Master Class: Ballet with Jeffrey Cirio

Jeffrey Cirio

Jeffrey Cirio began his ballet training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. He also studied at Boston Ballet School and Orlando Ballet School. In 2006, he was awarded a Grand Prix medal in the regionals, and a gold medal in the New York finals of Youth America Grand Prix. He went on to win a bronze medal at the 2006 U.S. International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS and a silver medal at the 5th Seoul International Dance Competition. Cirio’s other awards include “Best Male Dancer” at the 2006 American Ballet Competition, a gold medal at Tanzolymp Competition, a silver level award in ballet at the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts 2009 Arts Week, the Senior Grand Prix Award and the Mary Day Award for Artistry at the 2009 Youth America Grand Prix, and a gold medal at the 2009 World Ballet Competition. He went on to win a gold medal at the 2009 Helsinki International Ballet Competition, becoming the first American to do so.

Cirio danced for Boston Ballet in 2009 as a corps de ballet member and was awarded the coveted Princess Grace Fellowship for 2009.  He was promoted to second soloist in 2010, soloist in 2011 and principal in 2012.

Cirio joined American Ballet Theatre in September 2015 as a Soloist and was promoted to Principal in June 2016. In 2017, Cirio was invited to be a guest artist with English National Ballet. He joined ENB as Lead Principal in 2018 where he danced the role of the Creature in Akram Khan’s “Creature.” Cirio was nominated as Best Male Dancer in the UK in 2019, 2021 and 2022 by the National Dance Awards. In 2022, he won Outstanding Male Classical Performance for his role in “Creature.”

Cirio performs in galas and events throughout the US, and internationally, including in China, Japan, Ukraine, Mexico, and Mongolia

He is the co-founder (with his sister and fellow principal, Lia Cirio) and Artistic Director of Cirio Collective, and has created works for the Collective, Boston Ballet, Ballet Academy East, Central PA Youth Ballet, and English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer.