Raúl Casasola
Principal Teacher with the Grainger Academy since 2019; formerly a Company Artist with The Joffrey Ballet.
About
Born in Madrid, Spain, Raúl Casasola began his training with María José Benítez and Santiago de la Quintana in Colmenar Viejo. In 1995, he received a scholarship to study at the renowned Víctor Ullate School of Dance, where he trained under Víctor Ullate, María Fernández, and María Eugenia Segarra. During the summers of 1999 and 2000, he was selected to perform with Europa Danse, a pre-professional company for young European dancers.
In 2000, he was an apprentice with Víctor Ullate Ballet before joining the Compañía Nacional de Danza 2, directed by Nacho Duato and Tony Fabre. There he performed works by Duato, Fabre, and Yoko Taira. From 2002 through 2006, Casasola was a member of Ballet de l’Opera National du Rhin in France. In 2006 he joined the Boston Ballet, dancing roles in works by George Balanchine, Jorma Elo, and Boyko Dossev. His repertoire includes works by Lucinda Childs, Jiří Kylián, Maurice Béjart, Jo Strømgren, Ohad Naharin, Claude Brumanchon, Davide Bombana, Bertrand d’At, and Andonis Foniadakis.
During his ten years with The Joffrey Ballet (2008-2018), selected repertory includes Round of Angels and Viva Vivaldi by Gerald Arpino, Episode 31, Joy, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Tulle by Alexander Ekman, Infra by Wayne McGregor, Stravinsky Violin Concerto by George Balanchine, Mammatus by Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Glass Pieces by Jerome Robbins. He has also premiered works by Edwaard Liang, James Kudelka, Jessica Lang, and Stanton Welch.
In 2017, Casasola graduated in Journalism and Communication from the University a Distancia of Madrid.