Eric Otto was born and raised in Westchester County, New York. He began dancing at the age of seven with the School of American Ballet in New York City. He has danced professionally with the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and BalletX.

 

He was an original cast member of Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly Away, performing the leading role of Sid. Mr. Otto was invited to join the cast of Tharp’s Movin’ Out where he starred in the Broadway and First National Tour companies as James. He has appeared on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera and toured with Twyla Tharp for her 50th Anniversary.

 

Mr. Otto has performed an extensive repertoire, including ballets by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Jiri Kylian, Kenneth MacMillan, and Jerome Robbins. He has danced roles created for him by Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Lynne Taylor-Corbette and Matthew Neenan.

 

Most recently, Eric served as the Artistic Director of the Peoria Ballet in Illinois. He has also been a Ballet Master for BalletX in Philadelphia and taught on faculty at Ballet Academy East and Peridance in NYC. He is on guest faculty with The Rock School for Dance Education and the Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago. Eric Otto is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 6/7 and Partnering of the ABT National Training Curriculum.

 

As a choreographer, Eric has received commissions by Peoria Ballet Company, Albany Berkshire Ballet, The Joffrey Academy Of Dance, Saratoga Arts Fest, The Bruce Museum, Bucknell University and Skidmore College.