ANTONIO MORILLO

Age: 32 • Home: Cleveland • Dances: Verb, “Ohio Contemporary Ballet”

Antonio Morillo found his way to dance later in life than many professional dancers. It was during his first year at Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, where was he was studying musical theater.

Financial complications forced him to leave, but he was determined to continue learning the art of dance, he says.

Morillo picked up his studies at Valencia College in Orlando, Fla., where he received a two-year degree. Then, he attended the University of South Florida in Tampa to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance performance, and he spent his last semester starting his career at Verb, “Ohio Contemporary Ballet” in Shaker Heights in 2016.

Morillo already faced hardships due to starting his dance journey at an older age, he explains. But he encountered one of his most di cult obstacles during his first year at Verb Ballet as a company dancer.

“I actually broke my leg on stage while performing in Tremont at Lincoln Park,” he recalls. “So, I broke my ankle and my fibula, and I had about eight to 10 months before I was back with the company.”

Despite this setback, and the fact that Morillo was stationed to a wheelchair, he choreographed a group piece featured in the Martha Graham Dance Company’s “Next at Graham” show in New York City.

“It’s taken me many years to overcome that serious injury, but I’m stronger than ever and I feel like it helped me so much to become a better performer and teacher by watching the company and seeing how other people make this di cult profession work on a day-to-day basis,” he says. “Really focusing on how the teachers were delivering the material and watching the di erent processes with each choreographer.”

Morillo describes himself as an “eclectic” dancer. He has been trained in modern, jazz and contemporary, along with having Martha Graham modern dance and Limón technique training. He says his knowledge of di erent styles has led him to identify as a repertory dancer.

“I pride myself on my versatility and my artistry as a storyteller, and that’s really what I would focus on as a performer,” Morillo says. “I do enjoy contemporary work I would say more than a classical piece, but I always welcome the challenge to better my classical abilities.”

Morillo had di culty mastering classical abilities due to his late introduction to ballet, he says. He spent the early years of his life moving around di erent military bases as his father was in the military for 23 years.

“There were no dance schools on the bases I was at, so I didn’t even know dance was a career until I was living o military bases in Orlando,” he says.

He says he believes his commitment to the art of dance has

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“Antonio is a versatile dancer, able to move seamlessly from ballet to contemporary dance to musical theater. He is also a fine teacher and choreographer.”

Margaret Carlson, producing artistic director, Verb, “Ohio Contemporary Ballet”

On View

•Pandemonium, Sept. 9; Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Ave., Cleveland

ALEYDA | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30 hire them.

“Which is really sad,” Aleyda says. “We see like these dancers that are stuck in these companies get burnt out and not love it anymore because no one’s giving them the opportunities that they deserve.”

Cleveland Ballet – which rehearses in Bedford Heights and performs on Cleveland’s Playhouse Square stages – employs a di erent type of policy, Aleyda explains.

“I’ve never seen a company hire such young dancers to be in a company,” she says. “It’s amazing because there’s also such a large mix. It’s not just older, more seasoned dancers, it’s young dancers. ... Or younger dancers like myself who have been in the company for four, five-plus years. And it’s just a really good mix.”

Aleyda enjoys contemporary dance, but her favorite style is still classical ballet, she says. In fact, she was able to perform in an iconic ballet role this past December.

“I got casted in one of my dream roles in ‘The Nutcracker’ for the first time this past December,” she said. “So, I got to do ‘Sugar Plum.’ It’s every little girl’s dream.”

She is also an artistic associate at the School of Cleveland Ballet, meaning her week consists of class every morning, two sets of rehearsal and teaching at night.

BONNETTE | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31 year. Bonnette is one of five dancers in the company, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary season.

“It felt homey, and it didn’t feel like it was a competition,” she says of her audition for GroundWorks. “It’s a special environment ... I’ve never been to an audition like that in my life. All the other ones felt very cutthroat.”

She describes Founding Artistic Director David Shimotakahara as “the most caring, loving, thoughtful boss and director, and brings in the most amazing choreographers,” to work with. Also noting its educational outreach – GroundWorks works with public schools to teach and perform for students –she says the company is a special place altogether.

One of her favorite performances was her first with

MORILLO | CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32 propelled him in his career rather than his natural-born ability.

“It’s tremendously hard work,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what level you come in at (or) what age you come in at, it really matters how hungry you are and how hard working you are. I mean, there’s a lot of times where I’ve just outworked the people around me. I wasn’t the best in the room, I wasn’t a natural dancer. I wasn’t natural at turning or doing any kind of balletic stu . So, it’s been a long journey for me.”

He improves his technique by constantly challenging himself to try new things.

“For me personally, I’ve just tried to search my weakest points in my technique or in my dynamics,” Morillo says. “My ability to achieve di erent qualities in my movement and try to expand my mind as much as I can. It’s been di cult, but I would say once I joined Verb, that kind of really helped me become even more well-rounded than I already was because the repertory is so diverse.”

A typical day for Morillo at Verb consists of class in the mornings starting at 10 a.m., and then multiple rehearsal sessions stretching until 4 p.m. He then has performances on

“The way that I would describe all the company artists, they’re people who need to dance,” she says. “They have to be there. Like this is what makes them them. And that’s just another beautiful thing. We all want to be there, and the reason why we’re there is because we love it.”

Although Aleyda loves ballet and has devoted her young life to it, her future plans do not completely revolve around it. She also has other career interests, like opening a medical spa.

“I love making people feel good,” she says. “That also comes with performing and everything, you know? But making other people feel beautiful, I love that. So, I would love to get my esthetician license or something like that.”

Aleyda also says she wants to lead children in dance therapy, bringing together her passions for dance and helping others. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in psychology to achieve this dream.

“I know that children just want to communicate, and of course they don’t have the tools to do that,” she adds. “So, I feel that (dance therapy) would be something really great for children and for the parents ... and hopefully, that’ll start something.”

GroundWorks, a work by Rena Butler at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights in summer 2022.

“It was a kind of a creepy piece,” Bonnette says. “It was a little bit darker and we got to play a lot of characters, and playing a dark character on that stage at night was just so much fun.”

Looking ahead, Bonnette says she wants “to stay on the stage for as long as I can.” Also interested in choreographing and behind-the-scenes aspects like costume design –opportunities she gets to try at GroundWorks – she’s in the right place.

“I love being on the artistic side of the dance as well as being the body and the dancer,” she says.

- Amanda Koehn

Fridays and Saturdays.

Morillo says he likes the way Verb functions due to its diverse repertoire and its intimate size.

“The diverse works, the small company, everybody is working with everybody,” he says. “It’s hard, but I feel it’s so gratifying and so fulfilling to really be able to be invested in the work and not feel like you’re kind of waiting around all the time for a role. There’s a lot more companies (that) have many other dancers where there’s a lot of people just waiting on the side or they’re understudies.”

Now in his eighth season with Verb, Morillo is looking at his next steps. He says he will either audition for a new company or attend a master’s degree program geared toward professional dancers transitioning to teaching.

“The leg thing really taught me that you can have all the plans in the world for this and that, but at the end of the day, life is going to take you where it’s going to take you,” Morillo says. “I’ve kind of gone with the flow for the past couple years, and I’m open to seeing what possibilities present themselves because you just never know.”

-Nora Igelnik