Staff Spotlight: Who is Carina Castañeda?
In this month’s staff spotlight, we highlight Boca Ballet Theatre’s Carina Castañeda! A BBT alumna and former dancer, Carina is now part of our amazing patron services team! But who is Carina, and how did she become a member of the BBT family?
Carina started dancing with BBT in 2009 when she was ten years old. After dancing with guest artist Simon Ball of Houston Ballet in BBT’s 2014 production of Swan Lake, Carina was invited to join Houston Ballet’s Academy, where she received a full scholarship to attend their year-long program. After dancing with the Houston Ballet Academy from 2014 to 2016, she decided to retire from dancing. After taking a year off, Carina decided she missed dancing too much to stay away from the studio, so she returned to BBT in 2017 to take adult classes!
Carina Castañeda with Balanchine Trust repetiteur Diana White
Carina says one of her best performance memories is dancing George Balanchine’s La Source. You can see her pictured here with Balanchine Trust repetiteur Diana White. One of her favorite ballets, however, is none other than Graduation Ball. In 2012, she performed on pointe for the first time in the ballet and then in 2017 danced the lead role of “The Sweetheart Girl.” A real full circle moment for her!
Unfortunately, Carina had to stop dancing due to the pain from scoliosis, but we are so happy to have her as part of BBT’s staff! “I have such an appreciation for working there because I’ve been through what the current students are going through,” she says. “And because of that, I care so much about these dancers. I also get so much inspiration from Mireille Merhi, the office manager. She’s a rockstar at what she does, and I couldn’t be great at my job without her!”
Like many of our audience members, Carina is looking forward to BBT’s production of Giselle on April 22 and 23, 2023! “I love watching the BBT students dance,” she says, “especially knowing how much hard work they’ve put into it.” BBT also has exciting things in store for the summer as we welcome dancers from across the country to participate in our Summer Performance Workshops. “I’m very proud that BBT can have that reach and inspire many others,” Carina says.
We are so grateful to have Carina as a member of our BBT family! Be sure to say hello to her next time you’re in the studio!
