How is Rolando doing? I know that he was injured a while before he joined the Houston Ballet. I've seen a few videos of him. A great dancer. But he had at least a couple of injuries.

Did you hear any thing about Rolando Sarabia? He vanished from all news.

New Talents Shine in 'Nutcracker' Spotlight
by Sharon McDaniel
3 December 2007
The Palm Beach Post

"An extra gesture here, a more precise step: Little things make a difference. That's especially true with the holiday favorite, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. And lots of points differed Saturday afternoon - improvements mostly - from the last time I saw Miami City Ballet in "their" work, inherited through Artistic Director Edward Villella."


"Yet the presence of Rolando Sarabia, a new principal beautifully cast as the Godfather Drosselmeier, drew you right into the party action. Vicariously, you became the gracious, mysterious yet comedic character who gave the most delightful gifts."

I thought he was dancing with Miami City Ballet. I believe he joined the company in 2007.

Not on Ballet Talk! BT's search engine (above) will lead you to a number of MCB reviews this season which mention Sarabia.

Rolando Sarabia -- currently also the topic of discussion on the Handsomest Dancer thread -- is indeed a principal at MCB.

I don't know the nature of the "injury" issue, and I can report only on what I've seen and reported elsewhere on BT.

Prior to MCB's first performance, Sarabia was not able to dance in an "Open Barre" series at the company's studios. He was introduced, however, wearing street clothes and some sort of foot brace (if I recall correctly).

He danced a remarkable Diamonds cavalier in a number of performances of the full Jewels this fall, partnering both Mary Carmen Catoya and Deanna Seay in the performances I saw. He was also alternated the Sugar Plum Cavalier in the Nutcrackers that I saw. (I misssed the Drosselmeier mentioned in the review quoted above.)

Then he was out of the next program, at least in West Palm. Villella mentioned at a subsequent talk that Sarabia's injury led him to be replaced by Misha Nikitine in Nine Sinatra Songs.

Around this time he was scheduled to perform in a jazz program, with original choreography, at the company's studios in Miami Beach. I had to cancel at the last minute (VERY regretfully), but I believe that he performed.

Last week, MCB's Program III started out at the Kravis in West Palm Beach before going to Fort Lauderdale (this weekend) and Miami (for the finale). He was not in the evening performances I saw, but he did dance the male lead in Pas de Dix (with Deanna Seay) at the only matinee performance I saw. There was some partnering difficulties between the two, but I had no reason to think it was a matter of Sarabia being either injured or holding back.

I don't know what he will be doing in the final regular program next month. It consists of Square Dance, Wheeldon's pdd Lliturgy, Tarantella, and a world premiere of Nightspot, a new piece by Twyla Tharp with original score by Elvis Costello. I would guess that he will be in the Tharp -- though I'd love to see him in Square Dance.

Rolando is a principal. His brother Daniel Sarabia came to MCB this season (from Boston) as a soloist.

P.S. When discussing the possibility of injuries, the BT policy is to report official news only: that is, written or spoken comment made in a public setting by those representing the company or the dancer himself. Thanks for adhering to that.

Sarabita...Mmm..He was sublime...

Sarabita at the time of his graduation was predicted to be among the top 5 best dancers in ballet history. I've never seen such a thing like that before or after, but back then he totally surpassed by a way large ratio Acosta and Carreno. Time, events, life and fate have passed by, and...anyways, right now I'm just happy that he is a Principal to one of the 5 Top Companies in US. He is also the friendliest guy and I'm also very happy to be able to see him sometimes taking class when I'm biking around their studios in South Beach through the glass window...

This is a beautiful clip that shows him pirouetting since he was a little kid, and in a variety of roles. It's called "Born to be a Star ""...I really hope you'll all enjoy it.

Buena suerte, papi...eres el barbaro!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEeIijxxC-g

Wow! That's incredible. I especially like the pirouettes at 2:23.

such a great dancer! Sarabia de una tecnica impresionante gracias a la maravillosa escuela cubana de ballet.

Which GoogleTranslate renders as Sarabia an impressive technique thanks to the wonderful Cuban school of ballet. Google did not, however, translate the smiley.

Thank you, Columbina, and welcome to BalletTalk.

I can't wait to see his upcoming Basilio and Siegfried...

As of now, I don't believe any casting has been announced, though Sarabia of course would be a natural choice for both roles.

In my experience, MCB does not announce casting for individual performances. They do, however, encourage pre-performance publicity, so it should be possible to learn about those who are preparing the roles for the Balanchine Swan Lake on Program I.

Cristian and others, if you see such publicity for in the Miami press or elsewhere, relating to Sarabia or any of the dancers preparing roles for Program I, PLEASE post it on Ballet Talk.