Biography

Colombian dancer Fernando Montaño is a former Soloist of The Royal Ballet. He joined the Company in 2006 as an Artist and was promoted to First Artist in 2010 and Soloist in 2014. He represented the Company in the 2007 Erik Bruhn Competition. He left the Company during the 2020/21 Season.
Montaño studied at the Colombian and Cuban National Ballet schools and graduated into Cuban National Ballet in 2004. He also danced on scholarships with La Scala Ballet, Milan, and Teatro Nuovo di Torino. His repertory with the Company included Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Jester (Cinderella), Gypsy Girl’s Lover (The Two Pigeons), Bluebird (The Sleeping Beauty), Rajah/Caterpillar (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Harlequin (The Nutcracker), Benvolio and the balcony pas de deux (Romeo and Juliet), pas de six (Giselle), pas de trois (Swan Lake), pas de trois (Fool’s Paradise) and roles in Napoli Divertissements, The Human Seasons, Multiverse, Obsidian Tear, Scènes de ballet, Manon, La Vivandière, Raymonda Act III, Chroma, Woolf Works and Carbon Life. Other appearances include dancing Le Spectre de la rose at the opening of the Teatro Colón, Bogotá. Choreographic works include Michelangelo for Draft Works.
Montaño has twice won Personality of the Year award at the LUKAS Awards (2013, 2014), celebrating prominent Latin figures in the UK. His other awards include prizes at the International Ballet Contest, Havana, a Citation of Honor (New York) and an honour from the President of Colombia. He has modelled for Vivienne Westwood and choreographed and danced Alchemy for her Banqueting House catwalk show in 2008. His dance short film Narcissus had its premiere in 2014. He is a patron of the charity Children of the Andes, for which he has organized the charity galas ‘Fernando and Friends’. In 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts, University of Bath.
News and features
Promotions, joiners and leavers at The Royal Ballet
Details of Company changes for the upcoming Season have been announced.
Fernando Montaño wins Latin Personality of the Year 2014
Colombian First Artist picks up LUKAS award for second year running.
Marianela Nuñez, Thiago Soares and Fernando Montaño nominated for 2014 LUKAS awards
Awards celebrate the contributions of the UK’s Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese communities.
Photos
Fernando Montaño at the LUKAS Awards 2014

Fernando Montaño

Fernando Montaño, Kevin Emerton, Sander Blommaert, Marcelino Sambé, Tristran Dyer and Donald Thom in Rhapsody, The Royal Ballet

Elizabeth Harrod and Fernando Montaño in The Nutcracker, The Royal Ballet

Fernando Montaño and Tierney Heap in The Nutcracker, The Royal Ballet

Toreadors in Don Quixote

Fernando Montaño in Raymonda Act III, The Royal Ballet

Fernando Montaño as the Gypsy Girl's Lover in The Two Pigeons, The Royal Ballet

Fernando Montaño, Marcelino Sambé and dancers of The Royal Ballet in rehearsal for The Invitation, The Royal Ballet

Fernando Montaño and Vivienne Westwood at the Latin-UK Awards.

Fernando Montaño, Mariko Sasaki and Julian Mackay in Montaño's Michelangelo, The Royal Ballet's Draft Works, 2015

Tristan Dyer, Fernando Montaño, Marcelino Sambé and Artists of The Royal Ballet in Rhapsody, The Royal Ballet

Fernando Montaño as the Jester in Cinderella
