Rafaela Cento Muñoz

Academy Director and Company Dancer

Sponsored by Mrs. Lettie Heer

Rafaela Cento Muñoz, a native of Cuba and now an American citizen, retired as a dancer in 2010 but was the principal female dancer of the Kentucky Ballet Theatre since its founding in 1998.

She was trained at the Camaguey Ballet Academy and the Professional Ballet Academy of Cuba. From 1989 to 1996 she danced with the Camaguey Ballet Company under the direction of Fernando Alonzo, and with the Monterrey Ballet Company under the direction of Fernando Bujones. In 1989 Ms. Cento Muñoz received both the Gold Medal and the Grand Prix for best female performance in the National Ballet Festival of Cuba.

She has toured with the Camaguey Ballet Company in Brazil, Uruguay, Jamaica, Venezuela, Mexico, Martinique, and Guadaloupe Islands. Her classical repertory includes principal roles in Giselle, Cinderella, Wizard of Oz (Dorothy), Paquita, Coppélia, Don Quixote, Les Sylphides, Romeo and Juliet, Le Corsaire, Swan Lake, La Vivandiere, La Fille Mal Gardée, Dracula, Phantom of the Opera, Carmen (Carmen), The Nutcracker, and many others.

With her husband, Norbe Risco, Ms. Cento Muñoz also choreographed The Nutcracker based on the original version, Dracula, Wizard of Oz, The Witches of Doon, Carmen, and Phantom of the Opera. She is the Costume Designer for KBT and also does some of the staging for KBT productions. Since 2003 Rafaela has directed the KBT Academy.