Evelyn Cisneros: Prima Ballerina

Mexico’s Flag Durango, Mexico

Evelyn’s parents moved to the US from Durango, Mexico to Huntington Beach, CA

California Huntington Beach, CA

Huntington Beach, CA to New York City back to San Fransico

Ballet

Evelyn Cisneros Birth: 1959 in Long Beach, California Nationality: American Ethnicity: Hispanic American Occupation: Ballerina.

Who is Evelyn Cisneros? Began training at seven and a half years of age Moved to San Francisco at the age of sixteen to dance with the San Francisco Ballet as an apprentice. Studied with the School of American Ballet for a summer, studied with the San Francisco Ballet School for three summers Has been dancing with the San Francisco Ballet Company for twenty years now.

What does Prima Ballerina mean? ballerina is a female ballet dancer.femaleballetdancer Although the term ballerina is used for any female ballet dancer it was originally a rank given to an exceptional ballet soloist in the Russian Imperial ballet companies. The rankings, from highest to lowest, were:ballet companies prima ballerina assoluta prima ballerina ballerina premieres danseur soloist coryphee corps de ballet

Click for video of Evelyn Cisneros Dancing- click on clips

"Dance was my passion. There was nothing else I would have wanted to devote my life to," says Cisneros. "except having children." At the beginning of the season, she was nearing 40, and had never suffered a serious dance-related injury or undergone a surgery. Yet, she was noticing that "things in my body were beginning to creak. And I wondered if it were worth dancing, if I couldn't dance at my highest level of expertise. I remembered my colleague Cynthia Harvey saying you should go while people are saying why, rather than when." In her own words…

An end to a great era… The Evelyn Cisneros era at the San Francisco Ballet ended with a gala performance on May 9, 1999, and no dancer could have had fewer artistic reasons to retire. For twenty- three years, SFB had been Cisneros' only professional home.

Five years later, Cisneros fulfilled her mission of retirement. She is SFB's Ballet Education Coordinator (the department was created two years ago). She has coauthored Ballet for Dummies with conductor Scott Speck.

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Evelyn Cisneros: Prima Ballerina