Colby Damon has spent his entire life exploring various types of movement. Born and raised in Richmond VA, Colby was active in various sports as a young child, including snow skiing and sailing, but he found his true calling in the arts, and began formal classical ballet training at age 7 at the Richmond Ballet. At age 15, he left home to attend the Virginia School of the Arts in Lynchburg, VA, a pre-professional boarding high school for dancers, and spent his summers training at the Boston Ballet. Upon graduation, Colby joined the Sacramento Ballet, where for five years he performed soloist and principal roles. While living in California, Colby also began studying Qi Gong and Chen style Tai Ji Quan with renowned Grandmaster Bing Fan YeYoung, and eventually received certification to teach. In 2007, Colby relocated to Brooklyn, NY, in order to explore life's options, and to pursue a career as a freelance artist. While living in New York, Colby also began studying other forms of Chinese Martial arts, including Ba Gua Zhuang, and also embarked on a personal study of Yoga. In 2008, Colby joined BalletX in Philadelphia, PA. As a company member, Colby has been featured in over 20 world premieres. As a choreographer, Colby's style blends an inevitable fluidity with a sense of classical line and virtuosity. He began his choreographic explorations while dancing with the Sacramento Ballet, where he produced a total of five works on fellow company members, including the piece 3 to 1, which was performed for the Sacramento Ballet's annual contemporary repertoire program, Modern Masters, in 2004. After focusing primarily on performing for a number of years, Colby began choreographing again in 2012, when he created the structured improvisational piece, Run Barefoot Down the Mountain, for Pennsylvania Ballet's annual

98 ~ Colby Damon - Choreographer BalletX

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