchine's Ballo Della Regina, Coppelia (Frantz), George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (Cavalier, Tea, and Candy Cane), Harlequinade (Pierrot, Harlequin), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oberon), Symphony in C (third movement), Tarantella, Theme and Variations, and Valse-Fantaisie; Peter Martins' Jeu de Cartes and The Sleeping Beauty (Bluebird); and Jerome Robbins' Andantino, Dances at a Gathering, Fancy Free, The Four Seasons (Fall), and The Goldberg Variations. Mr. De Luz originated a featured role in Christopher Wheeldon's Shambards.
|  | Hilary Guswiler, Royal Danish Ballet
Hilary Guswiler was born in 1990 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She received her training at the Royal Danish Ballet School. Ms. Guswiler joined the Royal Danish Ballet as an apprentice in 2006 and became a member of the corps de ballet in 2008.
|  | Natalia Hills and Gabriel Missé, Buenos Aires
Gabriel Missé is one of the great milongueros (self-taught dancers) of this generation. At the age of eight, in his native Buenos Aires, he began studying with great masters of tango such as Antonio Todaro and Pepito Avellaneda. Mr. Missé toured the world as part of Miguel Angel Zotto’s company Tango x 2. He began dancing with Natalia Hills in Buenos Aires in 2009, when they presented Romper el Piso.
Born in Buenos Aires, Natalia Hills appears as both a dancer and a choreographer in various national and international productions. Ms. Hills was one of the original members of the Broadway and London hit Forever Tango. During her association with the company (1995-2005), she choreographed two classic numbers Gallo Ciego and Derecho Viejo, which have been presented in major cities throughout the world.
|  | Carla Körbes, Pacific Northwest Ballet
Carla Körbes was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and began her ballet training at age five with local teachers. At age eleven, she began studying at Ballet Vera Bublitz. In 1996, Peter Boal danced with her as a guest artist of the school and encouraged her to come to New York to study at the School of American Ballet. For academic year 1997–1998, her tuition was paid by Alexandra Danilova so she could continue studying at the School of American Ballet. In 1999, she was the Mae. L. Wien Award recipient and was made an apprentice with New York City Ballet. She joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2000 and was the Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2001–2002. She was promoted to soloist in 2005 and later that year joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a soloist. Ms. Körbes was promoted to principal dancer in 2006.
In 2002, Ms. Körbes performed Richard Tanner's Ancient Airs and Dances for the nationally televised PBS Live from Lincoln Center broadcast, "New York City Ballet's Diamond Project: Ten Years of New Choreography."
In addition to her performances with New York City Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ms. Körbes has performed with Peter Boal and Company. In 2007, she performed in the worldwide company debut performance of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. She has also performed as a guest artist on the Vail International Dance Festival's "International Evenings of Dance" galas.
|  | Misa Kuranaga, Boston Ballet
Misa Kuranaga began her training at the Jinushi Kaoru Ballet School and later continued at the School of American Ballet. Kuranaga has been a member of San Francisco Ballet. Kuranaga joined Boston Ballet in 2003. She was promoted to second soloist in 2005, soloist in 2007 and to principal dancer in 2009.
She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including a gold medal in the Junior Division of the Ninth Moscow International Ballet Competition and the gold medal in the senior division of the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition. Her repertoire includes La Fille mal gardée (Lise); Bournonville’s La Sylphide (the Sylph); Maina Gielgud’s production of Giselle (peasant pas de deux); Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty (Princes Aurora, Songbird Fairy and Princess Florine); Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker (Snow Queen, Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara) and Swan Lake (Black Swan pas de deux, pas de trois, pas de cinq); Nureyev’s Don Quixote (Amour/Cupid); James Kudelka’s Cinderella; Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet; George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15, Serenade (the Russian girl), Rubies, Who Cares?, Concerto Barocco and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (lead butterfly); Mark Morris’ Up and Down; Lucinda Childs’ Ten Part Suite; Boyko Dossev’s Crane; and Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room. Kuranaga has performed as a frequent guest artist internationally.
