Position: Principal

Years: 2016

Awards: International Ballet Competition in Havana silver medal, Danza & Mare Competition gold medal, Youth America Grand Prix gold medal 2011

Contact: Instagram, Twitter

Mayara Pineiro graduated from the Cuban National Ballet School under the direction of Ramona de Sáa. She has participated in international dance festivals across the globe, including South Africa, Peru, and Canada. At age 16, Mayara won a silver medal in the International Ballet Competition held in Havana, Cuba. That same year, she received a gold medal in the Danza & Mare Competition in Calabria, Italy and a second gold medal in 2011 at the Youth American Grand Prix in Tampa, Florida.

Mayara joined Pennsylvania Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet for our 2014/2015 season. She was promoted to soloist in 2015 and principal dancer in 2016. Mayara’s repertoire with the company includes principal roles such as Medora in Angel Corella’s Le Corsaire and Odile/Odette in Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake. She has also danced featured roles in Matthew Neenan’s Shift to Minor and Jerome Robbins’ The Concert.

Prior to joining Pennsylvania Ballet, Mayara was a soloist with the National Opera of Bucharest, where she danced a variety of featured roles. In 2012, she was invited to be a guest artist with Balletto del Sud in Italy under the direction of Fredy Franzutti, and then, from 2012 to 2014, danced with Milwaukee Ballet. Mayara’s journey from Cuba to the U.S. was also the subject of filmmaker Mary Jane Doherty’s 2014 documentary Secundaria.