Meet Nayon Iovino of Ballet Arizona

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nayon Iovino.

Nayon, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my classical ballet training at the age of ten, back in my home country Brazil. My school took me to Youth American Grand Prix in 2007 at age 17, where I was awarded a full scholarship to train at Washington School of Ballet in DC, where I spent two years as a student and in 2009, I began my professional career as a ballet dancer.

In 2012 I found Ballet Arizona because I heard good things about the director s I decided to go and audition. Luckily I was accepted and also ended up having a good relationship with Ib Andersen, the company director. Since joining Ballet Arizona, I’ve had the opportunity to not only dance many classical, neoclassical and contemporary works but also to choreograph. Once I started choreographing (2013), I got in touch with a part of me that I never knew before. I got hooked.

And so far, I’ve been very lucky to choreograph many works to Ballet Arizona and other projects like New York Choreographic Institute. In my Website, there’s a more detailed description of my achievement as a choreographer. www.Nayoniovino.com

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve had a lot of injuries in my career that I had to work my way back to dance, but every single time I came back stronger and understanding how to work smarter with my body. And other big struggle I had was when my mother the person that supported me and was always there for me, passed away without never getting a chance to see me dancing professionally in the USA.

Please tell us about Ballet Arizona.
Ballet Arizona is a professional dance company. We perform several times of the year in the Symphony Hall and Orpheum theater. We also have shown in the botanical garden in the month of May, which became a very popular show. I like the quality of work we put out there. Our director has very high standards and is very knowledgeable. And the team of dancers is the best part, is like we are a big family! We also always are creating new works and doing a lot to the community.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Going to the beach with my family. I love being in the water and exploring.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2835 E Washington St Phoenix, AZ 85014
• Website: www.balletaz.org
• Phone: 6023810184
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/balletarizona/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/balletaz/

Image Credit:
Tzuchia Huang

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