Leadership
Photo by Genevieve Parker.
Roberto Vega Ortiz (he/they)
Co-Director
Roberto Vega Ortiz is a Puerto Rican ballet artist, director, and community builder whose work centers queer storytelling, pointe technique, and accessible pathways into the ballet world. Rooted in a classical foundation yet shaped by diaspora, Roberto’s artistic voice blends rigor, fluidity, and cultural memory.
Born and raised in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Roberto trained at Escuela de Ballets de San Juan, Conservatorio de Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Escuela Especializada en Ballet Julián E. Blanco, and Miami City Ballet School. His professional career spans over a decade, with performances across the US, the Caribbean, and abroad, including a two-year international tenure with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. He has danced with Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Nashville Ballet, Diablo Ballet, Ballet22, and Ballet Nacional de Cuba, among others. In 2020, Roberto co-founded Ballet22, serving as Artistic Director until 2023 and helping expand visibility for dancers historically excluded from classical ballet spaces.
Roberto now co-directs EnbyBallet, which he founded with Carlos Hopuy in 2024, to uplift trans, non-binary, and gender-expansive artists and to reshape how pointe work and narrative ballet appear on today’s stages. His leadership focuses on creative development, community partnerships, and expanding EnbyBallet’s performance and educational programs nationally and internationally.
He is also the founder of ENBY Studios, a developing arts and movement hub designed as a home for queer-centered training, pop-up classes, residencies, and collaborative creation. ENBY Studios extends its mission of building spaces where dancers can train, connect, and grow without hierarchy, gatekeeping, or gendered limitations.
Now based in Chicago, Roberto continues to develop EnbyBallet and ENBY Studios, creating inclusive, future-facing spaces where dancers can feel at home in their bodies and where queer stories take center stage with pride and authenticity.
Photo by Genevieve Parker.
Carlos Hopuy (he/him)
Co-Director
Born and raised in Havana, Cuba, Carlos (he/him) has danced professionally for over two decades, danced nationally and internationally, and has toured the world extensively as a member of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo for nine years.
Carlos trained at the School of the National Ballet of Cuba, where he won the Gold Medal and Best Talent in 1999, 2000, and 2002. He also won the Gold Medal at the 2002 International Ballet Competition in Nagoya, Japan. Hopuy has danced professionally with The National Ballet of Cuba, The National Contemporary Dance Company in Costa Rica, Ballet San Antonio, and Ballet22.
Since its founding, Hopuy served as Ballet22’s Ballet Master and Lead Dancer.
Carlos Hopuy is proudly the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Enbyballet.