Auditorium Theatre 2021-2022, Issue 4, Ballet Hispanico

18 | AUDITORIUM THEATRE :: BALLET HISPÁNICO The Company (continued) Production Mariano Zamora González ( Apprentice ) is a Costa Rican artist residing in New York City. He began his training at Jazzgoba Dance Academy and later continued at CityDance School & Conservatory in Washington DC. He accepted a scholarship to pursue a BFA in Dance from the University of Southern California under the direction of Jodie Gates. Mariano also acquired a minor in Architecture to combine his visual and kinesthetic talents with functionality of form and space. He is eager to explore various platforms, on concert stages, commercially, and through media entertainment, as his artistic career takes off. This is Mariano’s 1st season with Ballet Hispánico. Nina Basu ( School of Dance Pa’lante Scholar ) hails from Tampa, Florida. She began her dance career at the age of 13 under the tutelage of Paula Nunez and Osmany Montano at America’s Ballet School. She primarily trained in ballet, dancing in roles such as Clara in the Nutcracker , Paquita in Paquita , and Little Red in Sleeping Beauty . In 2016, ballet took Nina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she attended The Rock School for Dance Education’s 2013 Summer Intensive, ultimately performing as a soloist in the ballet, Symphony in C . Although ballet has been her primary interest, she attended The Alonzo King Lines Ballet workshops from 2013–2015. After HS graduation, Nina completed her BA in Anthropology- Sociology in Baltimore, Maryland, and continued ballet as a teacher at Baltimore Ballet. Nina is currently a Pa’lante Scholar in Ballet Hispanico’s first pre-professional training program,and is excited by these newly afforded opportunities. Glenn Allen Sims ( Company Manager ) performed for 23 years as a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Mr. Sims grew up in Long Branch, New Jersey where he began his classical dance training at the Academy of Dance Arts in Tinton Falls, NJ. He received a scholarship to the Ailey School’s Summer Intensive and attended The Juilliard School under Benjamin Harkarvy. Mr. Sims has been featured on several network television programs, including BET Honors, Dancing With The Stars, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and So You Think You Can Dance. Mr. Sims, a master teacher, is a certified Zena Rommett Floor-Barre instructor and certified Pilates mat instructor. He has performed in the White House Dance Series and for the King of Morocco. He was featured on the cover of and has written a guest blog for Dance Magazine. SK Watson ( Production Manager ) has worked as a lighting designer for live events and theater for nearly 20 years regionally and in New York. Watson was the lighting supervisor for New York Stage and Film for four seasons. They have designed and coordinated lighting for events and concerts in NYC for the past several years. Favorites include Rihanna’s Diamond Ball, War Child, Michael Kors, and many more. They have also worked extensively with theater companies in New York including Underling Productions, St. Bat’s Players, Everyday Inferno, and others, and have designed over fifty productions for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Watson holds a BA from Centre College and an MFA in lighting design from Ohio University. They are thrilled to be working with Ballet Hispánico.