Daniel Sarabia (born 9 December 1984,

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba) is a Cuban ballet dancer with the Maurice Béjart Ballet of

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Biography

Daniel Sarabia is the son of Cuban dancer Rolando Sarabia, and his brother is currently a principal ballet dancer with the Washington Ballet,

Rolando Sarabia Rolando Sarabia Oquendo (born 18 August 1982) is a Cuban-born American ballet dancer. He was an acclaimed Principal Dancer for The Washington Ballet under artistic director Julie Kent and former artistic director Septime Webre. He has danced with ...

. In an interview with ''Dance Magazine'', Daniel explained: "Our father was our first influence and my inspiration...Ballet is in our blood."

Life and career

In 1993 Daniel Sarabia joined the Provincial School of Ballet

Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French an ...

in Havana, and graduated from the

Cuban National Ballet School The Cuban National Ballet School ''(Escuela Nacional Cubana de Ballet)'' in Havana, with approximately 3,000 students is the biggest ballet school in the world and the most prestigious ballet school in Cuba. It is directed by Ramona de Sáa. His ...

in 2002. He won

Bronze Medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the International Ballet Competition of Havana in 1998, the Silver Medal in 1999 and also the prize for "Young Revelation", and in 2002 he won the

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. He began his professional career with the Cuban National Ballet in 2002 under the direction of

prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

Alicia Alonso Alicia Alonso (born Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo; 21 December 1920 – 17 October 2019) was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is best ...

. After two years dancing with the company he defected in 2005 to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where that year he won the

Silver Medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the

New York International Ballet Competition The New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC), was a program providing dance education and employment opportunities for young dancers ages 17 to 24. In 1983 Ilona Copen founded NYIBC, with Igor Youskevitch as first artistic director, in ord ...

. His brother Rolando also defected to the US, in 2006. He has appeared in Latin America, the United States, Asia and Europe, dancing such roles as Basilio in '' Don Quixote'', Puck in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'', Siegfried in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'' choreography of

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

, '' In the Night'' by

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

, '' Three Preludes'' by Ben Stevenson for the Gala of Stars in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He has also performed in the principal roles in such works as the ''

Diane and Actéon Pas de Deux ''Le Roi Candaule'' (en. ''King Candaules'') is a ''Grand ballet'' in four acts and six scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Cesare Pugni. The libretto is by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and is based on the history of ...

'', the '' Black Swan Pas de Deux'' and '' Le Corsaire''. He danced with the

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...

in 2005-2006, the Miami City Ballet in 2007 and is a current dancer with the Béjart Ballet of Lausanne.

Awards

*2005

Silver Medal New York International Ballet Competition Winners *2002 International Ballet Competition of Havana Silver Medal *1999 International Ballet Competition of Havana Gold Medal and "Prize for Young Revelation" *1998 International Ballet Competition of Havana Bronze Medal and "Best Performance"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarabia, Daniel Cuban male ballet dancers Cuban ballet dancers Living people 1984 births Cuban National Ballet dancers Miami City Ballet dancers