Dance

Joseph Gorak

Princess Grace Award:
Dance Fellowship, 2011

Joseph Gorak began his classical ballet training with North Central School of Ballet in Texas. He has studied under full scholarships at the International Ballet Competition Summer School, as well as ABT’s Summer Intensive in Austin, Texas, and Orlando Ballet’s Summer Intensive, and School of American Ballet’s summer intensive. In 2004, Gorak trained at the Orlando Ballet School and, in 2005, joined Orlando Ballet, under the direction of Fernando Bujones. 

Gorak won the silver medal in the senior men’s division at the 2005 Helsinki International Ballet Competition, the gold medal in the senior men’s division at the 2005 YAGP Finals, the silver medal from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, and the Grand Prix Award at the 2006 YAGP Finals. 

Gorak joined ABT II in 2006 and was named an apprentice with American Ballet Theatre in January 2009. He joined ABT as a member of the corps de ballet in January 2010. Among his roles with the Company are the Chinese Dance in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, a Fairy Knight in The Sleeping Beauty and the Neapolitan Dance in Swan Lake. He created a leading role in Dumbarton.

In 2011 Gorak won the Erik Bruhn Prize.