Repertory Director, New York City Ballet
Gonzalo Garcia was born in Zaragoza, Spain, and received his early dance training at Maria de Avila’s school. In 1995, he attended a summer intensive at the San Francisco Ballet School. Later that year, he won the Prix de Lausanne at the age of 15, making him the youngest dancer to receive the award. Following, Garcia returned to the San Francisco Ballet School as a full-time student. At age 17, he was offered a contract to join San Francisco Ballet by artistic director, Helgi Tomasson, though Garcia decided to study for one more year.
Garcia joined San Francisco Ballet’s corps de ballet in 1998, at age 18. In 2000, he became a soloist, and won the Princess Grace Award. In 2002, he was promoted to principal dancer at age 22, one of the youngest dancers in the company to reach this rank. He danced leading roles such as Albrecht in Giselle and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and originated the role of Nutcracker Prince in Tomasson’s version of The Nutcracker. In 2004, he made a guest appearance at New York City Ballet and danced Ballo della Regina, as a part of George Balanchine’s centennial.
In May 2007, Garcia left San Francisco Ballet and joined New York City Ballet as a principal dancer in October 2007. His repertoire at New York City Ballet included works by Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, and original roles in works by choreographers such as Justin Peck and Alexei Ratmansky. Garcia also performed with Christopher Wheeldon’s company, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, and appeared in video advertisements for Tiffany & Co. and iPhone.
Garcia retired from performing in February 2022. He now serves as a repertory director for New York City Ballet.
