Julio Montano, Ballet Faculty
Julio Montano is a native of Pinar del Rio-Cuba. His career started at the age of 17 at Ballet de Camaguey under the direction of Fernando Alonso. In 1993, Julio was chosen by the Director of the company to perform in Lima, Perú at the official company of the country, Ballet Nacional del Peru, under the direction of Olga Shimazaki as principal dancer. In 1995 he won the Circe Price top award for artists in Peru. In 2002, after 9 years of performing in South America, Julio moved to the United States to perform with Tulsa Ballet under the direction of Marcello Angelini for two seasons. As a dancer, he participated in festivals and tours throughout the world performing in Chile, Paraguay, Portugal, Panama, Bolivia, Mexico, USA, etc. He has danced and performed a number of important leading roles in such classical productions as Cinderella, Paquita, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Raymonda, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire, Sherezade, The Nutcracker, Majissimo and other ones. His neoclassical and contemporary repertoire include Duende, The Leaves are Fading, Lady of the Camelias, Nine Lives, Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, among others. During 2005-2006 season, Julio was working at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Patel Conservatory as Interim Co-Director of the Classical Ballet Training Program together with Mrs. Sandra Robinson. He participated as judge for the National Society of Arts and Letters 2006 Dance Competition. In 2010 he was awarded the Outstanding Coach Award at the American Dance Competition. As a ballet master, Julio has given ballet instruction at the University of South Florida, Straz Center, and has been invited to join the faculty for summer programs in different ballet schools in USA and South America and has trained students for numerous ballet competitions.