Roberta Marquez is a Brazilian

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

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 either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

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 ...

Early life

Roberta Marquez was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

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 Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...

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. Ea ...

and

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

. Her most notable partner in the company is

Steven McRae Steven McRae (born 19 December 1985) is an Australian ballet dancer and tap dancer. He is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, London.

. In 2012, she performed at the Paralympics closing ceremony, alongside

Thiago Soares Thiago Soares (born 18 May 1981) is a Brazilian ballet dancer and choreographer. He is a former principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London, and guest principal in other theatres around the world. Early life Born in 1981 in Rio de Janeir ...

, 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 ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' 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 most populous city in the United States of America. 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 Smi ...

''.

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 Dancers from Rio de Janeiro (city)