Yosvani Ramos

Yosvani Ramos (born Yosvani Sabdiel Ramos Fontes on 23 June 1979) is a Cuban ballet dancer. He was a principal artist with The Australian Ballet from January 2008 until April 2013, after nine years as a principal with the English National Ballet. He joined Cincinnati Ballet as a principal dancer in August 2014 where he remained until the end of that season - May 2015. He is currently contracted to Colorado Ballet in Denver as a principal dancer, having commenced in August 2015.

Ramos was born to Juan Ramos Barba and Gisela Fontes Lopez in Camagüey, Cuba. He studied dance at the Vocational School of Arts there from 1989, and in 1994 won the gold medal at the Vignale Festival of Dance. He was then admitted to study ballet at the Cuban National Ballet School under the direction of Ramona de Sáa, graduating in 1997.

In September 1997 Ramos joined the Jeune Ballet de France, a French touring company. Started by Robert Berthier with the assistance of Rosella Hightower, the dancers trained for three months and toured for nine - a Professional Year type of training. Ramos remained with the company for two years, leaving in April 1999 for the Paris Opera Ballet. He performed Nureyev's Swan Lake as a surnuméraire (extra member of the corps de ballet).

Ramos was invited to join English National Ballet as a soloist in August 1999 by Derek Deane, and was promoted to senior soloist in 2000, then principal in 2003 after a performance of Coppélia at the Sadler's Wells Theatre.

The Australian Ballet had only two male principals at the end of 2007, and artistic director David McAllister invited Ramos to join the company as a principal artist from February 2008. He also had many opportunities to perform as a guest artist outside Australia, frequently taking The Australian Ballet's Leanne Stojmenov as his partner. Ramos left The Australian Ballet in April 2013.

After leaving The Australian Ballet, Ramos danced around the world on a freelance basis. He debuted as James in La Sylphide with Bangkok City Ballet in Thailand in July 2013 and also performed at the 18th International Ballet Festival in Miami in September 2013.

He spent the 2014-15 season with Cincinnati Ballet as a principal dancer, then joined Colorado Ballet as a principal dancer for the 2015-16 season. He will remain in Denver for the 2016-17 season.

• 1994 : Gold Medal Vignale Danza in Italy
• 1995 : Grand Prix and Best Couple with Anette Delgado, International Ballet Festival of Havana, Cuba
• 1995 : Gold Medal, Bento Dance, Brazil
• 1995 : Grand Prix, International Ballet Competition, Montevideo, Uruguay
• 1996 : Silver Medal (junior male), Best Couple (junior) with Anette Delgado, Varna International Ballet Competition, Bulgaria
• 1998 : Gold Medal, Joinville Dance Festival, Brazil
• 1998 : Silver Medal (junior male), USA International Ballet Competition, Jackson, Mississippi
• 1998 : Gold Medal (junior male), Paris International Dance Competition
• 1999 : Silver Medal (senior division, classical ballet, male), Nagoya International Ballet Competition, Japan.

• Betancourt, Jose Luis Estrada. "Timida y magnifica". Desde Cuba. blogspot. Retrieved 25 October 2012. 
• ^ Boccadoro, Patricia. "Paris International Dance Competition". Culturekiosque. Retrieved 25 October 2012. 
• "1998 Medalists". List of USA International Ballet Competition medallists. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2012. 
• "1999 winners". Japan International Ballet Competition website. Retrieved 25 October 2012. 

After graduating from the Cuban national school, Ramos toured with the Jeune Ballet de France, both domestically and internationally - Africa, South America, and St Petersburg, Russia. The company performed classical excerpts and commissioned contemporary works. Ramos' roles included pas de deux from La Fille mal Gardée, Harlequinade, Le Corsaire, Flower Festival at Genzano, The Flames of Paris, Stars and Stripes, Don Quixote, and Variations for Four.

As a surnuméraire (short term contract corps de ballet member) with Paris Opera Ballet, Ramos danced in Nureyev's Swan Lake.

