Michael began dancing at the age of eight. He trained with the Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet under Artistic Director, Heather Raue, throughout middle and high school. During his training, Michael was given scholarships to train at summer intensives such as Houston Ballet, Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, San Francisco Ballet, The Juilliard School, and the School of Dance at Chautauqua Institution, where he was given the 1st Place Award for Choreography. After graduating high school, Michael began his career as a member of Charlotte Ballet II for 2 seasons. While at Charlotte, he was involved in productions such as Javier de Frutos’ The Most Incredible Thing, Peter Chu’s Rite(s), and George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, staged by Kennedy Center Honoree, Patricia McBride. Following his time at Charlotte, Michael joined Cincinnati Ballet 2. Since joining, he has performed in ballets such as Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, Devon Carney’s The Sleeping Beauty, and Adam Hougland’s Rite of Spring.
Until Then, We Dance
June 16, 2020
Watch how Cincinnati Ballet dancers are filling their days during quarantine. They are continuing to create beautiful works for our community! Dancers: Taylor Carrasco, Joshua Stayton, Bella Ureta, Samantha Riester, Samantha Griffin, Arcadian Broad, Matthew Griffin, Kathleen Dahlhoff, Abbey Gonzalez Kay, Edward Gonzalez Kay, Christina LaForgia Morse, Luca De-Poli, Amanda Valentino, Michael Mengden, Marcus Romeo, […]
