Vicente Balbino Nebreda Arias (Caracas, Venezuela, March 31, 1920 – ibid, May 26, 2002)^[1] was a choreographer and dancer who was considered a Venezuelan pioneer for dance during the 1940s. He was part of the Cátedra de Ballet del Liceo Andrés Bello, the first attempt at a formal dance school in the country. Later on, he danced with Ballet Nacional de Venezuela, the first long term professional company. Nebrada was also one of the first Venezuelan dancers to have an international career, he worked with Roland Petit’s company in France, the Joffrey Ballet, the Harkness Ballet in the United States, and Ballet Nacional de Cuba. His extensive career as a choreographer began in 1958, when he began his professional career, and ended with the creation of his version of The Nutcracker in 1996. He created 61 original choreographies and adaptations of universally classic repertoires for diverse companies all over the world.

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In 1975, Nebrada helped found the International Ballet of Caracas and became their artistic director and resident choreographer in 1977.^[2][3] In 1984, he became the artistic director of the National Ballet of Caracas, where he remained until his death due to leukemia in 2002 at age 72.^[2] His dances have been performed by Ballet Hispanico, American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, National Ballet of Canada, Berlin Opera Ballet, English National Ballet, Australian Ballet and the Universal Ballet of Korea.^[3][4]

Nebrada was born in the San José parish of Caracas. He was the son of Alejandro Nebreda and Josefina Arias. He was the youngest of five siblings in a middle-class family, who descended from Spanish immigrants. His father was a tailor and owner of a leather goods store, which was located in the center of the city. His mother was a housewife and dedicated herself exclusively to caring for the family and raising the children.^[5]

Vicente went to elementary school at the Venezuela Experimental School, which was a school where new forms of teaching were put into practice. There he met Isaac Chocrón and Román Chalbaud, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. The school taught music, dance and theater classes, in addition to the formal elementary school subjects, and had a team of teachers who made innovation in education their goal and put into practice new methods so that the student could make the most of their time at school. Steffy Stahl, an Austrian teacher hired by the Venezuelan state, taught the rhythmic gymnastics course applying the Dalcroze method and put on end-of-year shows in which Vicente played the Indian Guaicaipuro.

His artistic inclinations took hold in his adolescence. He had a particular taste for cinema, which he attended with some regularity. In 1945, he attended a performance at the Teatro Municipal de Caracas of the Compañía de Cantos y Danzas de España directed by dancer Joaquín Pérez Fernández, which sparked his interest in this artistic form. Later that same year, the season of Colonel de Basil's Ballets Russes was presented, also at the Teatro Municipal, a company that was made up of some former dancers from Diaghilev's extinct company. Four of its members, the Argentine spouses Hery and Luz Thomson, and the Irish David and Eva Grey, decided to stay in Venezuela fleeing the misery in which Europe was mired after the Second World War.^[5] These dancers began to teach private classes and proposed to the director of the Liceo Andrés Bello, Dionisio López Orihuela, to open a ballet class in that educational institution. The director liked the idea and towards the end of 1945, classes began at the Ballet Chair at the Liceo Andrés Bello. Vicente was a high school student and immediately enrolled in the new course and began his dance studies.

The Thomson couple soon undertook another project outside the Liceo Andrés Bello, El Club de Ballet. The chair remained in the hands of the Greys and Vicente decided to continue with the Thomsons. There he strengthened his friendship with those who would be his dance partners for years and with whom he would leave the country, Irma Contreras and Graciela Henríquez.

In 1948, he entered the Escuela Nacional de Ballet [es] (National Ballet School) directed by Nena Coronil [es]. Four years later, he traveled to New York to continue his ballet studies at the School of American Ballet with teachers Anatole Oboukoff, Pierre Vladimiroff and Edward Caton.

His style is undeniably Neoclassical. His duets or pas de deux are known for their plasticity, expressiveness and intricate lifts. His partnering style shows a great deal of upper-body freedom while the ballerina moves on and off-balance. His spatial designs are symmetrical, harmonious and often organic, with dancers moving across the stage, while lending a visceral sense of ownership to his dances.

Many of his narrative ballets are filled with colors and dramatic effervescence. This approach is inherent to Latin American idiosyncrasy, and his existence is perhaps a residue from the classic ballets of the romantic era. Some of his best known narrative ballets or classical adaptations are The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, FireBird, Don Quijote, Copelia, Cinderella, Inés de Castro, Van Gogh, and George Sand.^[6]

He also imprinted his signature style to many abstract or non-narrative ballets. Some of them present some scenes based on stories or imagery, but they are still considered non-narrative as they do not follow a plot or a script. Examples include Our Waltzes, Lento a Tempo e Apassionato, La luna y Los híjos que tenía, Una Danza para ti, A Haendel's Celebration, Pentimento, Double Colchea and Fever, among others.

Allan Ulricht, writer of the Dance examiner for the San Francisco Chronicle, said: "…'Fever' is clearly an export ballet…" "…The choreography is structured like a classical diversion and Nebrada affirms the women's communal purpose with repeated circular forays. Some of the women struggle, others yield and one is raised aloft like the spirit of feminism triumphant. Thanks to the eight fearless dancers, the effect was intensely visceral. As La Lupe kept singing, 'Adios, adios, adios', I wanted to shout, 'Bienvenido, bienvenido, bienvenido…' (1995)^[7]

Nebrada's extensive body of work brought a sense of distinctiveness and relevance to Venezuela's cultural heritage. His choreographies continue to be performed around the world as they emerged during a particularly prosper era of Neoclassical ballet in the 20th century. He sought after dancers with both expressivity and technical abilities, and most of his male dancers also needed to be skilled partners. His choreographic style gave an identity to the National Ballet of Caracas, which became the resident ballet company of the Teresa Carreño Cultural complex^[13] in 1984. Despite frequent interruptions due to government cuts, the company's funding is subsidized mostly by the Venezuelan government. As with many other companies in the world, the National Ballet of Caracas continue to struggle to maintain its season, pay its dancers and remain viable.

Nebrada has been the recipient of numerous awards. Among them:

• 1976: Fokine Award, for the choreography Shadows awarded by the Dance University in Paris
• 1984: CONAC Award of Classic Dance, awarded by the National Cultural Council. Venezuela.
• 1986: Diego de Lozada award in its first class, awarded by the Venezuelan government. Venezuela
• 1991: National Artist Award: For his choreography “Swan Lake", awarded by Fundación Casa del Artista. Venezuela. *1991: National Artist Award: as choreographer of the year, awarded by Fundación Casa del Artista. Venezuela.
• 1992: National Dance Award, awarded for the first time in Venezuela.
• 1992: National Artist Award: as choreographer of the year, awarded by Fundación Casa del Artista. Venezuela
• 1993: Andres Bello Order in its First Class. Venezuela
• 1995: The Official Order of Simon Bolivar, celebrating 50 years of Artistic Achievements. Venezuela
• 1995: Municipality of Dance, awarded by local el libertador’s Council. Caracas, Venezuela.
• 1996: National Artist Award: as choreographer of the year, awarded by Fundación Casa del Artista. Venezuela.
• 2001: Monseñor Pellín Award in its XII edition: for The Nutcracker as best choreography for children. Venezuela<ref>Lobo, Belen. Nebreda-Nebrada. Printed by Editorial Arte in Caracas-Vzla., 1996