Fernando Montano

Fernando Rodriguez Montaño (born 6 March 1985) is a Colombian ballet dancer, and soloist with the Royal Ballet, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. On November 19, 2015 he made his debut in a principal role when he performed 'the lover' in The Two Pigeons.

He is the first Colombian to dance with the company having joined them in 2006. Fernando has performed in many different countries including Mexico, Russia, Japan, China, Jamaica, Spain, Italy and US, works regularly with the British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, and produces and choreographs his own shows around the world. He was described by BBC TV in 2013 as 'the Colombian Billy Elliot'.

In 2016 Fernando took a sabbatical and returned to Colombia to visit his family and be a judge on 52 episodes of the first ever Colombian series of Dancing with the Stars, known locally as Bailando con las Estrellas.

He was also the subject of a BBC documentary, 'Dancing for Peace', that was broadcast in the UK and around the world in 2016. On September 10th 2016 Montaño premiered 'Foot-Ba', his new fusion of dance and football, at the globally televised opening ceremony of the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Cali.

Montaño was born in Buenaventura on the Pacific coast of Colombia into very poor area of the country but at the age of 14 won a scholarship to the National Ballet School of Cuba where he won several prizes at the International Ballet Contest in Havana, Cuba, and then joined the Cuban National Ballet. He also trained at La Scala and Teatro Nuovo di Torino, Italy where he was spotted by the Director of the English Ballet School, Jane Hucker and Niurka de Saa and invited to the UK to audition, following which he joined the Royal Ballet in 2006 where he was mentored by Carlos Acosta.

In 2010 Montaño was promoted to First Artist and has been featured in increasingly higher profile roles. His repertory includes Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Jester (Cinderella), Bluebird (The Sleeping Beauty), Caterpillar (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Benvolio and the balcony pas de deux (Romeo and Juliet), pas de six (Giselle), pas de trois (Fool’s Paradise) and roles in La Vivandière, Raymonda Act III and Chroma.

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