November 09th, 2023
After an extensive national search, Cincinnati Ballet is pleased to announce Blanca Huertas-Agnew as Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy Director effective January 2024. Ms. Huertas-Agnew brings with her more than two decades of experience as a professional dancer and nationally recognized dance educator. Ms. Huertas-Agnew comes to Cincinnati from Philadelphia where she most recently served as the Director of the undergraduate dance program at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. Her background as an educator also includes faculty and leadership positions at the School of Philadelphia Ballet, Ballet Hispánico’s School of Dance, and Pennsylvania Ballet Arts which she founded. “Blanca brings with her such a rich and expansive background as both an educator and professional dancer,” said Cervilio Miguel Amador, Cincinnati Ballet Interim Artistic Director. “She will be an incredible resource for our Academy and professional training division students.” As Academy Director, Ms. Huertas-Agnew will serve as the artistic and pedagogical leader of the Otto M. Budig Academy providing vision and direction for student training and development as well as support for the Academy’s diverse faculty. “I am looking forward to meeting all the Academy’s wonderful families and can’t wait to be in the studio with the students to lead and learn from each one of them. I am also excited to be part of a beautiful community that supports the arts.”
Prior to her career as an educator, Ms. Huertas-Agnew danced professionally with Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico and Ballets de San Juan where she was a Principal Soloist in an array of classical, neoclassical, and contemporary repertoires. Her professional career allowed her to perform extensively in Puerto Rico and throughout the United States, Central America, South America, and Europe. She began her training in Puerto Rico under the tutelage of her mother, Blanca E. Cortes, then joined Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico before rising to the rank of Principal Soloist at Ballets de San Juan. She performed principal roles as Lise in La Fille Mal Gardée, Swanhilda in Coppélia, Princess Tsarevna in Firebird, and Myrtha in Giselle. During her years at Ballets de San Juan, she performed George Balanchine’s repertoire including Apollo, Who Cares?, Serenade, Valse Fantasie, Rubiesand Concerto Barocco. She also performed autochthonous repertoire from Puerto Rican choreographers including Los Soles Truncos, Amores, Julieta, and Pas de Quatre Criollo yMisa Criolla. During her developing years, she had the opportunity to gain experience from dance educators from different methodologies, such as Alexander Filipov, Amelia Gilmore, Francesca Corkle, Ramon Molina, Juan Anduze, Sandra Jennings, Alexander Kamaranski, among others.
Ms. Huertas-Agnew earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Temple University. In 2017, she received the Howard Gilman Fellowship Award at Jacksonville University, where she completed her Master of Fine Arts degree in Choreography in 2019. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of the Puerto Rico Classical Dance Competition, the first classical dance competition in Puerto Rico.
