Lillian Barbeito grew up in the desert under the blues skies of Santa Fe, New Mexico where she trained with the Santa Fe Dance Foundation and worked with The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Southwest Ballet, and the Santa Fe Opera. She earned her BFA from The Juilliard School where she studied on a 4 year, full-tuition scholarship awarded by Tomorrow’s Leaders of America for her essay about the world dancing together in harmony.​

 

Barbeito had an extensive performance career that took her to Europe, New York, and then finally to Los Angeles, where she founded BODYTRAFFIC with Tina Berkett, serving as Co-Artistic Director and Director of Education for over 13 years. Under her Co-Direction, the company toured to sold-out audiences and international acclaim at prestigious venues around the globe, as well as Cultural Ambassadors of the United States to Algeria, Israel, Jordan, and Korea.

 

Barbeito is one of 36 teachers in the world who is certified to teach Anouk van Dijk’s groundbreaking Countertechnique. She has choreographed over 50 works for high schools, universities, competitions, regional ballet companies, and professional modern dance companies throughout the US and Canada. She was a Guest Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and Full-time Visiting Professor at Loyola Marymount University, where she taught various dance-related courses from 2010 to 2021.  

 

Barbeito relocated with her family to Carmel Valley in 2021 in order to launch the Carmel Dance Festival. Barbeito is extremely enthusiastic about leading Ballare Carmel, Monterey County’s first and foremost professional dance company whose repertoire includes works by Jennifer Archibald, James Gregg, Noelle Kayser, Ihsan Rustem, and Skye Schmidt with upcoming commissions by Gianna Burright and Kelly Todd.