ABOUT
DURANTE VERZOLA is a Filipino-American dance maker. He has choreographed works for Miami City Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Kansas City Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet II, Ballet Arizona's Studio Company, Nashville Ballet II, Collage Dance Collective, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Chicago, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Ballet Memphis, Ballet22, and more. He was named in Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch list for 2026. He is a winner of Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works and has been selected for the New York Choreographic Institute, where he choreographed on dancers of the New York City Ballet. Verzola has also had his work featured at Guggenheim's Works & Process, Jacob’s Pillow, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami in collaboration with artist, Angela Lyn, as well as the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, and has led Miami City Ballet School’s Choreographic Intensive since its inception.
His work has been described as "sharp and witty...so vibrant it is almost like a celebration of classicism and vitality with non-derivative balletic language…he continues to present classical ballet vocabulary in unfussy, thrilling ways," by Philadelphia Dance. The New York Times praised him saying, “Verzola, through structure, produced a ballet of clarity, verve and effervescence.” Explore Dance said, "For a 20-something choreographer, Verzola startled with his inventiveness via straightforward balletics. This piece challenged with silky troupe configurations, unfussy classical artistry, and the fluency of phrase variations."
Verzola is from Lansing, Kansas, and most recently a dancer with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. He began his training with Marisa Paull and received his formal ballet training from the Kansas City Ballet School and Kansas School of Classical Ballet. At the age of 16, Verzola left home to train with the Miami City Ballet School on full scholarship. He has attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. In 2014, he was invited to join Pennsylvania Ballet II. Verzola joined The Suzanne Farrell Ballet in 2016. His repertoire includes works by Balanchine, Robbins, Wheeldon, Keigwin, and Petipa.
Currently, Verzola is a full time faculty member and resident choreographer for Miami City Ballet School.