Alberto Velazquez

Soloist of The Joffrey Ballet

Dance Open: 2019

Cuba gifted us many talented ballet dancers and Alberto Velazquez is a distinguished representative of the constellation of Cuban renowned artists. He began his ballet studies in Havana, then moved to Mexico where he finished a ballet school. When Alberto was student, he became famous as a gold medalist in pas de deux and a finalist in the Youth America Grand Prix National Finals in 2006. He also performed for the 50th Anniversary Gala of the Spoleto Festival in Italy and the 12th International Ballet Festival in Miami, Florida.

In 2008 Alberto joined the prestigious Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre on full scholarship, which has strongly contributed to his career development: in 2009 he already became a member of ABT II under the artistic direction of Wes Chapman and in 2011 joined the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. His repertoire included roles classical ballets interpreted by contemporary choreographers — Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake, Robert Joffrey's The Nutcracker, Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère, Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, Krzysztof Pastor’s Romeo & Juliet and others. Also his repertoire includes roles in Wayne McGregor’s Infra, William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence, Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table, Jiří Kylián’s Forgotten Land and many others.