Meet Etienne
Hometown: Havana, Cuba
Etienne Diaz began his training at the Orlando Ballet School under the direction of Peter Stark. He was a finalist in YAGP New York and has attended galas and has made guest appearances across the United States.
Etienne joined Philadelphia Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet for our 2014/2015 season and was promoted to Demi Soloist for the 2019/2020 Season. He has danced principal roles in George Balanchine’s The Prodigal Son, Tarantella, The Four Temperaments, The Nutcracker (Cavalier), and Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella. Additional roles include Angel Corella’s Don Quixote (Basilio), Le Corsaire (Birbanto), La Bayadère (Fakir and Bronze Idol), Swan Lake (Beno), and Giselle (Peasant Pas de Deux). More contemporary performances include Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort, Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake, DGV and For Four, Jerome Robbins’ The Concert and Fancy Free (First Sailor), Alexei Ratmansky’s Jeu de Cartes, and Alexander Ekman’s Episode 31.
Prior to joining Philadelphia Ballet, Etienne danced with Milwaukee Ballet for two seasons. He danced a variety of works created by renowned choreographers such as Michael Pink, Mathew Neenan and Lauren Edson. Etienne began his professional career with the National Opera of Bucharest, where he performed in The Nutcracker (Russian and Doll), and Romeo & Juliet (Mercutio). In 2012, he was invited as a guest artist with Balletto del Sud and toured throughout Italy, performing classic pieces as The Sleeping Beauty (Bluebird), Carmen and Scheherazade.