Paul Mejia was born in Lima, Peru, but was raised in New York.  He joined the School of American Ballet in 1958, and by the age fourteen, he had choreographed his first ballets.  Mr. Mejia joined the New York City Ballet in 1964, and danced principal roles in many of George Balanchine’s ballets.  In 1972, he joined Maurice Bejart’s Ballet of the Twentieth Century where he danced and choreographed throughout Europe, and in 1977, he staged a season of ballet in Guatemala, where he created four new ballets including Romeo and Juliet, the first of his Shakespearean ballet series.  Mr. Mejia joined the Chicago City Ballet as co-artistic director with Maria Tallchief, and during the next seven years, he created fifteen new ballets, including his full-length version of Cinderella, which toured nationally and internationally to great acclaim.  His ballet Eight by Adler, music by Richard Adler, was later filmed for PBS and won an Emmy Award for Suzanne Farrell. From 1987 to 1998, Mr. Mejia was artistic director of the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet, during which time he added thirty-two of his own works to the company’s repertoire, including sixteen world premiers. Dedicated to the artistic vision and philosophy of George Balanchine, he has choreographed dramatic story ballets as well as works in the neoclassical style, and he has choreographed several works for operas, including the Chicago Lyric Opera.    He has been a guest teacher and lecturer in various schools and universities throughout the United States.  In 1984, Mr. Mejia was selected by Esquire Magazine as one of the “Outstanding Americans under 40.”  In 1998, Mr. Mejia became the artistic advisor of Ballet Arlington.  He assumed the position of executive director in 2001 and this year, he was named co-artistic director with Alexander Vetrov.

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Alexander Vetrov, born in Russia, grew up in a family of actors. He joined the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Theatre in 1979, and achieved the status as the lead principal male dancer.  During his fifteen years with the Bolshoi, Mr. Vetrov toured to over fifty countries, and performed both independently and as guest Bolshoi Ballet principal for gala concerts worldwide.  He has been featured in commercial video productions such as Spartacus, Bayadere, Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake.  A consistently dedicated, passionate, and strong dancer with extensive experience performing both classical and contemporary principal repertoire, Mr. Vetrov has a strong working knowledge of Russian Classical techniques and principles.  In 1985, he was awarded the Gold Medal from the Fifth International Ballet Competition in Moscow.  In 1995, he had the distinction of being the recipient of the Honored People's Artist of Russia, the highest honor given by the Russian President. Mr. Vetrov was the first to perform the title role for the ballet, Casanova Fantasy, when it premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1996 when he was then the leading male soloist of the Bolshoi.  Michael Lavrovsky, choreographer of Casanova Fantasy, created the ballet especially for Vetrov. Since his arrival in the US in 1997, Mr. Vetrov has continued to dance with the Bolshoi and maintains a significant relationship with the company.  He joined Ballet Arlington as a principal dancer in 2000, and this year, he assumed the role of co-artistic director with Mr. Paul Mejia.