Houston Ballet Dancers Make Guest Appearances With The Australian Ballet

Houston Ballet Principal Dancers Karina Gonzalez and Connor Walsh will travel to Sydney, Australia to perform the leads roles of Nikiya and Solar in Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch's lavish production of La Bayadère with The Australian Ballet on Sunday, November 16; Monday, November 17; and Friday, November 21.

Ms. Gonzalez and Mr. Walsh have been in great demand as guest artists, making appearances that span the globe. In July of 2011, Mr. Walsh and Ms. Gonzalez travelled to Argentina to perform in The Sleeping Beauty at the historic Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Mr. Walsh first performed as a guest artist with The Australian Ballet in 2007 in performances of Sir Peter Wright's The Nutcracker. He has also made appearances in Argentina, Australia, and The Philippines, as well as appearing in galas in New York City, Mexico and Malaysia.

Ms. Gonzalez has performed as a guest artist at the Gala International Colombia in 2006 and at the New York International Ballet Competition's Gala in 2009. She also participated in the 2011 Career Transition For Dancers' 26th Anniversary Jubilee in New York City and The Festival de Danza Cordoba in Mexico. In the summer of 2012, Ms. Gonzalez performed in the International Ballet Gala in Malaysia and was invited to appear as a guest artist with Michele Wiles and Charles Askegard's up and coming company Ballet Next at the Joyce Theater in New York City.

Mr. Walsh's and Ms. Gonzalez's appearances with The Australian Ballet are part of an artistic exchange program established by Stanton Welch in 2003. The exchange program has three main goals: to broaden the exposure of Houston Ballet artists around the world; to allow Houston Ballet dancers the opportunity to dance in other countries; and to expose Houston audiences to exciting dancers from other companies. As part of the exchange program, The Australian Ballet Principal Artists Leanne Stojmenov and Daniel Gaudiello will travel to Houston to give three special performances as the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Prince in Ben Stevenson's The Nutcracker in 2014. They will perform on Sunday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, December 12 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for The Nutcracker may be purchased by calling 713-227-2787 or logging on to www.houstonballet.org.

Ballet pictured: Giselle

Dancer(s): Connor Walsh and Karina Gonzalez

Image provided courtesy of Houston Ballet

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