Deborah Marquez

Deborah Marquez

Founding Director of School of Ballet Arts(2010) and Ballet Arts Dance Company a 501 (c) (3) Charitable Organization (2011)

Marquez was born in Havana, Cuba and trained at the Provincial Ballet School, “Alejo Carpentier,” and later at the National Ballet School in Havana under the direction of Laura Alonso. In 2000 she joined the National Ballet of Cuba under the direction of Alicia Alonso where she performed throughout the world in numerous roles. In 2002 Deborah moved to the United States to dance with Ballet Florida, under the leadership of Marie Hale. She continued to danced professionally for more than 20 years, as described below.  

In 2010 Deborah founded the School of Ballet Arts in Palm Beach County, where she has trained and coached thousands of students, with many of her graduating seniors continuing to study dance at prestigious college programs and companies. With every passing year, she is proud to say that more Ballet Arts alumni join major American dance companies. 

The follow year Ballet Arts Dance Company was created. Since 2011 she has choreographed and staged many full length classical ballet productions for her Company, including the annual Nutcracker, Dracula, Coppélia, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, and Paquita, to name a few. 

In 2016 Deborah brought CUBALLET USA, International Ballet Summer Intensive founded by Laura Alonso, to the United States. Additionally in 2016, she received the Palm Beach County Randolph A Frank Award for Outstanding Arts Educator, having enriched many of her students’ lives with exceptional training and opportunities to prepare them for a future dance career.

In 2020 Deborah establish the Certification of Cuban Ballet Methodology Course, in USA with Laura Alonso and Reynaldo Muniz. This course, based on a Cuban Ballet curriculum.

Also that year, Deborah  Co-Founded Dance Open America, an international ballet competition based on a digital platform. In its inaugural year, D.O.A. had participants from over 25 countries competing for $100k in scholarships and prizes. 

More about Deborah as a Professional Dancer...

During her career Deborah joined the Centro Pro-Danza, led by the great maitre Laura Alonso where she was a Principal Dancer, performing many leading roles including: Sugar Plum in Nutcracker, Le Sylphide, Swanilda in Coppelia, Kitri and Mercedes in Don Quixote, Teresita in Napoli, Lucy in Dracula, ​Constanza in 3 Musketeers, and Ganzatti in La Bayadere, among others. Her awards include: First Prize - Best Choreography Song to the Movement at National Arts School Festival of Havana in Cuba (1989); First Prize for Best Performance and Technique at National Art Schools Festival ​in Havana, Cuba (1990); Bronze Medal at Second International ​Ballet Competition “Alicia Alonso” in Havana, Cuba ( 1997); and the Silver Medal at International Ballet Competition of Bello Horizonte in Brazil (1998). In 1999, Marquez performed The Nutcracker with the Ontario Ballet Theater in Toronto, Canada. Back in Cuba, she joined the National Ballet of Cuba where she danced the main classic repertoire, as well as some contemporary masterpieces by Alberto Mendez Rara Avis, and toured extensively through Europe and South America guided by the celebrated maitres Alicia Alonso, Joaquin Banegas, Lopia Araujo, Josefina Mendez, Fernando Alonso and others.

Deborah came to the USA in 2002 and joined the Ballet Florida, directed by Marie Hale. There, she had the opportunity to work with well known choreographers: Ben Stevenson (Dracula, Cleopatra, Esmeralda, Five Poems, Bartók Concerto, Four Last Songs, Three Preludes), Mauricio Wainrot (Libertango pas de deux, Rite of Spring, From Far Away, Anne Frank), Twyla Tharp (Baker's Dozen), Vicente Nebrada (Our Waltzes, Handel Celebration, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella), Trey McIntyre (Second Before the Ground), Val Caniparoli (Lambarena, Lady of Camelias), Norbert Vesak (A Midsummer Night Dream), Thierry Malandaine (Stone Flower), David Parsons (The Envelope), Marie Hale (The Nutcracker, Le Corsaire). While at Ballet Florida she also performed in George Balanchine’s (Allegro Brillante, Classic Symphony, Il Ballo della Regina).