ALYSSON ROCHA

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Alysson Rocha (he/him) discovered Ballet at the age of 6 with the teacher Silvana Andrade and then joined the professional courses at Petite Danse School of Dance through the social project “Dançar a Vida” under the direction of Nelma Darzi with the teacher Jorge Texeira. A finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix 2005, he earned a scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet School and later joined the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro under Marcelo Misailidis, performing most of its classical titles such as Giselle, Swan Lake, Coppélia, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, among others. From 2009 to 2011, he choreographed and co-directed the Dançar a Vida Youth Company in Brazil, with the support of the major national banks: Eletrobras and BNDES.

During his professional years, Alysson was coached by his great mentors Pedro Kraszczuk and Cecilia Kerche.

Since 2013, Rocha has been a member of Ballett Dortmund, where he created roles with Xin Peng Wang and performed works by Forsythe, Ekman, Bubeníček, and Volpi. Appointed Ballet Master in 2018 and First Ballet Master in 2021, he has since coached and staged works by leading choreographers and curated the 37th International Ballet Gala in Dortmund. In 2019, he received the Dortmunder Löwe Prize for his project Silent Orchestrawith deaf children.

Rocha has been a judge and teacher for Youth America Grand Prix across Europe, the U.S., and South America, and a teacher with institutions such as the Royal Ballet of London, European School of Ballet, Ballet de L’Opera de Bordeaux, Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, and Valencia En Danza. Alysson was recently designated Head of Professional Division at the Oklahoma City Ballet School, Oklahoma City Ballet, under the direction of Rachael Nye.