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NYC ballet soloist makes career pivot

Altoona native Pazcoguin to give final performance Sunday

By Patt Keith 6 min read

Altoona native and New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin will give her final performance Sunday, but she'll remain in the performance art world.

Pazcoguin, the first Asian American ballerina promoted to soloist in the NYCB's history, is adding Broadway play co-producer to her many accomplishments. She is also a choreographer, author and an activist for diversity who has strived to remove outdated representations of Asians in ballet performances.

While at NYCB, Pazcoguin has danced featured roles in George Balanchine's "Agon," "Apollo, Coppelia" (Spinner), "Cortege Hongrois," Emeralds from "Jewels," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Hippolyta), George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" (Dewdrop, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Dolls, and Flowers), "Scotch Symphony," "La Sonnambula," "Tchaikovsky Suite No. 3" (Scherzo), "La Valse," and "Vienna Waltzes;" August Bournonville's "Bournonville Divertissements" (Ballabile from Napoli) "La Sylphide" (Madge, in the NYCB Premiere), and many others.

She's one of several Filipino producers of the upcoming Broadway musical "Here Lies Love." The show features music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim and tells the story of the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos, first lady of the Philippines from 1965-86. She and her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, were in power until the dictatorship ended after a sustained campaign of civil resistance, the People Power Revolution, restored democracy in the Philippines.

Pazcoguin made the decision to retire from the NYCB after careful thought and having several projects aligned.

"It feels like kismet, like all the work I've been doing with that diversity initiative and in trying to understand my own Filipino heritage, my father's heritage, and then getting the opportunity to tell the story with a team of other Filipinos on Broadway -- it was something I could not pass up," she said.

As a first generation Filipino American, Pazcoguin said "for the first time ever, I'm surrounded by other Filipino and Filipino Americans. I haven't for 20 years been in a room where someone was like me. It's so incredible to have that experience," she said in a phone interview with the Mirror.

Pazcoguin is the daughter of her Filipino-born father, Silvino "Ben," and her white mother, Cheryl Pazcoguin, of Altoona. She danced locally with the Allegheny Ballet Academy, where she studied with Deborah Anthony, Richard Cook and Cherie Noble, according to her NYCB biography.

Pazcoguin, who said she identifies as "mixed race," founded a diversity initiative Final Bow for Yellowface with Phil Chan in 2017.

"I've gone through my life with a privilege that I don't have when my face makeup is on. The second I put my stage makeup on, it accentuates your God-given features. It has always been pointed out to me that I didn't fit in," she said. "And it wasn't just my complexion that doesn't fit in, but it's my demeanor and my values."

She explained that she asked a lot of questions in a world where ballet dancers "are to be seen and not heard" and has been asked to make her makeup "look less 'oriental'" -- a comment that wasn't "actionable." She's proud of being known as "The Rogue Ballerina." She released her memoir, "Swan Dive: The Making of a Rogue Ballerina," in 2021.

Her father came to the United States from the Philippines in 1966 to further his medical education. He moved to Altoona to work as a general surgeon at the Van Zandt VA Medical Center in 1973, where he met and married his wife Cheryl. Together, they have six children.

"She started taking lessons at about 3 years old, and she just loved it," Ben Pazcoguin said.

Mother Cheryl said it was difficult to send her then 15-year-old daughter to New York City to attend the School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet, in early September 2001. It was made even more difficult when terrorists carried out attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"We couldn't find her for hours," Cheryl Pazcoguin said. "I think the attacks had a big impact on her and her fellow students."

In October 2002, Pazcoguin became an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and in October 2003, she joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet. She was promoted to soloist in 2013, according to the ballet company.

Her family and friends will attend her last performance -- a Sunday matinee -- of Alexei Ratmansky's "Namouna, A Grand Divertissement."

Cheryl Pazcoguin said Sunday will be "bittersweet" as her daughter "grew up" at NYCB. "It's been a wonderful career for her, and we're very proud."

Her daughter surprised her in her role as Maria in "West Side Story Suite," as she sang while she danced.

"All the other cast members had backup singers, but she sang and danced at the same time. It was so totally incredible. She's multi-talented. ... She dances stunningly. She's a dramatic dancer and locks in the audience."

Reflecting on her career with NYCB, Georgina Pazcoguin said she's "made her mark and broken through glass ceilings and I'd like to think I have paved the way for (others). I think the bonus has been creating change in the dance world and that continues to go on," she said. "It's not going to stop. I'm not going to stop my advocacy, and I'm actually not stopping dance. This is just more of a retirement from being part of the (NYCB) institution."

It is also another beginning.

Pazcoguin said she is excited to be a part of "Here Lies Love," which she called "so different from any other Broadway show -- it's an immersive experience as the entire orchestra section has been removed" to create a large dance party scene where attendees are directed to take part by a DJ.

"It becomes an experience more than just sitting on a seat and watching. You become part of the events," she explained, noting she recently gained experience as a choreographer.

She declined to talk about what other projects are ahead but is looking forward to having "full autonomy to direct my contribution to the arts world."

After 20 years with the NYCB, she said it's time to "fly away from the nest as, terrifying as that may be."

"I've always viewed myself as a perpetual learner and a perpetual student. I am surrounding myself with people that I love and I love the work I'm doing. I'm in a place where I can grow exponentially, she said. "I never want to be in a comfortable position. I think I have to be uncomfortable to grow. I'm stretching myself in new ways and it's all so exciting."

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