American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...
as a guest artist in 2011. Erika Kinetz of '' The New York Times'' called him the "Cuban Nijinsky" and compared him to the young
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...
. In 2021 he was named the artistic director of Roanoke Ballet Theatre.
Life and career
Sarabia was born in Havana, Cuba, on 18 August 1982. His father was a ballet dancer with the Cuban National Ballet. Rolando grew up, among ballet dancers and was performing with the Cuban National Ballet since the age of 5.
In 1990, he was admitted as a student at the Alejo Carpentier Elementary Ballet School in Havana, Cuba. Was trained by Rolando Sarabia (his father), Alicia Alonso, Lázaro Carreño and Magaly Suarez, at the National Ballet School in Havana. Early in his career, Sarabia's explosive performance style garnered comparisons to Nijinsky and Baryshnikov. Sarabita was so famous among young people in Cuba, that according to
Sarah Kaufman
Sarah Elizabeth Kaufman (born September 20, 1985) is a retired Canadian mixed martial artist (MMA). She competed in the women's bantamweight division where she is a former Invicta FC Bantamweight Championship. Kaufman was the inaugural Strike ...
of '' The Washington Post'' his fans "glued him the suffix of endearment, -ita, onto his name like a kiss."
Hailed by '' The New York Times'' as the 'Cuban Nijinsky'. Rolando defected from Cuba in 2005, a year after his brother
Daniel Sarabia
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.United States via Mexico. Sarabia left Cuba, after Prima BallerinaAlicia Alonso refused to allow him to join 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 ...
where his younger brother
Daniel Sarabia
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.
He has performed with renowned dancers as Maya Plisetskaya, Patrick Dupont, Farouk Ruzimatov, Alicia Alonso, Tamara Rojo, among many others.
In July 2021, Sarabia announced his retirement from The Washington Ballet. He is now the artistic director of Roanoke Ballet Theatre.