Caracas (Venezuela), 1947

By Valerio Cesio

Venezuelan ballerina Zhandra Rodriguez began her dance studies in her hometown. She was the principal dancer of the National Ballet of Venezuela from 1961 to 1968 and of the American Ballet Theatre from 1969 to 1974.

She was also a guest star with the National Ballet of Cuba, the Berlin State Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and the Hamburg State Opera, where she was a principal dancer from 1974 to 1979. During this time, John Neumeier created ballets for her, including Third Symphony by Mahler, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Pas de Deux of Ariel (which she performed with Zane Wilson). Her partners included Fernando Bujones, Yvan Nagy, Michel Denard, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Some of her most memorable performances include Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Five Tangos, Rodin mis en vie, and Poema (choreographed by J. Parés).

In 1975, she founded the International Ballet of Caracas, where she remained until 1979. In 1980, she participated in the gala commemorating the 40th anniversary of the American Ballet Theatre, performing Una danza para tí, created for her by Vicente Nebreda, alongside Patrick Bissell. That same year, she embarked on an extensive tour of Brazil with Mikhail Baryshnikov, dancing for nearly 200,000 people. In 1981, she founded the Ballet Novo Mundo in Caracas, which she directs with her husband, Fred Bordeianu.

Zhandra Rodriguez has always stood out as a dancer of duets and pas de deux. Her high-energy gymnastic technique and natural aptitude for partnering made many of her duets memorable. Instinctive and possessing unusual projection, she was considered one of the most authentic dancers of Latin American ballet in the 1970s from a young age.