Gonzalo Garcia (dancer)

Gonzalo Garcia is a Spanish American ballet dancer. He joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1998, and was promoted to principal in 2002, at age 22. In 2007, he left the company and joined the New York City Ballet. He retired from performing in 2022 and remains in the company as a repertory director.

Gonzalo Garcia
Born1979 or 1980 (age 43–44)[1]
Zaragoza, Spain
CitizenshipSpain
United States
EducationSan Francisco Ballet School
Occupationballet dancer
Spouse
Ezra Hurwitz
​
(m. 2020)​
Career
Current groupNew York City Ballet
Former groupsSan Francisco Ballet

Early life

Garcia was born in Zaragoza, and trained at Maria de Avila's school. In 1995, he attended a summer intensive at the San Francisco Ballet School, where de Avila's daughter Lola taught. Later that year, he won the Prix de Lausanne at the age of 15, making him the youngest dancer to receive the award. After that, he returned to the San Francisco Ballet School as a full time student.[1][2] At age 17, he was offered a contract to join the San Francisco Ballet by the artistic director, Helgi Tómasson, though Garcia decided to study for one more year.[3]

Career

Garcia joined the San Francisco Ballet's corps de ballet in 1998, at age 18. In 2000, he became a soloist, and won the Princess Grace Award. In 2002, he was promoted to principal dancer at age 22, one of the youngest dancers in the company to reach this rank. He danced leading roles such as Albrecht in Giselle and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and originated the role of Nutcracker Prince in Tómasson's version of The Nutcracker.[1][2] In 2004, he made a guest appearance at the New York City Ballet and danced Ballo della Regina, as a part of George Balanchine's centennial.[4]

In May 2007, Garcia left the San Francisco Ballet after a performance of Don Quixote.[3] Garcia joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer in October 2007. His repertoire there includes works by Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, and originated roles in works by choreographers such as Justin Peck and Alexei Ratmansky.[2] He was coached by Mikhail Baryshnikov for Robbins' Opus 19/The Dreamer.[5] He had performed with Christopher Wheeldon's company, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company,[6] and appeared in video advertisements of Tiffany & Co. and iPhone.[7][8]

Garcia retired from performing in February 2022. He remains in the New York City Ballet as a repertory director.[9]

Personal life

Garcia is a naturalized American citizen.[10]

In August 2020, Garcia married Ezra Hurwitz,[11] a dancer-turned filmmaker.[12] They live in Upper West Side, Manhattan[13]

Selected repertoire

Garcia's repertoire with the San Francisco Ballet and New York City Ballet includes:[2]

Created roles

Awards and honors

References
  1. Ganahl, Jane (February 18, 2005). "When not airborne, Gonzalo Garcia's very down to earth about ballet, fame". San Francisco Chronicles.
  2. "Gonzalo Garcia". New York City Ballet. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  3. Howard, Rachel (May 2, 2007). "Garcia's last dance with San Francisco". San Francisco Chronicles.
  4. Kisselgoff, Anna (May 15, 2004). "Ballet Review; Two Guests Uncover a Different Side of Balanchine". New York Times.
  5. Kourlas, Gia (September 27, 2019). "Lessons From Baryshnikov on Robbins (Less Is More)". New York Times.
  6. Macauley, Alastair (August 13, 2017). "A First Turn for Wheeldon and Company". New York Times.
  7. Sherwin, Amanda (September 30, 2019). "Apple Tapped ABT and NYCB Stars for This Gorgeous iPhone Promo". Dance Spirit.
  8. Lansky, Chava (November 26, 2019). "This New Video Collab with Tiffany & Co. Features NYCB Dancers Dripping in Jewels". Pointe Magazine.
  9. Kourlas, Gia (March 2, 2022). "Winter Season at City Ballet: 'Now Is the Time for a New Generation'". New York Times.
  10. "Gonzalo Garcia on Instagram: "Gordo and I have Dual Citizenship!!!! 💪🦁 he told me he fells more Persian than anything... #americancitizen #spanishcitizen #gordo #catsofinstagram #readytotravel"". Instagram. June 1, 2017.
  11. "Gonzalo Garcia on Instagram: "@ezrahurwitz and I loved celebrating our love in a last minute garden wedding, and we're gonna love bringing ALL LOVED ONES together in Spain for our post pandemic celebration!"". Instagram. August 11, 2020.
  12. DeSantis, Marissa (February 13, 2020). "The Dance Power Couples of 2020". Dance Spirit.
  13. Milzoff, Rebecca (May 16, 2020). "5 Top Ballet Dancers Share Their Work-From-Home Setups". Domino.
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