Meet Israel Rodriguez!

Israel Rodriguez was born in Camaguey, Cuba, and began his classical ballet training at the age of eight at the renowned Vocational Art School, where he was awarded the Best Performer Award for his exceptional command of essential ballet skills. He started his professional dance career with the Ballet de Camaguey under the direction of Fernando Alonso, performing as a soloist. His talent allowed him to tour extensively with the company, performing in various countries, including Greece, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico.

In 1994, Israel became a principal dancer with Ballet de Monterrey in Mexico, under the direction of Fernando Bujones. He then joined Orlando Ballet in 2000, where he performed as a principal dancer until 2006.

With over 30 years of experience as a principal dancer and guest artist, Israel has received acclaim from numerous art critics and has been featured in notable publications such as the Orlando Sentinel, Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit, and International Dance Magazine.

Throughout his extensive career, he has performed lead roles and principal parts in virtually all classical ballets. Notably, he was the first male dancer in the United States to perform the full-length ballet "Spartacus."

In addition to his performance career, Israel has taught ballet and salsa dance as a guest teacher and choreographer at several locations, including the Regional Dance America (RDA) Art of Movement, Alabama Dance Festival (ADF), Patel Conservatory, Pulse Dance Studio, Dance Center of Orlando, Starz Dance Galaxy, Inwood Dance Company, Franceschi Art Academy, Dance United of Orlando, Escuela Rusa de Ballet (Mexico), Corpus Christi Concert Ballet, and the Kosovo National Ballet Company, among others. He was honored with the Outstanding Teacher award in the Youth American Grand Prix Semifinals

In 2018, Israel joined Mobile Ballet as the Ballet Master and continued to travel for dance and choreography around the world and throughout the United States.

Salsa Lessons with Israel Rodriguez