Meet Eric | Best Ballet Choreography Nominee & Winner
Meet Eric
Best Ballet choreography winner
rva dance awards
I moved from Puerto Rico to the United States when I was 19 years old to pursue my dream of dancing professionally. After a successful dance career of 18 years, currently, I am a dance professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond, where I enjoy teaching the love of dance to a new generation of dancers.
My journey began in SUNY Purchase College where I finished a BFA in 1996. After performing throughout the US and in many different countries China, Italy, France, Taiwan, Spain, El Salvador among many others. I went back to the same university to do an MFA in Choreography (2012). I am also an ABT Certified Teacher in the National Training Curriculum (Primary through Level 7).
During my performing career, I danced with the Ballet Hispanico of New York for 13 seasons, where I helped to create over 20 original works. I also performed with Minnesota Ballet as a principal dancer, Ballet Theater of Pennsylvania, Ballet Teatro Municipal de San Juan-Puerto Rico, Danza Jazz de San Juan, and in the European tour of West Side Story. I had the honor to appear as a guest artist in different companies such as Connecticut Ballet, Thomas Ortiz Dance, Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Westchester Ballet, Bradley Shelver Contemporary Dance, New England Dance Theater and Brooklyn Ballet. I also had the privilege to performed choreographies of Ann Reinking, Mark Morris, José Limon, Kenneth McMillan, Margot Sapinton, Graciela Daniel, Kevin Wynn, Vicente Nebrada, Talley Beatty and George Balanchine.
My choreography works have been presented by Dance Iquail, Ashani Dance, Convergence Ballet, Owensboro Dance Company, CSU-Fullerton, Western Kentucky University, University of Richmond, Orange County College, Purchase College, Jacksonville University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Mississippi, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Dance Theater, ACDA Baja Region, ACDFA Gala at Little Rock, Arkansas, NY Summer Stage and the show They Called it Rock.
I have been in the Richmond area for the last four years, and have been working hard to meet the dance community of VA. It has been a long and joyful journey to become a choreographer and professor. I now have the opportunity to spend time doing research on the topics that inspire me. More importantly, I am in a position to inspire and train young dancers and to be part of their own journeys.
I am a lucky man to be married to one of the most beautiful ballerinas that I ever met. My wife, Angelica Burgos, danced with Joffrey Ballet, Sacramento Ballet (Principal dancer) and Ballet Hispanico. Now she is teaching dance and pursuing her Master’s degree in dance. Our daughters, Amara Sofia and Abella Rose, are already taking dance lessons and, like daddy and mommy, they love it!
