Vitor Luiz
Choreographer and Dancer
Vitor Luiz is an internationally acclaimed Brazilian ballet dancer, choreographer, educator, and artistic leader, recognized for his versatility across classical and contemporary repertory. Born in Brazil, he began his training at age ten and later studied at Ballet Dalal Achcar in Rio de Janeiro before receiving a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London.
Luiz began his professional career with Birmingham Royal Ballet under Sir David Bintley before returning to Brazil to join the Ballet of the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, where he rose to the rank of Primeiro Bailarino (Principal Dancer). From 2009 to 2019, he was a Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet, performing more than one hundred ballets and establishing himself as one of the company’s most dynamic artists. His repertoire includes leading roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, and Onegin, as well as works by George Balanchine, Kenneth MacMillan, Alexei Ratmansky, William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon, Yuri Possokhov, and John Neumeier. He received an Isadora Duncan Dance Award in 2010 for Best Ensemble Performance in Possokhov’s Classical Symphony.
In 2019, Luiz joined the University of California, Irvine as Assistant Professor of Dance, where he teaches ballet technique, repertory, and partnering while pursuing choreographic research informed by his Brazilian heritage. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of INTUITV ARTSHIP and starred in the nationally touring, New York Times–featured The White Feather: A Persian Ballet Tale. Most recently, he directed, choreographed and performed in Tchaikovsky: A Love Letter, presented at the Musco Center for the Arts, with a New York City tour planned for 2026.
