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Lourdes López is the art director of the Miami City Ballet. She has over four decades of accomplishments, making her one of the most influential people of dance, per the magazine Dance in 2018.
When she was five years old, López began her dancing career. What started as a medical recommendation to fix a health issue, resulted in an illustrious career, with her attending the School of American Ballet (SAB) in New York City, where she was welcomed with a full scholarship. She spent her time split between Miami, where she spent her childhood, and New York City, until she made the big apple her home when she was 14 years old. Two years later, López became a part of the New York City Ballet.
López achieved what no other dancer could in the history of dance, becoming the first Latina dancer at the New York ballet.
While López is retired, her imprint in the dance scene still has an impact, one that has yet to be equaled. Over her years in New York City she became the only Latin American dancer to earn the title of prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet, where she worked with some of the biggest legends of classical dance: George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
Despite her retirement, López continues to impact the dance industry. She has written and produced various art segments aired on WNBC-TV New York and was included in the roster of Ballet Academy East. López was also able to occupy multiple spaces within the dance world, transitioning from a dancer, to the executive director at the George Balanchine Foundation, the co-founder of The Cuban Artists Fund, and the co-founder of Morphoses. She was awarded with the award “A Life for Dance,” by the International Ballet Festival of Miami.