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Eduardo Vilaro (Luna Negra Dance Theater Founder and Artistic Director) was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to New York City where he grew up in the Bronx. He received his dance training at the Alvin Ailey American Dance School and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and then received a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University in 1988. Vilaro was a principal dancer with Ballet Hispanico of New York where he taught and performed until 1996. Under the mentorship of Tina Ramirez, Vilaro developed as an educator by creating and implementing outreach and education programs in New York City. He has taught and toured throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America, and the Middle East.

In 1999, after earning a Masters degree from Columbia College Chicago, his passion for his heritage and dance led him to establish Luna Negra Dance Theater. Vilaro’s work with Luna Negra is devoted to capturing the spiritual, sensual and historical essence of the Latino culture. Through contemporary dance, he creates works that explore Latino cultures’ racial and ethnic diverse movements, as well as music of Latin and Caribbean countries in fresh ways that speak to modern audiences. The result “is something rich and irresistible, with choreography that is exceptionally fluid, dramatic and revealing,” according to the Chicago Sun Times. His work often includes collaborating with artists of other disciplines and he has created works with artists such as Afro-Peruvian singer Susana Baca, visual artist Luis De La Torre, and soprano Harolyn Blackwell.

Vilaro has also received commissions to create works for other arts organizations such as the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Lexington Ballet, New Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble, the Civic Ballet, and Same Planet, Different World. In 2001, he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award in choreography and in 2003, he was honored at Panama's II International Festival of Ballet for his choreographic work. Vilaro has been on the faculty of the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago and the Chicago Academy of the Arts. He currently serves on the board directors of Dance/USA.

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Michelle Manzanales joined Luna Negra Dance Theater in 2003 as a dancer and became Rehearsal Director in 2006.  She began her professional career with the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company and has studied and worked with respected choreographers and teachers including Sean Curran, Randy Duncan, Liz Lerman, Dorrell Martin, Donald McKayle, Celeste Miller, Kevin Wynn and Mario Zambrano. Manzanales has created works for Impetus Dance Theater (Chicago, IL), Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre (Chicago, IL), Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, the University of Houston and Rice University among others, and has been recognized by the American College Dance Festival for four of her choreographic works. In 2006, she had the great honor of having her work, entitled Pour Me Out, presented at the Kennedy Center, as part of the American College Dance Festival National Gala. Her work has also been presented by Texas Contemporary Weekend (Houston, TX), Festival de Danza Cordoba (Veracruz, Mexico), and Fort Worth Dance Festival (Fort Worth, TX). In 2007, Manzanales choreographed Sugar in the Raw (Azucar Cruda) applauded by the Chicago Sun-Times as "a staggering, beautiful, accomplished new work."

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Vanessa Valecillos (Caracas, Venezuela) joined Ballet Nacional de Caracas under the renowed director Vicente Nebrada at age fifteen.  With Ballet Nacional de Caracas, she performed in Swan Lake, Coppelia, Don Quijote, The Firebird, Concerto Barroco, La Mer, Pentimento, among others, and toured in South America, North America and Europe. Valecillos continued her dance training in the United States where she earned a B.F.A. from The North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduating, she joined Southern Ballet Theater. She relocated to Chicago in 1997, where she has performed with the Lyric Opera in 14 of its productions, including a principal role in La Traviata. She has also performed in Ruth Page’s Nutcracker, Dance for Life, as a guest principal artist with the Civic Ballet of Chicago, The Chicago Festival Ballet, Dance West, as well as in the musical Radio City Christmas Spectacular in Chicago. Valecillos is a founding member of Luna Negra Dance Theater and also serves as the dancers’ representative in the board of directors.

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Ricardo J. Garcia (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico) began his training at Point Park University, Pittsburg, where he earned a BA in Dance. Upon graduating, he joined the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, where he had the honor to work with acclaimed choreographers Bill T. Jones, Doug Verone, Donald McKayle, Ronald K. Brown and Dwight Rhoden to name a few. He has also performed with the Illinois Ballet, Peoria Ballet, and Rhythm in Shoes. Garcia was the recipient of the Josie Award for Outstanding Male Dancer of the Year in 2002. Garcia joined Luna Negra Dance Theater in 2005.

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Louis James Jackson (Detroit, MI) began his dance training at the age of 10 under the direction and guidance of longtime mentor and friend Rita Mosley. He has studied at Grand Valley State University, Dance Theatre of Harlem School, and The Ailey School.  He has worked with noted teachers and choreographers such as Milton Myers, Pedro Ruiz, Dudley Williams, and performed works by Alvin Ailey and Frederick Earl Mosley. Jackson has won scholarships and awards such as NAACP ACT-SO Gold Medalist, James Tatum Foundation of Detroit Scholarship in Dance, Debbie Allen Dance Academy Scholarship, Dance Theatre of Harlem School Full Scholarship, and numerous dance titles. Jackson joined Luna Negra Dance Theater in 2008.

