Auditorium Theatre 2021-2022, Issue 4, Ballet Hispanico

16 | AUDITORIUM THEATRE :: BALLET HISPÁNICO Amanda Lauren del Valle was born and raised in Miami, Fl where she began her early training with Miami Youth Ballet under the direction of Marielena Mencia and Yanis Pikieris. She continued her training at the New World School of the Arts with Mary Lisa Burns as the Dean of Dance. She graduated in 2016 with training in classical ballet, Horton, Limón, and the Graham technique. Amanda then continued her studies at Point Park University where she received her Bachelors in Fine Arts under the direction of Garfield Lemonius. There she had the honor of working with Jennifer Archibald, Jessica Lang, Robert Priore, Christopher Huggins, and Yin Yue. This is Amanda’s 1st season with Ballet Hispánico. Alexander Haquia grew up in Morris County, New Jersey and began his dance training at Nicole’s Broadway Dance Company at the age of 15. He is currently a student in the Ailey/Fordham BFA program and has previously studied at the Taylor School, ABT, and the The School at Jacob’s Pillow as a summer intensive student. Alexander has worked with choreographers including Francesca Harper, Twyla Tharp, Helen Simoneau, Ronnie Favors, Pedro Ruiz, Ray Mercer, and Yusha Marie Sorzano. He has performed at the Holland Dance Festival as well as in Memoria with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. This is Alexander’s 1st season with Ballet Hispánico. Paulo Hernandez-Farella is a first-generation Salvadoran-American from Los Angeles, California. After four years at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, they attended the University of Southern California on a full-ride. In just four years, Paulo graduated with both a BFA in Dance from the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and a Master’s in Public Administration from the USC Price School of Public Policy. Paulo has been a scholarship student for a multitude of renowned schools such as the Juilliard School Summer Intensive, the Joffrey Ballet’s International Intensive, and Alonzo King LINES Intensive. Paulo is also one of seven 2016– 2017 dance scholars with Nigel Lythgoe’s Dizzyfeet Foundation. During their career Paulo has studied and performed the works of Forsythe, Kylián, Duato, Balanchine, Graham, Taylor, Petipa, Lopez-Ochoa, Rhoden, Cerrudo, Andrea Miller, Aszure Barton, and choreographed their own original work. This is Paulo’s 3rd season with Ballet Hispánico. Cori Lewis grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana where she began her dance training at Lusher Charter School and The New Orleans Ballet Association. While at NOBA, she performed works by José Limón, Ronald K. Brown, Dwight Rhoden, Martha Graham, David Parsons, and Darrell Grand Moultrie. She received her BFA in Dance with a Minor in Mathematics/Computer Science from SUNY Purchase. She performed for children across the greater New York area with BH dos for the 2018 season. This is Cori’s first season with Ballet Hispánico. Laura Lopez is from Miami, FL, where she trained at Patricia Penenori Dance Center. She attended New World School of the Arts High School where she continued her dance training. Lopez was a 2013 Young Arts finalist and was nominated as a Presidential Scholar. In April 2016, she graduated New World College, where she received her BFA in Dance from the University of Florida. Lopez has danced professionally with Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Ballet Hispánico’s BH dos . She has attended summer programs at Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, Miami City Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Jacob’s Pillow and has performed the works of Eduardo Vilaro, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Robert Moses, and many more. This is Laura’s 4th season with Ballet Hispánico. Hugo Pizano Orozco ( Apprentice ) was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and moved to New Mexico at an early age where he began his training with NDI-NM. He attended the New Mexico School for the Arts under the direction of Garrett Anderson. Hugo is currently a fourth-year dancer at the Juilliard School, where he will graduate with a BFA in Dance in 2022. During his time at Juilliard, he has had the pleasure of learning repertoire by Forsythe, Balanchine, The Company (continued)