Jock Soto (Navajo)
Jock Soto was born on the Navajo Indian reservation in 1965, to a Navajo mother and a Puerto Rican father, and raised in a time and place where ballet dancing for boys was virtually unheard of.
Jock Soto (Navajo)
Eagle’s Nest
2024 Recipient, Dancer
Jock Soto was born on the Navajo Indian reservation in 1965, to a Navajo mother and a Puerto Rican father, and raised in a time and place where ballet dancing for boys was virtually unheard of. Following in the footsteps of his mother, he first learned to hoop dance—a complex traditional American Indian dance—which provided an early foundation for his talent. He fell in love with ballet at the age of five after seeing Edward Villella, often cited as America’s most celebrated male dancer, on TV and his surprised but supportive parents began driving him to classes. Soto excelled, eventually becoming one of the last dancers to be personally selected by George Balanchine, founder of the New York City Ballet, to join the company, achieving his dream when he was barely 16. In 1984 he was promoted to the rank of soloist and in 1985 Jock became a principal dancer. Jock Soto became a force of the New York City Ballet that helped define the identity of the prestigious institution as much as it has defined him for more than two decades.