6th Grade Culture Project

Lourdes Lopez:  Ballet Dancer (b. 1958)  Lourdes Lopez was born in Cuba just before the communist revolution.  Her family fled to Miami, Florida to live in safety.  When Lourdes turned five, her legs began to hurt.  Doctors advised orthopedic shoes and dancing to strengthen he legs.  Lourdes enrolled in weekly ballet classes.  She studied formal ballet with a Russian teacher who told her about the classic ballets like Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.  At age 10, Lourdes auditioned for ballet schools in New York and Miami and won scholarships to each!  She chose the school closest to home, but moved to New York four years later to continue her studies.  She became a member of the New York City Ballet at age 16.  Lourdes had to memorize dance routines for more than 40 ballets each season!  She performed well and was promoted to soloist, then principle dancer.  After a serious foot injury, Lourdes spent time with her husband and daughter while recovering.  She returned to dance two years later.   Today, Lourdes visits schools to introduce young children to ballet.

Marsh, Carole, The Best Book of Hispanic Biographies.,Galopade Interational:  2003 p.12.

Helpful sites:

http://www.balletarchive.org/ba/dancers/dsp.cfm?dancer_id=101

http://balanchine.org/05/archive/2002llopez.html

http://www.barnard.edu/newnews/news100900a.html