Vicente Nebrada

Vicente Nebrada was born in 1930 in Caracas, Venezuela. He was one of the most influential members of Venezuela's first generation of professional ballet dancers.  He worked with Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso, Roland Petit, and the Joffrey Ballet.  He was a founding member of the Harkness Ballet in 1964, and  helped found the International Ballet of Caracas in 1975 with Venezuelan ballerina Zhandra Rodriguez. The company eventually closed, but it drew recognition and solidified Nebrada’s international reputation as a choreographer. He became artistic director of the National Ballet of Caracas in 1984, which he directed until his death in 2002.  More than 30 companies have performed his choreography including the American Ballet Theater, the Joffrey Ballet and Ballet Hispanico.

Nebrada's classic work Batucada Fantástica created in 1977, was performed by Luna Negra in 2004.  Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro, who worked under his direction, feels it is important to keep his work alive in Luna Negra's repertory.

"a virtuosic ode to Carnival"
- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times