Tulsa Ballet Dancers to be Fountain Dance Ministry’s THE NUTCRACKER Special Guests

SOFIA MENTEGUIAGA, soloist of the Tulsa Ballet, and ALFONSO MARTIN, principal dancer of the Tulsa Ballet, will appear as guest artists in the Fountain Dance Ministry's production of The Nutcracker on December 3 and 4, 2011 at the Jane Tasch Performing Arts Theatre in Pinckney, Michigan.

SOFIA MENTEGUIAGA began her studies under the guidance of Olga Ferri and Enrique Lommi, and furthered her ballet studies at the Instituto Superior de Arte Del Teatro Colon in Buenos, Aires, Argentina.

In 2000 she was invited to join the Ballet de Santiago in Chile by Ricardo Bustamante and in 2004, she was appointed soloist by the company's artistic director, Marcia Haydee.

Her principal roles have included Hanna in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Swanhilda in Coppelia, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and the title role in Andre Prokovsky's Anna Karenina.

In 2010 Ms. Menteguiaga was invited to join the Ballet del Teatro Colon by Lidia Segni where she performed the role of Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand in its Argentine premiere.

In 2011 Ms. Menteguiaga joined the Tulsa Ballet as soloist.

Ms. Menteguiaga has shared the stage with such ballet luminaries as Irek Mukhamedov, Svetlana Zakharova, Nina Ananiashvili, Alessandra Ferri, Julio Bocca, Julie Kent, Paloma Herrera and Robert Tewsley.

ALFONSO MARTIN was born in Spain and received his professional training at the Centro de Danza Aikoa and the Centro International de Danza Carmen Roche where he studied under the guidance of Makutxa de Amezaga, Carmen Roche, Gouzalo Zaragoza, and Kulubec Ishenaliev.

In 1996 MR. Martin joined the Ballet Clasico del Mediterraneo and in 1997 joined Ballet de Monterrey in Mexico as a principal dancer. In 1998 MR. Martin joined the Tulsa Ballet as a principal dancer.

MR. Martin's repertoire includes the role of Prince Florimund in Galina Samsova's production of The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo in Michael Smuin's Romeo and Juliet, the Sugar Plum Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Albrecht in Giselle, Prince Siegfried and Von Rothbart in Swan Lake, Jean in Birgit Cullberg's Miss Julie, Basilio in Don Quixote, the Jester in Ben Stevenson's Cinderella, Armand in Val Caniparoli's The Lady of the Camellias, Solor in La Bayadere, Athos in Andre Prokovsky's The Three Musketeers, the Bugle Boy in Paul Taylor's Company B, the Champion Roper in Agnes De Mille's Rodeo, The Husband in Jerome Robbins' The Concert, and principal roles in Fernando Bujones' staging of Paquita, George Balanchine's Theme and Variations and Who Cares?, John Butler's Carmina Burana, Val Caniparoli's Vivace, Robert North's Death and the Maiden, Nacho Duato's Jardi Tancat, Na Floresta, and Coming Together, Eddy Toussaint's Bonjour Brel, Lila York's Celts, Stanton Welch's Fingerprints and Bruiser, Antony Tudor's The Leaves Are Fading, Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs, Kenneth MacMillan's Elite Syncopations, and Fernando Bujones' Polonesa Suite, Al Ritmo de Jazz, and Pasion y Fuego.

MR. Martin also created principal roles in the world premieres of Val Caniparoli's Going for Baroque, Nicolo Fonte's Inside The Figures, and Mauricio Wainrot's Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

In 2005 MR. Martin joined the Boston Ballet as a soloist. He expanded repertoire to include creating principal roles in Allegro, Piu morso in Mark Morris' Up and Down, and Helen Pickett's Etesian.

In 2006 MR. Martin returned to the Tulsa Ballet as a principal dancer. MR. Martin has expanded his repertoire to include the roles of Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby in Andre Prokovsky's The Great Gatsby, Petruchio in John Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew, and principal roles in Massimiliano Volpini's Amade, Twyla Tharp's Push Comes to Shove, Jorma Elo's Slice To Sharp, and James Kudelka's There, Below.

In 1996 MR. Martin was a semi-finalist at the Prix de Lausanne Competition and in 1997 won the gold medal at the Second National Competition of Torrelavega (Spain).

MR. Martin has appeared as a guest artist with the Congresso di Carvallo Brindisi (Italy), Real Conservatorio de Danza de Madrid and of La Coruna (Spain), Escuela Superior de Musical and Dance de Monterrey (Mexico), Centro de Arte Bertha de la Pena (Mexico), Joven Ballet de Carmen Roche, and Academia de Ballet da Bahia Salvador Bahia (Brazil).

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