Patricia Delgado: From Principal Ballerina to Tony Award Winner

About this episode

Patricia Delgado shares her journey from principal ballerina to Tony Award-winning choreographer, exploring identity and cultural roots.

Growing up Cuban-American in Miami, Patricia Delgado found her love of performance early and spent seventeen years with Miami City Ballet, a decade of that as a principal dancer. But when she faced a series of injuries, she was forced to confront a question she wasn't ready to answer: what comes next? In this episode, Patricia opens up about the physical and emotional toll of stepping away from the only identity she had ever known, how she found her way into choreography alongside her husband Justin Peck, and what it meant to reconnect with her Cuban roots through the Broadway hit Buena Vista Social Club, leading her to be the first Latina to win a Tony Award for Best Choreography.

People in this episode

Guest: Patricia Delgado

Topics covered

• ballet
• choreography
• Cuban roots
• identity
• Tony Award
• performance

Keywords

• Patricia Delgado
• ballet
• Tony Award
• choreography
• Cuban-American
• performance
• Miami City Ballet

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Miami City Ballet, Buena Vista Social Club, Tony Award

More episodes of She Pivots

• Hayley Paige: Reclaiming Her Name · June 10, 2026 · 54 min
• Heela Yang: The Unexpected Detour That Led to Sol de Janeiro · May 27, 2026 · 35 min
• Victoria Lai: The Story Behind Ice Cream Jubilee · May 20, 2026 · 45 min
• Elizabeth Smart: Surviving the Kidnapping That Shook the Nation · May 13, 2026 · 53 min
• Laurie Tisch: My Mom · May 6, 2026 · 38 min
• Sherrie Westin: The Woman Behind Sesame Street · April 29, 2026 · 41 min