Professional ballet dancer Juan Carol Osma is living out his passion by performing in front of thousands of audiences at the Joburg Ballet. Osma has been cast in the role of the prince in the company’s upcoming production of Swan Lake in April.
Born in Cuba, Osma trained in ballet at the National Ballet School of Cuba, graduating in 2011. At the age of 14, he successfully auditioned to take part in the Encuentro Internacional de Academias de Ballet, which is a festival of world dance academies meeting annually in Havana.
Osma has also participated in four Havana International Ballet Festivals from 2007 to 2010. “I have choreographed for the National Ballet School of Cuba and the National Ballet of Cuba.
From 2011 to 2013 he was a lead dancer in the Ballet Revolucion touring company, a mix of classical, contemporary and hip-hop dance, with sold-out tours to Australia and Europe.
He is currently a corps de ballet dancer for Joburg Ballet and has been involved in various productions ranging from Paquita, The Sleeping Beauty, The Magic Flute, and Don Quixote. “I also danced in La Bayadere and The Nutcracker: Re-imagined and toured China with the company in 2014.
Osma also spoke about his desire to become a world-renowned dancer and choreographer. “My dream is to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London. As a choreographer, I would love to work with my compatriot Osiel Gounod, who is a principal male dancer with the National Ballet of Cuba,” he said.
Apart from being a disciplined dancer and choreographer Osma offers salsa classes in Greenside, at The Greensider.
Five fun facts about Juan Carol Osma:
– He has a love of music, with salsa and classical being his two favourite genres.
– Osma loves travelling.
– He loves dogs.
– He keeps fit at home as much as possible.
– He is passionate about photography. Osma takes a lot of abstracts and would love to put them on an exhibition one day.