Biography
(Choreo. Anna Razzi), “Prince Igor,” “Orpheus and Eurydice” (Choreo. Karole Armitage). Crispino joined the Teatro San Carlo Corps de Ballet for “Nutcracker” (Choreo. Alessandra Panzavolta) in 2014 and “Giselle” (Choreo. Ludmila Semenyaka) in 2015. In November 2014 Crispino represented the Teatro San Carlo Ballet School at the international Prix Rome Jia Ruskaja, founded by Italy's Foundation of the National Academy of Dance. He performed in Moscow at the Bolshoi Academy, in Astrakhan at the Astrakhanskiy Gosudarstvennyy Teatr Opery and in the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome; Mr. Franco De Vita, then director of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, saw Crispino perform on this occasion and offered him a full scholarship to join the ABT Summer Intensive in 2015.
In the Spring of 2015 Crispino danced the role of Prince Charming in “Snow White” at the 34th edition of the Renato Fiumicelli Festival, where he received his first prize as young talent. In August 2015 he won the prize for young talent at the Premio Danza Capri International.
Crispino was awarded another full scholarship in the Summer of 2016 to continue attending American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive. In total, he studied at ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School under a full scholarship from the Summer of 2015 to May 2016. While at JKO he performed the following principal roles: Jean de Brianne in “Raymonda Pas de Dix” at the Joyce Theater; Sugar Plum Cavalier in “The Nutcracker” (with Washington Rock Ballet School). He also danced Ethan Stiefel’s new choreography, “Knightlife.”
From September 2016 to August 2017 Crispino joined ABT Studio Company. During this period he performed in “Rondo Capriccioso” (Choreo. Alexei Ratmansky) at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center on the occasion of ABT’s Fall Gala. He also performed featured roles in both World Premieres of “Kabalevsky Violin Concerto” (Choreo. Marcelo Gomes) and “Untitled” (Choreo. Liam Scarlet) at the NYU Skirball Center of Performing Arts. His repertoire further expanded at this time to include “See the Youth Advance” (Choreo. Ethan Stiefel), “Raymonda” (Pas de Sept), “Don Quixote” (Act III Pas de Deux).
In September 2017 Crispino was awarded “Dancer of the Year on the International Stage” at the 45th Edition of Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine. This prestigious foundation has recognized and awarded remarkable dancers like Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova, Carla Fracci, Roberto Bolle, Mikhail Baryšnikov, and Alessandra Ferri, to name only a few.
Crispino joined American Ballet Theatre Main Company as an apprentice in November 2017 and became a member of the Corps de Ballet in January 2018.
His repertoire has continued to expand, and includes a featured role in A Time There Was (Choreo. Gemma Bond), Prince Fortune in Alexei Ratmansky’s “Sleeping Beauty,” and roles in all of ABT’s full company ballets (e.g., “Swan Lake,” “Giselle,” “Le Corsaire,” “Theme and Variation,” “Harlequinade,” “The Nutcracker,” “The Seasons,” “Whipped Cream,” “Brahms-Haydn Variation,” “Manon,” “ Don Quixote,” “La Bayadere,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Jane Eyre,” “Firebird,” “On the Dniper,” “Of Love and Rage.”) With ABT, Crispino has performed across the United States: at the Metropolitan Opera House and in David H Koch Theater in New York City; at the Segerstrom Center of Arts in Los Angeles, California; the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (CA); the Auditorium Theater (IL); the John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts (DC); the Detroit Opera House (MI); the Lied Center for Performing Arts (NE); Harris Theater (IL); Wolf Trap National Park of the Performing Arts (VA); Hancher Auditorium University of Iowa (IA). He has also performed internationally, at the Esplanade in Singapore and at the Grand Theatre Cultural Center in Hong Kong.
In the Spring of 2020, during the period of lockdown due to COVID-19, Crispino completed a series of courses on the ABT National Training Curriculum, becoming a certified teacher for all ages and levels of ballet. In the Summer of 2020, Crispino performed “Don Quixote Suite” outdoors at the Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (NY) alongside ABT Principal Dancer, Skylar Brandt on the occasion of their Summer Dance Festival.
In 2021, Crispino was commissioned to choreograph his fist ballet for the ABT Incubator Project. The world premier of “Thread of Memories” was streamed online on April 26th, 2021, and segments of it were further aired on live national television in Italy on Rai 3 alongside an exclusive interview of Crispino, detailing his artistic process choreographing a challenging work of art virtually with three dancers across three different time zones.
In the Summer of 2022, Crispino was invited to perform at BAAND Festival Kids Edition in Lincoln Center, where he debuted Siegfried Adagio from “Swan Lake, Act I,” for the ABT Kids’ show. He was also invited to perform in L’Aquila, Italy, on the occasion of the 728th edition of the Perdonanza Celestiniana where he debuted “Bayadere - Realm of Shadows Suite” with Yelitzaveta Barkolva, Principal Dancer with Donbas Opera and Guest Principal with Ballet Magdeburg. Less than a week later, he again performed “Bayadere - Realm of Shadows Suite” at the 50th edition of Premio Positano Léonide Massine this time with Ana Sophia Scheller, erstwhile Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and National Ballet of Ukraine; on this occasion, Crispino was awarded the prestigious “Vespoli Prize,” his second time honored by this historic organization.
Luigi Crispino was born in Naples, Italy, and began his ballet training in 2005 at just 8 years old. Out of the hundreds of candidates who auditioned, Crispino was one of the few chosen to join the prestigious Ballet School of Teatro San Carlo. He would go on to study for 10 years under the direction of Anna Razzi, graduating in June 2015 and moving (exactly the day after his graduation ceremony) across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City to begin his second phase of training with American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.
While at San Carlo Crispino debuted principal roles in full-length ballets onstage in the main theater: Oberon in “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Prince Charming in “Snow White,” Captain Hook in “Peter Pan.” He also debuted a myriad of featured roles, including “Napoli Pas De Six,” “Sleeping Beauty,” "Suite Baroque” (Choreo. Dino Verga), "E = Merce Cunningham” (Choreo. Dino Verga), “Hymns of Europe,” “Pinocchio”