Raymondo Polanco

RAYMONDO POLANCO BIOGRAPHY Raymondo Polanco was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He moved to New York City at the age of nine and “Americanized” his name to Raymond. His first steps as an artist began at age seven in his native land. He proved himself as a dancer at the Fine Arts Theater in Santo Domingo, studying modern, Afro-Cuban dance, and Jazz. At Academia Cassandra La Miró is where Raymond took his first intensive training in Dominican Folkloric Dance. When he moved to Manhattan, Raymondo continued his dance studies with such luminaries as Martha Graham in her master classes, and continued his development at Broadway Dance Center, Jo-Jo Dance Center and Van Dyke Studios. In 1979, the Van Dyke Studios awarded him the award of “most outstanding student of the year,” and they awarded him a trip to Brazil for an intensive course of Samba and choreography at the University of Sao Paolo. As a result, in 1980, Raymondo participated as a principal dancer in the Carnival in Rio de Janei