NACHO DUATO

NACHO DUATO, born in Valencia, Spain, started professional ballet training with the Rambert School in London at eighteen, expanding studies at Maurice Béjart’s Mudra School in Brussels and completing his dance education at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Centre in New York. In 1980 Duato signed his first professional contract with the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm and a year later Jirí Kylián brought him to the Nederlands Dans Theater in Holland, where he was quickly incorporated into company and repertoire. His first choreographic attempt in 1983 turned into a major success: Jardí Tancat to Spanish/Catalan music by compatriot Ma del Mar Bonet won him the first prize at the International Choreographic Workshop (Internationaler Choreographischer Wettbewerb) at Cologne. Duato has created more than a dozen works for the two companies of Nederlands Dans Theater and in 1988 was named Resident Choreographer next to Hans van Manen and Jirí Kylián. His ballets form part of the repertoire of companies like Paris Opera, Cullberg Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Deutche Opera Ballet, Australian Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Ballet Gulbenkian, Finish Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The Singapore Ballet, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The Washington Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, North Carolina Dance Thatre, The Boston Ballet, The Gothemburg Ballet, The Royal Swedish Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Northen Ballet, Ballet du Capitole, Ballet du Rhin, Teatro Comunale Florence, National Ballet of Portugal, The Norweigian Ballet, National Theatre Tokio, The Universal Ballet, Stars Foundation Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Staats Theater Berlin, Bolshoi Ballet, etc. From June 1990 until July 2010 Nacho Duato was Artistic Director of Compañía Nacional de Danza (Madrid-Spain). In 1995 he received the grade of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres which is annually given by the French Embassy in Spain. In 1998 the Spanish Government awarded him the Golden Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts. At the Stuttgart Opera he was offered the Benois de la Danse, one of the most prestigious international awards for choreography, presented by the International Dance Association for his ballet Multiplicity, Forms of Silence and Emptiness, in April 2000. From January, 2011 he held the position of Artistic Director of Mikhailowsky Ballet (Saint Petersburg, Russia). In 2014 he became Intendant and Artistic Director of Berlin State Ballet (Germany).

AMY HALL GARNER

AMY HALL GARNER is a native of Huntsville, Alabama, and a graduate of The Juilliard School. Her work has been praised internationally and commissioned by Ailey II, ABT Studio Company, Collage Dance Collective, The Juilliard School, The Ailey School, Barnard College, The University of the Arts, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Point Park University, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Recently, she has received virtual commissions from BalletX, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process Digital Series, ABT Studio Company, Boulder Ballet and a virtual collaboration between Miami City Ballet and Paul Taylor American Modern Dance. She personally coached Grammy Award winner Beyoncé, providing additional choreography for The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. Theatrical choreography credits include: The Color Purple (Milwaukee Repertory Theater) and Invisible Thread, associate choreographer (Second Stage Theater, NYC). In 2018, she was selected to participate in Alvin Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab supported by the Ford Foundation. Garner was one of the first recipients of the Joffrey Ballet’s Choreography of Color Award (now titled Winning Works). She is an adjunct professor at New York University’s New Studio on Broadway at Tisch School of the Arts. In 2021, Ms. Garner was a Virginia B. Toulmin Fellow at The Center for Ballet and the Arts. Currently, she is creating and reimagining the classical ballet narrative The Nutcracker, at Baltimore School for the Arts.

JUEL D. LANE

JUEL D. LANE has been noted as one of the most gifted dance talents in the country, and his awe-inspiring work today still yields this title. An Atlanta native, he received his early training from Tri-Cities High School,The Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, and The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Lane is one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.” He has performed nationally and internationally with Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, and currently dances with Bessie Award-winning Camille A. Brown & Dancers. He has presented works on Ailey II, Dallas Black Dance Theater, Atlanta Ballet,  Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, and various universities. Dancer: The Metropolitan Opera, “Fire Shut Up In My Bones, Harlem, Amazon Prime Series, NBC Jesus Christ Superstar Live. Executive Artistic Associate with the Black Acting Methods Studio. Theatre Credits: True Colors Theatre: Spunk, Alliance Theatre: I  DREAM, PCLO: Once (Associate Choreographer), The DCPA & ACT Theatre: Choir Boy.  Bronzelens film festival award winner for, “The Maestro.” @jueldlane