The Sarasota Cuban Ballet is a premier destination for Cuban training in the United States. Our mission is to celebrate and sustain the cultural legacy of the Cuban Ballet tradition, sharing its uniqueness through performance, education, and community outreach. Now in its 13th year, the Sarasota Cuban Ballet is the only US training center where Dr. Ramona de Saa, Director and Professor at the National Ballet School of Cuba, adapted the Cuban method ballet curriculum created by Fernando Alonso specifically for our school.
The Sarasota Cuban Ballet School was founded in 2011 by the Cuban-born husband and wife team of Ariel Serrano and Wilmian Hernández. Serrano and Hernández trained at the elite National Ballet School of Cuba and performed internationally with Ballet de Camagüey and Ballet de Monterrey. In 1993, they moved to Sarasota, where they continued their professional careers as principal dancers with The Sarasota Ballet until their retirement. The Sarasota Cuban Ballet School was designated a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in 2014.
In conjunction with the school’s 10th anniversary, the Sarasota Cuban Ballet moved to its new home at 4740 Cattlemen Road in Sarasota, Florida. The magnificent building designed by award-winning Sarasota architect Guy Peterson is located on 9 acres of protected wetlands and gives the school ample studio space and room to grow, plus a perfect environment for black box performances
At the Sarasota Cuban Ballet, Serrano and Hernández, along with a team of award-winning instructors, teach dance classes at all levels for students ages three and up. Our doors are always open for those who love to dance, whether they are interested in dancing professionally or are just interested in ballet as a recreational activity. Classes are small and taught by an international faculty following the renowned Cuban method.
The heart of the Sarasota Cuban Ballet is its Pre-Professional Program, a rigorous training course that prepares talented, serious young dancers for professional careers. Students of the Sarasota Cuban Ballet have gone on to perform with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Houston Ballet, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Washington Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, and many other national and international professional companies.
In 2022, Ariel Serrano and Wilmian Hernández created the Gulfcoast Studio Company of the Sarasota Cuban Ballet. The Gulfcoast Studio Company strives to develop strong and confident dancers, giving them an important bridge from student training to a professional dance career.
The Gulfcoast Studio Company has many facets—beyond the continuation of ballet training to prepare young dancers for professional careers and education and outreach work throughout the city, performance opportunities are a major focus. The Gulfcoast Studio Company’s season includes shows at major theater venues, the Black Box performance series in the Sarasota Cuban Ballet’s auditorium, and invitations to perform at local and international festivals and community events. Programs feature a diversity of classical and contemporary works pulled from both the canons of ballet repertoire and new and emerging choreographers.
The Cuban Style
