Yanis Pikieris
Dancer, Director, Choreographer, was the recipient of the silver medal
at the first Jackson International Ballet Competition in 1979. In 1981
he was the first dancer
from the western hemisphere to win the prestigious gold
medal at Moscow’s International Ballet Competition, launching an
international career that would take
him to over 40 countries around the world as one of his
generations’ premier dancers.
He has danced as a principal dancer with the International
Ballet of Caracas, Bavarian National Ballet, Deutsche Oper am
Rhein-Dusseldorf, Miami City Ballet and Ballet du Nord. As a guest
principal dancer he has performed with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Nagoya
Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet (1984 Olympic Games ),
Hungarian State Opera, Latvian National Opera (Honorary guest for the 1st
Dance Festival of the Baltics) and Teatro Massimo di Palermo among
others. Other important appearances include venues such as Wolftrap,
Lincoln Center,
Kennedy
Center,
Munich’s
Olympic Stadium and Spoletto Festival in
Italy.
Video credits include, (Bavaria Studios Star Gala), (Los Angeles Ballet,
Pas de Deux) and (Dancing for Gold,” Moscow International Ballet
Competition”). Mr. Pikieris has enjoyed enormous success throughout
Europe
and received various critics’ awards for his performances in John
Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet and Eugene Onegin as well as in a diverse
classical and contemporary repertoire.
In 1986 Artistic Director Edward Villella invited him to join a new
company; Miami City Ballet. As a founding member he astounded with his
power and passion on stage and was instrumental in the initial success
of the company. From 86 to 89 and 91 to 94 he danced most of the
ballets in that company’s extensive Balanchine
repertoire. He will be mostly remembered for his
interpretations of The Prodigal Son, Apollo and Tarantella among
others. As a choreographer he has created several works, including
“Dischordia”, ”Still Waters”, “Mephisto”,”Imagined Notions”,
“Gargoyles,” and "The Four Seasons" (SunPost Winner- Best Dance Concert
of the 2002-2003 Season). He has created works for the Bavarian National
Ballet, Ballet Centrum
Berlin, Ballet Randolph, Ballet du
Nord, Ballet Theatre of Miami, Ballet Metropolitano de Medellin, Juegos
del
Arte Dance Ensemble, Maximum Dance Company, Ballet de Monterrey,
Incolballet and Colleges around the
U.S.A.
He has also choreographed the dance sequences in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene
Onegin for the Florida Grand Opera.Mr.
Pikieris has also created works in collaboration with David Palmer,
including “The Rite of Spring”, (SunPost Winner- Best Original Work of
the 2002-2003 Season) "Spectrum", “Adiemus”, “Carnival of the Animals”
and “The Elements” for Maximum Dance Company. In 1996
together with his wife Marielena Mencia
he founded the Mencia-Pikieris School of Dance.
In recognition for his outstanding
contribution to the arts, Dade
County
and the City of
Miami
have proclaimed Nov 15th
and 16th,
2002 as Yanis Pikieris Day. He is also the recipient of the State of
Florida Choreographic Fellowship
and the New World
School
of the Arts Achievement Award. He
previously served as Artistic Director for Ballet du Nord in
France,
Juegos Dance Ensemble in Miami
and the Ballet Metropolitano de Medellin. Mr. Pikieris founded and
directed Maximum Dance Company in
Miami from,
1996 to 2005, with David Palmer.
During the 06 and 07 seasons, he served as Program Director
for Miami City Ballet’s Contemporary Dance Series and Young People’s
Programming.
Also in 2006 he founded the Miami Youth
Ballet which is a non-profit organization with the mission of providing
opportunities for local young artists.He
serves as a National Panelist (Ballet) for the National Foundation for
the Advancement of the Arts and is a member of the jury for the World
Ballet Competition in
Orlando, Florida.He
serves as Executive Director of the Nebrada Arts Initiative which is a
non-profit organization with the mission of supporting pre-professional
artists and managing the legacy of the late Latin American
choreographer, Vicente Nebrada. He currently directs the
Mencia-Pikieris School of Dance, the Miami Youth Ballet and works as a
freelance master teacher and choreographer.