English National Ballet

At the invitation of Derek Deane, Ramos joined English National Ballet as a soloist, eventually being promoted to principal in 2003. Roles with ENB included:

• Franz in Coppélia
• Prince, Nutcracker Doll in The Nutcracker
• Poet in Les Sylphides
• Blue Bird in The Sleeping Beauty
• lead man, Mazurka in Études
• Albrecht, peasant pas de deux in Giselle
• lead man in Balanchine's Who Cares?
• lead man in Balanchine's Square Dance
• Jean de Brienne in grand pas from Raymonda
• pas de deux from Le Corsaire
• Romeo, Mercutio in Nureyev's Romeo and Juliet
• Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio in Deane's arena Romeo and Juliet
• Siegfried in Swan Lake
• White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland
• Prince in Cinderella
• Kay (created role) in The Snow Queen
• Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes (Mark Morris)

The Australian Ballet

Invited to join the company as a principal, Ramos expanded his repertoire to include

• Prince Siegfried in Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake
• Des Grieux in Macmillan's Manon
• Doctor/Beloved Officer in Graeme Murphy's Nutcracker: The Story of Clara
• Basilio in Gaisina's Don Quixote
• Basilio in Nureyev's Don Quixote
• Prince in Peter Wright's The Nutcracker
• Prince Désiré in Stanton Welch's The Sleeping Beauty
• Camille in Hynd's The Merry Widow
• Mercutio in Murphy's Romeo and Juliet
• Goro in Stanton Welch's Madame Butterfly
• Benno in Stephen Baynes' Swan Lake
• Red Knight in de Valois' Checkmate
• Lead man in Balanchine's Ballet Imperial
• Mazurka in Lifar's Suite en Blanc
• Welch's Divergence
• Petrushka in Fokine's Petrushka
• Principal man in Baynes' Beyond Bach
• Massine's Les Présages
• Macmillan's Concerto (first movement)
• Duato's Por vos muero
• Ratmansky's Scuola di ballo

and continued to dance

• Franz in Coppélia
• Albrecht in Giselle
• The Poet in Les Sylphides

May 2013 until August 2014

After his last performance as Basilio in Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote with The Australian Ballet on April 24, 2013, Ramos spent some time dancing freelance all over the world.

He made his debut as James in August Bournonville's La Sylphíde with Bangkok City Ballet in Thailand in July 2013, danced Giselle second act pas de deux and Lizzie MacKenzie's Adherence.Process at the International Ballet Festival in Miami, USA in September 2013, guested as the Prince in The Nutcracker with various companies in the USA in December 2013 and performed in ballet galas in London, Cork, Denver and Vienna as well as teaching in England and the USA.

Cincinnati Ballet 2014-2015 season

• Floating Forward (Heather Britt)
• Peter Pan in Septime Webre's Peter Pan
• Cotton Candy Cavalier, Poodle in The Nutcracker (Victoria Morgan)
• The Joker in ALICE (in Wonderland) (Septime Webre)
• Mozart's Requiem (Adam Hougland)
• Two Soloists in Yuri Possokhov's Classical Symphony

Colorado Ballet

• Don Quixote pas de deux (Marius Petipa)
• James in Bournonville's La Sylphíde
• Nutcracker Prince and the Sugar Plum Cavalier in Martin Fredmann's The Nutcracker
• Principal couple in his own short ballet Divertimento Pour Six
• The Dodo Bird, the Joker, Lewis Carroll, and the Mad Hatter in ALICE (in Wonderland) (Septime Webre)
• Pas de Six in Dominic Walsh's Wolfgang (for Webb)
• The Devil (El Diablo) in Lorita Travaglia's The Angel of Buenos Aires
• Prince Siegfried and Benno in Swan Lake (Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner after Marius Petipa)

Television and film performances

The Poet in Les Sylphides, included in The Australian Ballet's triple bill Firebird and Other Legends.