We are proud to welcome Alysson Rocha, Head of the Professional Division at Oklahoma City Ballet/Yvonne Chouteau School, YAGP judge and instructor, former First Ballet Master at Ballett Dortmund, and a globally recognized coach, teacher, and répétiteur, to the AEBI Intensive.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Alysson Rocha discovered ballet at the age of six with Silvana Andrade and later joined the professional program at Petite Danse School of Dance through the social project Dançar a Vida, directed by Nelma Darzi and taught by Jorge Texeira. A finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2005, he earned a scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet School and subsequently joined the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro under Marcelo Misailidis, performing major classical titles such as Giselle, Swan Lake, Coppélia, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty.

From 2009 to 2011, he choreographed and co-directed the Dançar a Vida Youth Company in Brazil with support from the national banks Eletrobras and BNDES. Throughout his professional development, Alysson was coached by his esteemed mentors Pedro Kraszczuk and Cecilia Kerche.

Since 2013, Rocha has been a member of Ballett Dortmund, where he created roles with Xin Peng Wang and performed works by Forsythe, Ekman, Bubeníček, and Volpi. Appointed Ballet Master in 2018 and First Ballet Master in 2021, he has coached and staged works by leading choreographers and curated the 37th International Ballet Gala in Dortmund. In 2019, he received the Dortmunder Löwe Prize for his project, Silent Orchestra, with deaf children.

Rocha has served as a judge and teacher for Youth America Grand Prix across Europe, the United States, and South America, and has taught at institutions such as the Royal Ballet, European School of Ballet, Ballet de l’Opéra de Bordeaux, Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, and Valencia en Danza. He was recently appointed Head of the Professional Division at the Oklahoma City Ballet School under the direction of Rachael Nye.