Hometown: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Nina Fernandes was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and began dancing at age 13. She started her dance training at Centro de Artes Madeleine Rosay in Campos, Rio de Janeiro.

In 2014, she earned silver medals at the World Ballet Competition in the Professional Solo and Pas de Deux divisions and was a finalist in the Youth America Grand Prix in New York. She received a scholarship contract with The Washington Ballet Studio Company and later with Tulsa Ballet II, where she trained and performed several ballets with the main company.

In 2016, Fernandes joined Houston Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. During her two seasons there, her repertoire included George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations and Symphony in C, Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel, Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit, and Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling, among many others. In 2020, Nina was named one of Pointe Magazine’s Stars of the Corps de Ballet for her title performance in George Balanchine’s Firebird.

She joined MCB as a corps de ballet member in 2018.

Roles since joining MCB

George Balanchine
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Ballet Imperial
Firebird (Firebird)
Slaughter on 10th Avenue
Stravinsky Violin Concerto
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®
The Four Temperaments
Jewels (“Emeralds” Pas de Trois)

Alexei Ratmansky
Swan Lake (Little swans, Pas de Trois, Spanish)
Symphonic Dances (War Girl)

Jerome Robbins
I’m Old Fashioned

George Balanchine/Jerome Robbins
Firebird (Firebird)

Jerome Robbins / Twyla Tharp
Brahms/Handel

Paul Taylor
Company B
Mercuric Tidings

Classical Repertoire
The Flower Festival in Genzano