Jock Soto | |
|---|---|
 Soto in a Vogue magazine video in 2014 | |
| Born | 1965 (age 58–59) Gallup, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Occupation | Principal dancer for the New York City Ballet |
Jock Soto (born 1965) [1] is a former American ballet dancer and current ballet instructor.
Jock Soto danced featured roles in over 40 ballets, of which more than 35 were created for him.
While a student at the School of American Ballet (SAB) he danced the role of Luke in Peter Martins' The Magic Flute , which was choreographed for SAB's 1981 workshop performances. It transferred to the New York City Ballet, and he retained his role. [1] He joined New York City Ballet in 1981 and made his debut as Luke in The Magic Flute the following January. [2] He was promoted to soloist in 1984 and to principal dancer in 1985.
Soto danced the role of a parent in the 1993 film version of The Nutcracker , a version based on the New York City Ballet production choreographed by George Balanchine.
He gave his farewell performance on Sunday, June 19, 2005. The program featured ballets by five different choreographers: "Dance at the Gym" from Jerome Robbins' West Side Story Suite , Peter Martins' Barber Violin Concerto , Christopher Wheeldon's Liturgy , Lynne Taylor-Corbett's Chiaroscuro , and the Royal Navy section of George Balanchine's Union Jack . [3]
He has been a permanent member of the faculty at SAB since 1996, where he teaches partnering and technique classes to intermediate and advanced students. He also has pursued a "culinary career". [4]
Soto was born in Gallup, New Mexico, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. His parents are Puerto Rican and Navajo. [1] Soto is openly gay. [5] He had a long-term relationship with choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, [6] [7] with whom he also had a critically lauded professional relationship. In June 2003, Soto met chef/sommelier Luis Fuentes and began a relationship [8] with him. Soto and Fuentes were married in New York on October 14, 2011; their wedding was featured in The New York Times' "Vows" column. [9]
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's first music director. City Ballet grew out of earlier troupes: the Producing Company of the School of American Ballet, 1934; the American Ballet, 1935, and Ballet Caravan, 1936, which merged into American Ballet Caravan, 1941; and directly from the Ballet Society, 1946.
The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the age of six, with professional vocational ballet training for students aged 11–18. Graduates of the school achieve employment with leading ballet companies worldwide, and in the United States with New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Houston Ballet.
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Troy Schumacher is an American choreographer, dancer, and director based in New York City. He is a soloist in the New York City Ballet and has choreographed for the company since 2014; before being promoted to soloist, he danced in NYCB's corps de ballet starting in 2005. He is the founder of Balletcollective, an arts collective that has created new ballet-based works since its inception in 2010. His work has been presented by New York City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, Performa, Danspace Project, Guggenheim Works & Process, the Joyce Theater, and NYU Skirball Center. In addition to live performances, Schumacher has choreographed numerous fashion and commercial shoots, including works for Sony PlayStation, Capezio featuring Maddie Ziegler, HP, Aritzia, CR Fashion Book, Tom Ford, and The New York Times. He has been dubbed a “visionary artist” by T Magazine and is “one of his generation’s most acclaimed choreographers”
Miranda Weese is an American former ballet dancer, teacher and ballet master. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1993 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1996. In 2007, she left to perform with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, first as a guest artist, then joined the company as a principal dancer, before retiring in 2010. In 2017, she joined the Boston Ballet as a children's ballet master.
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Silas Farley is an American ballet dancer, choreographer and educator. He danced at the New York City Ballet between 2013 and 2020, and choreographed outside the company. In 2021, he became the dean of Colburn School's Trudl Zipper Dance Institute.
Unity Sickles Phelan is an American ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2013 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2021. Outside of the company, she had also danced in films John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and I'm Thinking of Ending Things.