Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal Dancer, César Morales will depart the Company after 16 years to take up the role of Artistic Director at Santiago Ballet in March 2024.
César’s final performances with the Company will take place at Birmingham Royal Ballet’s home venue of Birmingham Hippodrome. He will partner Miki Mizutani for the final time in The Sleeping Beauty at the matinee performance on Thursday 22 February followed by his final on stage appearance on the evening of Wednesday 28 February.
During his time with BRB, César has received acclaim for his leading roles in Company classic titles from Sir Peter Wright including The Nutcracker (Prince), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Florimund) and Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried). He has performed in Frederick Ashton’s Enigma Variations (Arthur Troyte Griffith), Symphonic Variations and Les Rendezvous (lead role) as well as George Balanchine’s Serenade and Theme and Variations.
He also collaborated with Sir David Bintley on new productions including Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Aladdin (title role), Sylvia (Amynta), Cinderella (Prince) and 'Still Life' at the Penguin Café (Southern Cape Zebra).
In 2021 he was awarded the Dancing Times Award for Best Male Dancer at the National Dance Awards.
César Morales said “Thank you is the only thing I can say to all the audiences, dancers, ballet staff and all the departments in BRB, your support and love will always be appreciated by me. I am excited for the next chapter in my career, but of course, having spent the last 30 years as a dancer and 15 of those years in BRB, leading a company will be a big change for me.
“I have learnt so much from the many people I have had the pleasure of working with over my 15 years at BRB. I will do everything I can to pass on my knowledge and experiences in dance to the dancers of Ballet de Santiago with honesty and continued passion for this great art form.”
Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta said; “All of us at Birmingham Royal Ballet are grateful to César for sharing such an incredible talent with us and our audiences over the past 16 years. He is a treasured part of BRB’s history and has danced a selection of the Company’s most prestigious roles during his illustrious career.
“It is a bittersweet pleasure to see César return to Santiago Ballet in the role of Artistic Director where he will oversee many new generations of talented dancers.”
Carmen Gloria Larenas, General Director of the Municipal Theatre of Santiago added; “After an extensive selection process, we have announced the new Artistic Director of the Santiago Ballet, a person who knows the company and the Municipal Theatre of Santiago well. His international career and achievements through his artistic merits make him an artist loved by the public and admired by the media. César Morales returns home.”
A former student of the Santiago Municipal Theatre Ballet School and former member of the Santiago Ballet, César Morales began his career at Ballet de Santiago, Chile, where at the age of just 18 he was made a Principal. He then went on to join English National Ballet before beginning with Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2008.
