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Georgina Pazcoguin

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Georgina Pazcoguin
Born1984 or 1985 (age 39–40)[1]
Altoona, Pennsylvania, US
EducationSchool of American Ballet
OccupationBallet dancer
EmployerNew York City Ballet
Websitegeorginapazcoguin.com

Georgina Pazcoguin is an American ballerina. She was a soloist with the New York City Ballet, and is known for challenging racism in ballet,[2] and for performing on Broadway.

Early life

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Pazcoguin was born and raised in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She is biracial; her father is a retired surgeon who immigrated from the Philippines after medical school, and her mother is Italian. The third of six siblings, she began training at the Allegheny Ballet Academy when she was four years old in ballet, African, tap and jazz.[3] She moved to New York City to train at the School of American Ballet, the associate school of New York City Ballet (NYCB) at the age of 16 in 2001 while also studying at the Professional Children's School.[4][5]

Ballet

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After one year of studying at SAB, Pazcoguin was invited by Peter Martins to join NYCB as an apprentice. The following year she became a member of the company's corps de ballet.[6] After 10 years of dancing featured and principal roles, she was promoted to soloist in 2013, making her the first Asian American female soloist in NYCB's history.[7][8]

With NYCB, Pazcoguin performed featured roles in the original productions of Romeo + Juliet (as the Nurse, 2007), Douglas Lee's Lifecasting (2009),[9] Ocean's Kingdom (as Scala, 2011), Alexei Ratmansky's Voices and Russians Seasons,[10][11] Lauren Lovette's The Shaded Line,[12] Angelin Preljocaj's Spectral Evidence,[13] and Kyle Abraham's The Runway.[14] She has also had featured roles in numerous NYCB revivals, including George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (as Dewdrop), Scotch Symphony,[15] Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream (as Hippolyta),[16] Peter Martins' The Sleeping Beauty (as Carabosse), and Jerome Robbins' West Side Story Suite (as Anita).[6]

She is especially noted for her portrayal of Anita, which she first performed during NYCB's 2008 American Songs and Dances program.[17][18][19] She has also appeared on film in the 2010 film adaptation of another famous Jerome Robbins ballet, N.Y. Export: Op. Jazz, which was directed by Jody Lee Lipes and Henry Joost.[20]

Branding and advocacy

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Pazcoguin considers herself the "complete antithesis" of the stereotypical ballet dancer.[21] During her early days at NYCB, she struggled with body image issues, noting in a 2013 interview with Time Out New York that she "will never be that super, super thin, skeletal [dancer]".[22] She has since styled herself as "The Rogue Ballerina" as a means of embracing the qualities that make her stick out as a dancer, such as her body type and ethnicity.[23] Pazcoguin's memoir, Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina, was published in 2021.[24]

Pazcoguin is a proponent of greater diversity and inclusion within the ballet community. With former dancer Phil Chan, she started "Final Bow for Yellowface" in 2017,[25] a campaign to combat Asian stereotypes in ballet productions such as The Nutcracker.[26] The pledge advanced by Pazcoguin and the campaign was signed by more than 100 dancers and industry leaders.[27]

Theater

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She joined American Dance Machine for the 21st Century (a reboot of the American Dance Machine) in 2012.[28][29] As a soloist with the company, which recreates famous theatre dance numbers from Broadway musicals, she performed Chita Rivera's role in Jack Cole's Beal Street Blues, Victoria the White Cat's solo from Cats, and the female soloist role in Jerome Robbin's Mr. Monotony.[30]

Pazcoguin made her Broadway debut in August 2015 as a temporary replacement for her NYCB colleague Megan Fairchild in the role of Ivy Smith in the revival of On the Town.[31] The following year, she returned to Broadway and to the role of Victoria the White Cat in the 2016 Broadway revival of Cats. Pazcoguin noted that playing Victoria pushed her beyond her comfort zone, as the ingénue character was a departure from her usual roles.[32] Pazcoguin left the production in March 2017 to return to dancing with NYCB.[33]

