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Elisa Toro Franky
Dancer/ Teacher / Choreographer
Elisa Toro Franky is a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer, and Spanish bilingual voiceover artist based in New York City. She is featured in works that integrate ballet, tango, ballroom, and Middle Eastern styles.
Elisa currently performs leading roles with FJK Dance, with whom she toured to China in 2017. She is also a featured artist with Christopher Caines Dance, and has worked as Program Director of Accent Dance NYC, providing access to dance in underserved communities. Elisa has been featured with Dardo Galletto Dance and FJK Dance at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.
In 2021, Elisa was invited to collaborate with El Puente Presente and a New York Philharmonic string quartet as part of the Bandwagon series. In the same year, Elisa performed at I Heart Dance NYC, where dancers from top NYC companies are invited. She also was a featured ballerina in Rhina Valentin's 'Sancocho' production, in celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month at Lincoln Center Restart Stages. Most recently in December of 2021, Elisa was a featured guest artist in the roles of Snow Queen and Arabian in the Westchester Ballet Company's Nutcracker season.
Born in Bogotá (Colombia), Elisa began her ballet training at the Myriam Guerrero School of Ballet at the age of eight. There she was trained by Cuban professors such as Ana Julia Bermúdez, Lidia Diaz and Maricely Castillo.
In 2004, Elisa came to the United States to train at the Miami City Ballet School. In 2007, she joined the Washington Ballet Studio Company, and one year later the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble (New York), where she toured nationally to commemorate the 40th anniversary of this legendary organization.
In 2010, Elisa competed at the USA International Ballet Competition, Jackson, Mississippi, where only 100 dancers were selected as competitors from around the world: "Today, international ballet competitions flourish worldwide, yet the USA IBC in Jackson remains one of the oldest and most respected dance competitions in the world."
From September of 2010 to May of 2014, Elisa was a member of the New Jersey Ballet Company, where she performed principal and soloist roles in a wide variety of works ranging from classical to contemporary ballet. The New Jersey Ballet Company is the most traditional troupe in the state of New Jersey, and holds performances in different cities throughout the state.
In 2012, Elisa founded the dance group "The Creative Cauldron" in Bogotá (Colombia), directing performances in 2012, 2013 and 2018 that received enthusiastic acclaim from the audience.
In 2014, 2015, and 2016, Elisa was invited to perform with Dardo Galletto Dance and FJK Dance at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival: "Thousands of people, of all ages, from across the United States and the world, have Jacob’s Pillow to thank for opening their horizons to dance." - PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, awarding Jacob’s Pillow with a 2010 National Medal of Arts.
In 2017, Elisa embarked in a 31-city international tour to China with FJK Dance, performing at the Poly Theatre Chains. Poly Culture was conferred in China the title of the "Top 10 Most Influential National Demonstrational Bases in Cultural Industry" by the Ministry of Culture in 2011. From 2008 to 2016, it has been awarded the "Top 30 Cultural Enterprises of China" 8 times consecutively.