Julia Ortega

Ms. Ortega began her ballet training in Holguin, Cuba and graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Artes. She later joined the Ballet de Camaguey of Cuba, dancing throughout Europe and the Americas as the featured solist of the company performing almost every role of classical and traditional ballet repertoires. In 1988, along with her long time partenaire, Roberto Almanguer, Ms. Ortega was invited to dance with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. In 1989, Ms. Ortega won the gold medal from the International Ballet Competition in Peru. Three years later, the couple defected to America under contracts with the Cleveland San Jose Ballet. Ms. Ortega danced with the company as principal ballerina for four years where she danced leading roles in the companies repertoire including Giselle, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Paquita, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Serendade, Le Corsair, Coppelia and Toreador. Today she enjoys passing on her experience to emerging professional dancers such as those students of California DanceArts.