Rolando Sarabia

Principal Dancer, The Washington Ballet

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Rolando Sarabia is an International Star and Principal dancer. Born in Havana Cuba, Sarabia's explosive performance style garnered him comparisons the young Mikhail Baryshnikov and is called the “Cuban Nijinsky” by The New York Times. Sarabia grew up among ballet dancers. He was trained by Rolando Sarabia (his father), Alicia Alonso, Lázaro Carreño and Magaly Suarez at the National Ballet School in Havana. He began performing with the Cuban National Ballet since the age of five. In 1990, he was admitted as a student at the Alejo Carpentier Elementary Ballet School in Havana, Cuba.

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Sarabita was so famous among young people in Cuba, that according to Sarah Kaufman of The Washington Post, his fans "glued him the suffix of endearment, -ita, onto his name like a kiss." In 2003, Sarabia left Cuba, after Prima Ballerina Alicia Alonso refused to allow him to join the Boston Ballet where his younger brother Daniel Sarabia was dancing as a Corps de Ballet member. He has performed with renowned dancers as Maya Plisetskaya, Patrick Dupont, Farouk Ruzimatov, Alicia Alonso, Tamara Rojo among many others. He has danced with companies throughout the world including the Cuban National Ballet, Houston Ballet, Miami City Ballet and as a guest artist with American Ballet Theatre in 2011. 

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Sarabia is the recipient of the Prix Benois de la Danse, Concours International de Danse de Paris, Varna International Ballet Competition, Gold Medal USA International Ballet Competition, Gold Medal 1998 International Ballet Competition and Grand Prix 1998 International Encounter of Ballet Academies among others.

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Currently, Sarabia is Principal dancer with The Washington Ballet under the artistic direction of former American Ballet Theatre Prima Ballerina, Julie Kent. He is excited toreturn to Houston and rejoin his life-long friends, Lorna and Lorena Feijóo and Nelson Madrigals, for three weeks at Feijóo Ballet School's Summer Intensive.