PRINCIPALS

Marcelo Martinez was born in Paraguay and began his training at the former Academia de danza Bettina Ramos. He trained in Brazil at the Centro de Dança Rio under the instruction of Maria Angelica Fiorani. At age seventeen he was accepted into the Companhia Jovem do Teatro Municipal do Rio De Janiero where he danced for four years under the direction of Dale Aschar and Mariza Estrella. He joined Washington Ballet for three seasons (2004-2007) where he danced under the direction of Septime Weber. In July 2007, he came to Carolina Ballet and was promoted to Principal dancer in 2010. Featured roles include Romeo in Romeo & Juliet by Robert Weiss; as Man of Darkness in Carmina Burana and as Dracula in Dracula, both by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, as James in La Sylphide, Albrecht in Giselle and Macbeth in Macbeth.

Marcelo Martinez Paraguay

Dancer Sponsors: Stefanie and Doug Kahn

Pas de Deux Sponsors: Bob and Jane Green

Jayson Pescasio Jayson Pescasio began training at the age of 10 at the Teatro Baile de Cavite in the Philippines. He has danced with Ballet Philippines, Dance Theatre of Tennessee & Ballet San Antonio. Mr. Pescasio is also trained in modern & folk dance, and is a graduate of the College of Saint Benilde Manila where he earned a computer science degree. Some of his favorite roles include lead man in Balanchine’s Rubies and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Robert Weiss’ Beethoven: Symphony No. 9. This is Jayson’s fifth season with Carolina Ballet.

Dancer Sponsor: Mr. James H. Lazenby

Pas de Deux Sponsors: Margaret McKean and John Peraza

Alyssa Pilger began her dance training in jazz at Performance Plus Dance Productions. At 15 she transitioned into ballet, training at Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education. A year later, Ms.Pilger won first place while competing at Youth American Grand Prix Rhode Island. Alyssa completed her training at The School of American Ballet before joining Carolina Ballet in 2012. Her repertoire also includes Balanchine Apollo, The Four Temperaments, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Serenade. She was also featured in Robert Weiss The Planets, and Zalman Raffael’s In The Grey.

Pointe Shoe Sponsors: Rob and Sally Tiller