Max Luna III's return to Ballet Philippines as artistic director
brings his career full circle spanning
nearly 35 years and 6 continents as an internationally
acclaimed performer, teacher and
choreographer.
As a student, Mr. Luna began his training at the cultural
center of the Philippines and continued
in the United States at prestigious institutions such as the
American Ballet Theater school, the
School of American Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet School. From
there he went on to dance with
Ballet International de Caracas, Ballet Hispanico, Joyce Trisler
Danscompany, Les Ballet Jazz de
Montreal and finally, six highly acclaimed years with the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Along with his stage career, he has also appeared on
television in the " Bill Cosby show", the PBS
series " Dance in America", the " Kennedy Center Honors"
and on the Italian Network, RAI, in a
documentary on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
As a teacher, Mr. Luna has been praised for a keen
movement sense complimented by an in-
depth knowledge of dance techniques. His extensive
teaching credits include 20 years on
faculty at the Alvin Ailey school along with Teato Nuovo di
Torino (Torino Italy) Bartholin
International Ballet Seminar ( Copenhagen, Denmark),
Baardar Dance Academy ( Oslo, Norway)
The Actors Studio ( New York, NY), Vignale Danza ( Vignale
Italy), Sarah Lawrence College (
Bronxville NY), Peridance (NY) City College of New York, and
Ballet Hispanico, (NY).
Critically celebrated as a choreographer, Mr. Luna has been
a resident choreographer at the
Ailey School for 10 years, Teatro Nuovo di Torino (Torino
Italy), Compania National di Canto y
Danza (Maputo Mozambique), Howard University
(Washington DC), University of Michigan (Ann
Arbor, MI), Roxbury Arts festival (Roxbury NY), Ballet East
Dance Company (Austin, TX)
Movements Dance Company, (Kingston, Jamaica) among
many others.
In 2000, Mr. Luna formed his own company, LUNA. The
company has toured Nancy, Thoinville,
Luneville in France. In 2007, LUNA opened at the Schimmel
Center in New York City to brilliant
reviews from the New York Times.
