Roberta Marquez is a Brazilian

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 ye ...

who was a

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 ...

with

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

Early life

Roberta Marquez was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

to a Peruvian mother and a to a Portuguese father who was raised in Brazil. She started ballet at age 4, though she also learned tap, jazz, Spanish and African dance. She later trained at the Maria Olenewa State Dance School.

Career

Marquez joined the Municipal Theatre Ballet in 1994 and became a principal dancer in 2002. In 2004, Marquez joined

in London. Her repertoire includes classical full-lengths works, and works by Frederick Ashton,

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. E ...

and George Balanchine. Her most notable partner in the company is Steven McRae. In 2012, she performed at the Paralympics closing ceremony, alongside Thiago Soares, also a Brazilian principal at the Royal Ballet, as well as several visually-impaired dancers from Brazil. In 2015, the Royal Ballet announced Marquez would leave the company after a performance of '' Romeo and Juliet'' in December that year. In the 2016/17 season, she returned to the Royal Ballet as a guest artist, dancing Lise in ''

La fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

''.

Selected repertoire

Marquez's repertoire with the Municipal Theatre Ballet and The Royal Ballet includes:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marquez, Roberta Living people Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Brazilian ballerinas Brazilian people of Peruvian descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Year of birth missing (living people) Brazilian expatriates in England 21st-century ballet dancers 21st-century Brazilian dancers Prima ballerinas People from Rio de Janeiro (city)