What My Teacher Taught Me: Richard Villaverde’s Teachers Through Time
Opening the Door
The first person to ever give me a scholarship, who recognized what I could be, was Pepe Bronce. He offered me the opportunity to study dance at a local school in Miami on a scholarship when I was 13. I have never truly thanked him for this, but Pepe opened the door for me. That scholarship led me to my first ballet teacher, Maria Eugenia Lorenzo. I had just started dancing and was very self-conscious about how skinny I was, but she developed in me a true love of self. She taught me to “fall in love” with my hand during port de bras, and to really see myself in the mirror, to look at the way I carried myself through the movements. I developed a true appreciation of lines and artistry and learned dance from a more universal perspective rather than through the masculine perspective of big jumps and turns.
A Graham Teacher for the Future Graham Soloist
I went to New World School of the Arts for high school, where I trained under Peter London. He decided my class would take Graham technique class all four years, from 9th through 12th grades, and he really became a grandfather to me. I was the only boy in my class! He taught me to dance bigger, to dance with my back, and to use my size to move across the floor. Now many years later, being a part of the Graham company, I am so thankful for Peter’s legacy. I am grateful for the energy and power Martha gave to him that he was able to share with me. During my training, he taught us Diversion of Angels and Acts of Light, and I had a kismet moment my first year in the Graham company because we performed those pieces, and I was cast in the same roles I had performed in high school!
Rather than explain how to do something, Peter would often just show me. He taught me how to change the energy of a space and how to look at every single person in the audience. Through a combination of his teaching and my doing Graham work, for the first time I understood the human being as a light of spirituality. He was the first person to unlock my spirit as an artist.
Comp-Kid Inspiration
I also trained in a competition studio—Dance Town—that focused on the commercial aspect of performance. Manny and Lory Castro were my teachers, and Manny was adamant about me becoming a performer. He was really training me to lead a group, and I don’t think I really understood that until later in my career. Inspired by Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, Manny created a principal role for me in a piece where I played Frank Sinatra. I was so excited to call him years later, in 2022, when I got to work with Twyla Tharp and perform Sinatra Songs at New York City Center!
College and Beyond
I attended University of the Arts for my undergrad, and Christine Cox was a teacher there and director of BalletX, where I danced after graduation. I’ve never expressed this before, but she was truly one of the best mentors I’ve ever had. She always pushed me to strive for more, to believe that there was always something else to work on. Her never-ending drive was infectious! She had the ability to push everyone in the room, but from a place of care and growth. I am so thankful for the ways she inspired me.
The last teacher I wanted to acknowledge is Ismael Ivo from Brazil, who passed away during the COVID pandemic. He directed the dance program at the Biennale de Venezia and was a true artist. Ismael would get inspired by everything; he was a feeler. I learned so much about creating art from watching him. He didn’t need to start with big concepts or ideas, he could get inspired by a pen and create a dance from that pen. Ismael was never afraid to start something new—if it didn’t work, he would scrap it and start over with something else. From watching him, I learned that your art is you, it is your life, and it can come from anywhere.
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