Jock Soto, who is half Navajo Indian and half Puerto Rican, was born in Gallup, New Mexico, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. At the age of five, he began studying ballet, an eventually moved to study with at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet. In 1981, Georges Balanchine invited him to become a member of the Company’s corps de ballet. In June 1984 he was promoted to the rank of soloist, and one year later, he became a principal dancer. Later, Mr. Soto served as a member of the Company’s permanent faculty for nearly two decades.
Mr. Soto’s extensive repertory includes featured roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Peter Martins, as well as television appearances on PBS, Sesame Street, Talking Food, Masterchef, and Breakfast with the Arts. He has published a cookbook and a memoir, and was featured in a PBS documentary, Water Flowing Together.
Mr. Soto has received multiples awards for his contribution to the arts and his public service, including a New Mexico Certificate of Appreciation from Senator John Pinto. Mr. Soto resides in Eagle Nest, NM with his husband Luis Fuentes and his pet beagle “Bandit”.