José Mateo

Founder, choreographer, and artistic director of José Mateo Ballet Theatre, José Mateo has developed a new model for a ballet organization

and has reshaped the role ballet organizations can play in the community. The School has gained an excellent reputation for its innovations in technical training, as well as its individualized approach to dance education. The Company has consistently received high praise for performances of Mr. Mateo’s new classical ballets. The community outreach programs of Dance for the CommonWealth have made ballet and ballet education accessible to thousands of nontraditional audience members and dance students.

Cuban-born José Mateo holds a B.A. in Art History from Princeton University, where he began his formal training in ballet, modern and musical theater. New York-trained in Cecchetti and Vaganova, as well as new American techniques, Mr. Mateo danced with several companies, touring the U.S. and Europe as he began to formulate his new vision of contemporary ballet.

After a successful career as a performer, Mr. Mateo moved to Boston and quickly became one of the area’s most respected teachers. In 1985 he co-founded the Ballet Theatre of Boston School. The following year the organization was incorporated as a not-for-profit and included a professional performing company.

For the past 20 years, under Mr. Mateo’s leadership, the company and school have had unprecedented success among students, audiences, and critics.

“Mateo is a choreographer of talent, a director of integrity, and a teacher with an excellent reputation and enthusiastic following.”
The Boston Globe

“Mateo has created a significant repertory of original neoclassical ballets, and he leads one of the most well-established dance companies in the area.”
The Boston Herald

Other accomplishments:

In 2005, Mr. Mateo was named to the first class of Barr Fellows. “The 2005 Barr Fellows Program honors the contributions of twelve of the most gifted and experienced nonprofit leaders in the Boston area. Over a three-year period that includes a sabbatical, international travel, a series of retreats, and peer learning, these distinguished executives will have an important opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of their organization and find the inspiration to attain even higher levels of effectiveness, creativity, and innovation.” (Source: Barr Foundation)
His company has been recognized alongside well known international companies in The Boston Globe’s ’10 Best Dance Events’ in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
In 1996 and 2004 Mr. Mateo was awarded the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Artist Fellowship in Choreography.
In 2003 he was featured in Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch”, an annual listing of cutting edge newsmakers on the national dance scene.
In 2002 he was awarded the City of Cambridge / Dance Complex Dance Award in recognition of his commitment to the community and to dance.

José Mateo is on the Board of Directors of the Cambridge Arts Council, the Rowell Children’s Positive Plan, the Friends of Cáritas Cubana, and the Cambridge Task Force for Arts in Cambridge Public Schools.