Israel Zavaleta Escobedo
Israel Zavaleta Escobedo (Mexico City, Mexico) began his dance journey with his family’s company, Ballet Folklórico Texcoco de Noé Zavaleta, before taking his first ballet class at age 10. He trained at Academia de la Danza Mexicana and attended summer programs at Joffrey Ballet and Idyllwild Arts Academy. Israel has received numerous honors at international competitions, including second place at both International Dance Competition Attitude and Concurso Nacional de Ballet Infantil y Juvenil de México, and first place at the Youth America Grand Prix semi-finals in Tampa. He also competed at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson and the International Ballet and Choreography Competition in China. Israel is American Ballet Theatre–certified and teaches Men’s Ballet for OBII, Trainees, and Academy students at Orlando Ballet School. His principal roles include Mowgli in Toni Pimble’s The Jungle Book, Jonathan Harker in Michael Pink’s Dracula, Nick Carraway in Jorden Morris’s The Great Gatsby, and Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge® – The Ballet.
This is Israel’s seventh season with Orlando Ballet.