In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month, LaDuca is honored to spotlight five inspiring performers whose work in the Entertainment Industry has greatly impacted the field and continues to inspire creativity, conversation, and change both on and off the stage.
Georgina Pazcoguin, aka “The Rogue Ballerina,” was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania and began training at the age of 4 at the Allegheny Ballet Academy. Georgina joined New York City Ballet in 2003 and became the first Asian American female Soloist in NYCB’s history after being promoted in 2013. Additional credits include Victoria in CATS, Ivy Smith in On the Town, the film “NY EXPORT: OPUS JAZZ,” and the FX miniseries, “Fosse/Verdon.” Georgina is co-founder—with Phil Chan—of Final Bow for Yellowface, which raises awareness and promotes inclusivity through sincere representation of all ethnicities in the performing arts. Georgina is also the author of Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina. Published July 27, 2021.
I didn’t embark on my career path thinking I would be so outspoken about my heritage. I just wanted to keep growing as an artist. When I got into NYCB I realized that goal would have to reframe itself. I would have to define myself or be defined in a one dimensional way based on a lens that viewed me as other, different.
My mindset is on more than a month…It’s on 365 days and onward after that.
My work off the stage aims to normalize ‘visibility.’ I aim to level the playing field in my world alongside so many of my brothers and sisters acting for change. Like any human, I’m so much more than my strengths. I’m so much more than what I present on the surface. And being mixed raced, my experience has shaped who I am as a person on stage off stage, AND as a woman. My experience has had me adapt to embrace my differences and spin them into gold the only way I know how.
My experiences—good and otherwise—in this world of dance have made me ‘The Rogue Ballerina’ and I’ve so much to share with you. I’ll see you at the theater!
Follow Georgina @georgina_pazcoguin and visit www.georginapazcoguin.com. To support this artist, preorder Swan Dive, and then empower yourself by joining the conversation at www.yellowface.org.
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