Accolades

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References

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  1. ^ Kourlas, Gia (August 1, 2016). "Georgina Pazcoguin on Her First Broadway Opening Night, in 'Cats'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  2. ^ Lugay, Elton (December 7, 2018). "NY City Ballet's 'Rogue Ballerina' challenges stereotypes". INQUIRER.net USA. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Kourlas, Gia (September 12, 2013). "Georgina Pazcoguin talks about coming to terms with her body as she turns a new page at NYCB". Time Out New York. p. 2. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  4. ^ "Rogue Ballerina Georgina Pazcoguin Writes a Letter to Her Teenage Self". Dance Spirit. January 26, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  5. ^ "The Rogue Ballerina: Altoona native claws her way from ballet to Broadway". altoonamirror.com. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Georgina Pazcoguin". New York City Ballet. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  7. ^ Pazcoguin, Georgina (July 18, 2016). "Introduce Yourself(ie): 10 Questions with Cats Star Georgina Pazcoguin". BroadwayBox.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "NYCB Announces 11 Dancer Promotions". Danza Ballet (in Spanish). February 24, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  9. ^ "Balanchine Gets a Happy-Birthday Ballet | The Village Voice". www.villagevoice.com. January 28, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Kourlas, Gia (February 3, 2020). "Review: Alexei Ratmansky Finds a New Voice at City Ballet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Kourlas, Gia (July 18, 2006). "Even Without an Alice, City Ballet's 'Russian Seasons' Offers a Wonderland Nevertheless (Published 2006)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  12. ^ Kourlas, Gia (September 27, 2019). "Review: At New York City Ballet, an Intriguing Glimpse of the Future (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  13. ^ "New York City Ballet – Fall Gala – New York". DanceTabs. September 20, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "New York City Ballet: A Runaway Hit". CriticalDance. October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  15. ^ "Out and About (NYCB) 6/17-23/2010". danceviewtimes. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "New York City Ballet – A Midsummer Night's Dream – New York". DanceTabs. May 31, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  17. ^ Rocco, Claudia La (February 19, 2010). "From a Dreamy World to a City's Tough Streets (Published 2010)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (February 11, 2008). "Inspired by America, Then Brought Onto the Stage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  19. ^ Kourlas, Gia (September 12, 2013). "Georgina Pazcoguin talks about coming to terms with her body as she turns a new page at NYCB". Time Out New York. p. 4. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  20. ^ "About the Film". PBS. February 2, 2010. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  21. ^ "About Georgina". Official website. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  22. ^ Kourlas, Gia (September 12, 2013). "Georgina Pazcoguin talks about coming to terms with her body as she turns a new page at NYCB". Time Out New York. p. 3. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  23. ^ Lansky, Chava (November 30, 2018). "NYCB's Georgina Pazcoguin on Her New Initiative to Eliminate Asian Stereotypes in Ballet". Pointe. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  24. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina". Publishers Weekly. May 10, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  25. ^ "Ballet Needs to End Its Use of Yellowface; It's Phil Chan's Mission to Make That Happen". Observer. June 18, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  26. ^ Fisher, Jennifer (December 11, 2018). "'Yellowface' in 'The Nutcracker' isn't a benign ballet tradition, it's racist stereotyping (op-ed)". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  27. ^ "Ballerina Georgina Pazcoguin: 'We owe it to younger dancers not to stay silent'". the Guardian. October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  28. ^ Gold, Sylviane (July 26, 2012). "On Broadway: Tapping a Legacy". Dance Magazine. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  29. ^ Woods, Astrida (June 1, 2013). "A Flair for the Dramatic". Dance Magazine. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  30. ^ BWW News Desk. "New York City Ballet Soloist Georgina Pazcoguin to Join ADM21 for Shows at Joyce Theater". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  31. ^ Gans, Andrew (August 4, 2015). "Megan Fairchild to Depart Broadway's On the Town; Replacements Named". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  32. ^ Perron, Wendy (July 18, 2016). "Inside 'Cats': Georgina Pazcoguin Becomes the White Cat". Dance Magazine. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  33. ^ "Georgina Pazcoguin". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  34. ^ "The Mae L. Wien Awards: Past Awardees". School of American Ballet. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  35. ^ McPhee, Ryan (May 1, 2017). "Bandstand, Sweet Charity, and More Earn Chita Rivera Award Nominations". Playbill. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
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