Lourdes Lopez

Lourdes Lopez is a transformative leader in the performing arts whose distinguished career spans dance, television, arts education, arts advocacy, and executive leadership. Born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Miami, she was personally selected by George Balanchine to join New York City Ballet at age 16, where she danced under his direct tutelage alongside Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins. Her experience as a dancer became the foundation for a career devoted to expanding the reach and relevance of the arts—as an artist, educator, cultural journalist, advocate, and arts executive. She co-founded Morphoses with choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, pioneering a new model for the creation and presentation of contemporary ballet, and led Miami City Ballet as Artistic Director from 2012 to 2025. She also serves as a trustee of the Ford Foundation—the first artist ever appointed to its board and participated in national arts policy through the National Endowment for the Arts. Her leadership has consistently bridged artistic excellence, innovation, education, community engagement, and financial sustainability.

Throughout her career, Lopez has championed new choreography and new models for presenting and supporting the arts while honoring the traditions from which they emerged. She has commissioned and developed work by leading and emerging choreographers, guided arts organizations through periods of profound change, and advocated nationally for the value of the arts. Her contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Dance Magazine Award for Outstanding Achievements in Dance Leadership, Jerome Robbins Award, José Limón Director’s Award for Excellence, Ballet Hispánico’s Toda Una Vida Lifetime Achievement Award, Casita Maria’s Gold Medal of Honor and the American Immigration Law Foundation Award. In 2016, she was invited to join President Obama’s historic cultural delegation to Cuba.

At the heart of Lopez’s work is a belief that the lessons learned through the practice of ballet extend far beyond the stage. Ballet demands discipline, resilience, collaboration, curiosity, adaptability, and an unwavering pursuit of excellence. These are not simply tools for becoming a dancer; they are tools for becoming a thoughtful, capable, and engaged human being.