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Rebecca Lemme holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a concentration in Theater and Dance from Princeton University, where upon graduation she was the recipient of the Francis LeMoyne Page Theater Award. Lemme has performed with River North Chicago, Hedwig Dances, Instruments of Movement, RTG Dance, and Thodos' New Dances. She is on faculty at the Lou Conte Dance Studio, Roosevelt University, and Loyola University, and has been a company instructor for River North and Thodos Dance Chicago. Additionally, Lemme has choreographed for Instruments of Movement, Disney, RTG Dance, and Dance Chance.

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Sarah Rodriguez Roberts (Chicago, IL) began her dance training at Chicago Ballet Arts under the direction of Clare Carmichael and Leslie Saunders. After graduating from high school Roberts moved to New York to attend The Juilliard School. At Juilliard she had the pleasure of performing works by many celebrated choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Doug Varone, Robert Battle, José Limón, Susan Marshall, and Antony Tudor. She received her B.F.A. in May 2008 from Juilliard. This is Roberts first season with Luna Negra Dance Theater.

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Kirsten Shelton (Pueblo, CO) trained with several ballet companies including The Joffrey Ballet New York, Ballet Austin, and Richmond Ballet. She was the recipient of three scholarships from the Denver Ballet Guild. Shelton has performed many classical and contemporary works including The Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Romeo and Juliet, as well as several original ballets. She relocated to Chicago in 2002, where she has performed at Dance Chicago, Dance for Life, and Ravinia Festival. Shelton joined Luna Negra Dance Theater in 2002. 

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JP Tenuta (Oak Park, IL) earned a BFA in Dance Performance from Northern Illinois University where he studied with Randall Newsom. He has also studied at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with Cynthia Oliver, Renee Wadleigh and Shelley Washington, as well as at the Alvin Ailey School, the Martha Graham School and the Paul Taylor School. In 2000, Tenuta joined MOMENTA directed by Stephanie Clemens, and in 2003, he toured with the company to Austria’s Tanzsommer International Festival where he performed works by Martha Graham and Ron DeJesus. At MOMENTA, he has had roles created especially for him by acclaimed choreographers Randy Duncan, Frank Chaves, Artistic Director of River North Dance Company, and Jon Lehrer of Gus Giordano’s Jazz Dance Chicago. He was featured in WTTW ‘s ArtBeat in 2003.  In 2004, Tenuta joined the Nashville Ballet, with whom he toured in Argentina. He moved back to Chicago in 2006, where he has performed with the Lyric Opera. Tenuta joined Luna Negra Dance Theater in 2007.

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Jessica Alejandra Wyatt (Portland, OR) began to study dance at the age of four at The School of Oregon Ballet Theater. There, she received classical training from Cuban teacher Haydee Gutierrez, as well as her mother Elena Carter, who was a principal dancer with Ballet Nacional de Danza in Mexico and Dance Theater of Harlem. Wyatt was awarded a full scholarship to The School of Oregon Ballet Theater and received scholarships to San Francisco Ballet School and Dance Theater of Harlem School. After 3 years of dancing as a trainee with Oregon Ballet Theater, she joined The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago as an apprentice for their 2002-03 season. With The Joffrey, she danced in Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker, Bronislava Nijinska’s Les Noces, and John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet.  She also participated in the motion picture The Company, directed by Robert Altman featuring Neve Campbell and The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. Wyatt joined Luna Negra Dance Theater in 2004.

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Josh Preston ((Lighting Designer and Technical Director - Lexington, KY) studied theatrical design at the University of Kentucky and is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a degree in theatrical lighting design and photography. In the Fall of 2006, Preston embarked on an international tour with Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theatre. In 2006 and 2007, he participated in International Edinburgh Festival Fringe and will attend the Festival again this coming summer. Other credits include The Seldoms, Lucky Plush, Chamber Opera Chicago, The EP Theatre, Ballet Chicago, Mad Shak, The Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Dance Loop Chicago, and Provision Theatre's Jeff Nominated Beast on the Moon. Preston joined Luna Negra Dance Theater in 2003.

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Kay Lea Meyers (Stage Manager - Napoleon, OH) graduated from Columbia College Chicago, with a major in Scenic Design and a minor in Arts Management. She had the wonderful opportunity of joining Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theatre as Company Manager and Technical Assistant on their international tour in fall of 2006 as well as touring nationally with Luna Negra Dance Theatre in early 2007. Along with stage management, Meyers enjoys her work as a set designer, scenic painter, electrician, and lighting designer. She has worked with The Seldoms, Lucky Plush, Chamber Opera Chicago, EP Theatre, and Lookingglass Theatre. She is also a member of Lumen Siccum, a Chicago based Production Company. Meyers joined Luna Negra Dance Theater in 2007.