|  | Alban Lendorf, Royal Danish Ballet
Alban Lendorf was born in 1989 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He received his training at the Royal Danish Ballet School. Mr. Lendorf joined the Royal Danish Ballet as an apprentice in 2006 and became a member of the corps de ballet in 2008. |  | Tiler Peck, New York City Ballet
Tiler Peck was born in Bakersfield, California. She began her dance training at the age of seven, studying privately with former Bolshoi Ballet Principal Dancer Alla Khaniashvili in Hollywood. At the age of 11 she began studying at Conjunctive Point in Culver City, California, with former New York City Ballet dancers Colleen and Patricia Neary. During this time she also studied with former NYCB Principal Yvonne Mounsey at Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. At the age of 12, Ms. Peck entered the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, for most of the 2000-2001 Winter Term. She returned to SAB during the summers of 2002 and 2003, and that fall began as a full time student. In September 2004, Ms. Peck became an apprentice with New York City Ballet. In February 2005 she joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted to soloist in December 2006 and in October 2009 was promoted to Principal Dancer.
|  | Jamar Roberts, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Jamar Roberts graduated from the New World School of the Arts. He trained at the Joffrey Ballet School and as a fellowship student at The Ailey School. Mr. Roberts was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2002. |  | Daniil Simkin, American Ballet Theatre
Daniil Simkin was born in Russia to a ballet family. In 1990, the family left for the West and, after several international engagements, settled in Wiesbaden, Germany, where Simkin first appeared on the stage. From the age of six he often appeared onstage, dancing alongside his father Dimitrij Simkin. At ten, Simkin began his training under the direction of his mother, Olga Aleksandrova. At 12, he began participating in ballet competitions and galas around the world and, at the same time, he finished his academic education. He joined the ballet company of the Vienna State Opera in 2006 as a demi-soloist and since then has danced many roles in the classical, neoclassical and contemporary repertoire of the company. In 2007, he danced his first principal role, Basilio in Don Quixote, as a guest with the Lithuanian National Opera. Simkin’s awards include the Senior Gold Medal at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson 2006, Grand Prix International Ballet Competition Helsinki 2005 and First Prize and Gold Medal at the 21st International Ballet Competition in Varna 2004, among others. Simkin joined American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in October 2008. His repertoire with the Company includes a featured role in Company B, Lankendem in Le Corsaire, the Flames of Paris pas de deux, the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, the Son in Prodigal Son, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the pas de trois in Swan Lake, Gurn in La Sylphide, Eros and a Goat in Sylvia and leading roles in Allegro Brillante and One of Three. He created a role in Everything Doesn't Happen at Once.
|  | Eric Underwood, The Royal Ballet
Born in Washington, D.C., he trained locally under the direction of Barbara Marks, then at the School of American Ballet, New York, where he was awarded the Philip Morris Foundation Scholarship. He joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 2000, promoted to Soloist, 2001, and then joined ABT in 2003. His repertory included leading roles in The Four Temperaments, Agon, Forsythe’s Work within Work, Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Swan Lake (Von Rothbart) and roles in Cinderella (Officer), Manon (Gentleman) and Sylvia (Apollo). He joined The Royal Ballet in 2006. He has since danced Mrs Pettitoes and the Consort to the Queen of Fire (Homage to The Queen), among others, and created roles in Chroma, DGV: danse à grande vitesse, Seven Deadly Sins and Wheeldon’s recent Electric Counterpoint.
|  | Wendy Whelan, New York City Ballet
Wendy Whelan was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where at the age of three she began taking dance classes with Virginia Wooton, a local teacher. At age eight she performed as a mouse with the Louisville Ballet in its annual production of The Nutcracker. Joining the Louisville Ballet Academy that year, she began intense professional ballet training. In 1981 she received a scholarship to the summer course at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, and a year later, became a full-time student there. In 1984, Ms. Whelan danced as an apprentice with New York City Ballet. Ms. Whelan became a member of New York City Ballet's corps de ballet in January 1986. She was promoted to the rank of soloist during the 1989 spring season and to the rank of principal dancer in the 1991 spring season.
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