Dance. Inspired.
FOUNDERS
Gisela and Edgar met in 2002 and have cultivated an eternal friendship bound by their passion for life and dance. For over a decade they’ve nourished their art form and had numerous performances together. It was during this time that their various life encounters and individual experiences would provide the inspiration for their latest project: ENCOUNTERS.
GISELA QUINTEROS
Director/Choreographer
Born in San Juan, Argentina. Started dance at age 8 at Estudio Pavlova, Director Nebita Alladio and studied with Mariela Gonzalez, Beatriz Alladio and Monica Sevilla. She got a scholarship at age 12 for Southwest Ballet Center Houston, Texas directed by William Martin-Viscount. At age 14 she studied with Estela Erman in Buenos Aires and got an scholarship in 1994 for The Conservatoire de Dreux, France. Director Georges Piletta. She took lessons with Olga Ferri and Enrique Lommi in Buenos Aires and shortly after Pierre Lacotte invited her to join Ballet National de Nancy et Lorraine, France (1995-2000).
She performed classical Repertoire a L’Opera de Nancy and in different venues such as Théâtre Champs Élysée, Palais du Festival de Cannes, and touring as well, Théâtre Lausanne, Festival De Spoleto, Theatre du Luxembourg, Pavia, Catania, Santander, among others. Also toured in Finland and performed, Giselle and Neige Noire by Jorma Uotinen. Also Russia (Bolshoi Theater), China and Brasil. She attended and graduated from the Conservatoire National de Musique et Danse de Nancy in 1997 with Médaille de Vermeil.
In 2001 she moved to New York and danced for Lincoln Jones, Caron Eule, Kenny Larson, David Fernandez, Abel Costa, Amanda Selwyn, Erin Hunter, Westminster Ballet, Christopher Caines Dance Company, Douglas Dunn, Open Project, Benjamin Briones Ballet. She is grateful to teachers Kenny Larson, Zvi Gotheiner, Miro Magloire for their open classes in NY.
Her teaching experience includes Ballet Arts, Ballet&Body NYC, The Great Neck School of Dance, Dance Cavise. She joined the Joffrey Ballet School in 2016 as a Ballet Faculty for the Youth Ballet Program (Director Jo Matos) were she also is a choreographer. In 2012 she co-founded ENCOUNTERS with Edgar Peterson and produced performances at The Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Bowery Electric, New York City Center and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center honoring Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins centennials with Millennium Chamber Symphony.
EDGAR L PETERSON III
Director/Choreographer
Edgar L Peterson III was born and raised in New York City. He was accepted into Eliot Feld's The New Ballet School (official school of Ballet Tech) at the age of 8. While there for ten years he studied Elizabeth Barrow, Patrice Hemsworth, Daniel Levans, Christine Sarry and Master Teacher Richard Thomas. Edgar first performed with Eliot Feld's Ballet Tech (formerly Feld Ballets/NY), at the age of 14 as a student performer and later joined the company performing at a variety of venues including The Joyce Theater, Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow, Naumburg Bandshell, NJ Performing Arts Center, and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center among others.
At the age of 17, Edgar was invited to study genetics and genomics at Rockefeller University's Medical Research Institute. Despite being accepted to The Juilliard School, he briefly left the world of dance to continue his academic studies in economics at Columbia University in New York City. He then pursued an internship at Standard & Poor’s where he currently works and has enjoyed a career in Financial Services since 2002. Edgar is the Director of Sales & Relationship Management where he is responsible for licensing intellectual property and market data to global key accounts, strategic partners, and federal government agencies.
He has since danced professionally throughout the United States and abroad with Dances Patrelle, C Eule Dance, Christopher Caines Dance Company, Miral Kotb, Open Project, Thang Dao Dance Company, Classical Contemporary Ballet Theatre, ACB Dance Company, and Ballet Inc., where he held artisitc and executive leadership roles. In 2011 Edgar had his choreographic debut, and in 2012 co-founded ENCOUNTERS with longtime friend and dance partner Gisela Quinteros. Edgar continues to perform, choreograph, and produce contemporary ballets on stages both large and small.