Jock Soto (born 1965)Kisselgoff, Anna. "Not Only a Partner, a Dynamic Interpreter", ''The New York Times'', June 18, 2005. p. B7. is a former American

ballet dancer 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 ...

and current ballet instructor.

Career

Jock Soto danced featured roles in over 40 ballets, of which more than 35 were created for him. While a student at the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

(SAB) he danced the role of Luke in

Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...

' ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'', which was choreographed for SAB's 1981 workshop performances. It transferred to the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

, and he retained his role. He joined New York City Ballet in 1981 and made his debut as Luke in ''The Magic Flute'' the following January. He was promoted to soloist in 1984 and to

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

in 1985. Soto danced the role of a parent in the 1993 film version of ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', a version based on the New York City Ballet production choreographed by

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 ...

. He gave his farewell performance on Sunday, June 19, 2005. The program featured ballets by five different choreographers: "Dance at the Gym" from

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 ...

' ''

West Side Story Suite ''West Side Story Suite'' is a ballet suite choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Robbins conceived, directed and choreographed the 1957 musical ''West Side Story'', then co-directed its 1961 film adaptation, before including parts of the choreogra ...

'',

' ''

Barber Violin Concerto The ''Barber Violin Concerto'' is a ballet made by New York City Ballet ballet master in chief Peter Martins to Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto, Op. 14 (1939). The premiere was conducted by Robert Irving and took place on 12 May 1988 at the New ...

'',

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

's ''

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

'',

Lynne Taylor-Corbett Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Denver, Colorado. Life Lynne Taylor-Corbett grew up in the Denver, Colorado area, gaining her first exposure to dance through her mother, a pianist for ball ...

's ''

Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

'', and the Royal Navy section of George Balanchine's ''

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

''. He has been a permanent member of the faculty at SAB since 1996, where he teaches partnering and technique classes to intermediate and advanced students. He also has pursued a "culinary career".

Personal life

Soto was born in

Gallup, New Mexico Zuni: ''Kalabwaki'' , settlement_type = City , nickname = "Indian Capital of the World" , motto = , image_skyline = Gallup, New Mexico.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption ...

, and raised in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. His parents are Puerto Rican and

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

. Soto is openly gay. He had a long-term relationship with

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

, with whom he also had a critically lauded professional relationship. In June 2003, Soto met chef/sommelier Luis Fuentes and began a relationship with him. Soto and Fuentes were married in New York on October 14, 2011; their wedding was featured in ''The New York Times "Vows" column.Shattuck, Kathryn. "Vows: Jock Soto and Luis Fuentes", ''The New York Times'', November 3, 2011. p. ST16.

Filmography

*''

'' (1993) *''Water Flowing Together'' (2007), an award-winning documentary film about Jock Soto, directed and produced by Gwendolen Cates. Premiered on PBS Independent Lens April 2008.

Books

*"Every Step You Take" (2011), HarperCollins *"Our Meals" (a cookbook) with

Heather Watts Heather Watts (born Linda Heather Watts; September 27, 1953) is a ballet dancer, most known for her time with the New York City Ballet. Biography Born in Long Beach, California, her dream as a little girl was to be an actress. An acting coa ...

References

External links

Jock Soto video/interview on Plum TV
on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

' ''

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Ho ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soto, Jock Navajo people American people of Puerto Rican descent New York City Ballet principal dancers American male ballet dancers Ballet teachers People from Gallup, New Mexico School of American Ballet alumni School of American Ballet faculty LGBT Native Americans Gay entertainers LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT people from New Mexico 20th-century Native Americans 1960s births Living people Year of birth uncertain 20th-century American ballet dancers