January 20, 2021

KCB Dancer Chat with Consuelo Cruz

Please join us for our Free Facebook Live KCB Dancer Chats; a new community engagement and education series designed to engage the broader public with professional dancers at Kansas City Ballet. Each Dancer Chat provides an opportunity for the public to get to know different company dancers through relaxed, informal conversations sharing their unique perspectives on various topics of the day. Moderated by prominent members of the community and arts lovers these engaging Chats will reveal backgrounds, extraordinary experiences, and strong relationships between professional artists.

Moderator Consuelo Cruz with Kansas City Ballet dancers Humberto Rivera Blanco and Emily Mistretta.

Meet the Moderator

Consuelo Cruz

Consuelo Cruz is the Marketing and Community Engagement Manager for Belger Cartage Service, Inc. and Belger Arts.

She has over fifteen years of experience forming and cultivating partnerships with diverse stakeholders in non-profit, corporate and government sectors. She believes deeply in the value of the arts and education in bridging cultures and connecting communities. She has served as Director of Latino Cultural Arts Division and Director of Development for Mattie Rhodes Center, as an interpreter, an adjunct Spanish instructor, and most recently as the Arts Marketing Coordinator for the Office of Culture and Creative Services, City of Kansas City, Missouri. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts, Spanish from Rockhurst University and a Master of Arts, Romance Languages and Literature from University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri. She has studied abroad at University of Granada, Spain and Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico and has served on the Boards of Directors of numerous non-profits in Kansas City.

Meet the Dancers

Company Member Emily Mistretta

Emily Mistretta

Joined KCB in 2016

Company Member Emily Mistretta began her training at Inland Pacific Ballet Academy in Montclair, California. In 2005, Emily attended Boston Ballet’s Summer Dance Program, where she was asked to join the Boston Ballet School and received a tuition scholarship with generous funding from Jack Rugheimer. In 2006, Emily joined Boston Ballet II, and she was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2008.

Emily was featured in several works throughout her career with Boston Ballet, including; The Sleeping Beauty (Pas de Trois, Little Red, Woodland Glade Fairy), Florence Clerc’s La Bayadère (Tall Gamzatti’s Friend, Small Gamzatti’s Friend, Lead D’jambo), Michel Fokine’s Les Sylphides (Soloist Sylph), Jerome Robbins’ Antique Epigraphs and The Concert, Balanchine’s JewelsSymphony in C (3rd Movement Soloist), CoppéliaSerenade (Russian Girls), The Four TemperamentsEpisodesTheme and VariationsDivertimento No. 15Symphony in Three Movements, Jorma Elo’s Elo Experience and Awake Only, Yuri Yanowsky’s Smoke and Mirrors, Jeffrey Cirio’s Fremd,  Jiří Kylián’s Bella FiguraWings of WaxTar and Feathers and Symphony of Psalms, and Alexander Ekman’s Cacti.

Humberto Rivera Blanco

Joined KCB in 2016

Humberto Rivera Blanco, originally from Havana, Cuba, began his training at the age of 8 at the National School of Ballet of Cuba. In 2014, he joined the National Ballet of Cuba under the artistic direction of Alicia Alonso. There, Mr. Blanco danced in many ballets such as Giselle, Paquita, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty and Majismo. Upon moving to Miami, Florida in 2015, he studied at The Art of Classical Ballet under the direction of Magaly Suarez and performed roles in Le Corsaire and The Nutcracker.