Brazil-born dancer Iago Breschi celebrated his 29th birthday earlier this month, and on that day he took a moment to consider that he’s living a life he never thought possible.
Known for his stunning athleticism, he’s the youngest of the male principal dancers for City Ballet of San Diego, a career that requires up to 10 hours per day of physical training.
Breschi’s daily regimen includes dance classes, yoga, Pilates and gym workouts, but the hardest part, he confessed, is that he hasn’t been home for six years and he misses family holidays and, well, birthdays.
It’s a price he’s willing to pay.
“When I say ballet saved my life, I really mean it,” Breschi said.
“It gave me structure, discipline, identity, purpose and a reason for pushing forward. It gave me a future, a world where I can express myself and be proud of who I am. Ballet opened doors that I never thought could open for someone like me.”
City Ballet of San Diego dancer Iago Breschi will perform in “Sinatra.” (Courtesy)
This year, Breschi (pronounced Bres-kee) has come full circle.
Once again, he’ll be performing the role of Count Albrecht in “Giselle” as part of City Ballet’s 2025-26 Destination Innovation season.
It’s a part that demands the buoyant execution of more than 20 “entrechat six,” or consecutive jumps from a standing position.
Wait. There’s more to it. While airborne, the dancer crosses his legs in the air twice before landing, a feat that thrills ballet enthusiasts who are known to burst into applause at its conclusion.
Count Albrecht was Breschi’s very first principal role, awarded to him in 2018 during his first season with City Ballet.
Back then, Breschi struggled with English and he assumed that he was hired to be part of the corps de ballet.
But the passion for dance that consumed him in his youth helped him to quickly master the part of Albrecht, the first of many lead roles to come.
City Ballet of San Diego principal dancer Iago Breschi will perform in “Sinatra (The Best is Yet to Come)” Sept. 12 and 13 in La Jolla. (Renato Athayde)
The calling
Breschi spent his childhood in the favelas, a poverty-stricken, crime-ridden section of Rio de Janeiro.
His father died of cancer when he was 9 years old.
“We didn’t have enough money when I was growing up,” Breschi recalled.
“My mom used to sell fruit on the street all day long. She would walk, like, 25 miles a day. She would wake up super early in the morning and make a mix of fruits, very popular in Brazil because it’s a tropical country — a lot like Miami. She made that to sell for two reais, less than one American dollar.”
When Breschi was 14, his mother remarried “a great guy who treated me like a son and helped me a lot.”
But it took some time before his family appreciated his career direction.
“At first, they didn’t really understand it,” he explained.
“In the community I grew up in, ballet wasn’t seen as an option, especially for boys. My mom was concerned about what people might say. But when they saw my performance for the first time in school, something clicked for my mom. She realized it wasn’t a hobby, it was a calling.”
At the age of 17, Breschi traveled to America on a scholarship to train with Miami City Ballet.
It was shock.
“Every single person here has a chance to have a car, a phone, to go out to dinner. It’s simple for people in the United States, but in Brazil, it’s not. And in this country, you can have a career as a dancer.”
The trip to Miami was financed by Breschi’s teachers at Rio’s Centro de Arte e Danca de Campo Grande, now known as Escola de Dança Alice Arja (Alice Arja Dance School).
“My teachers, particularly Alice Arja and Karla Cerdeiro, have been my biggest supporters and they still help me make important career decisions,” Breschi said.
“They raised money for me to go to Miami and for my whole career in Brazil. When I was studying dance, I didn’t have to pay competition fees and they helped pay for (ballet) shoes. My mom was unable to afford shoes for me every month, so I had to sew them and get tape to cover the holes. I’m forever grateful to have those mentors.”
After three years at Miami City Ballet, Breschi joined Atlanta Ballet in 2016 as an apprentice, a training position that allows students to perform in productions.
City Ballet of San Diego principal dancers Ariana Gonzalez and Iago Breschi perform the one-act ballet “Summer Wind” in 2024. (Anna Scipione)
A transformative journey
A year later, City Ballet of San Diego, in need of a strong male dancer, offered Breschi an opportunity to join the company.
Ariana Gonzalez, a principal ballerina and City Ballet’s assistant artistic director, remembers when Breschi arrived, just before his 21st birthday.
“It was Iago’s first company contract, said Gonzalez, who will perform a pas de deux with Breschi to the song “Fly Me to the Moon” on Sept. 12-13 in “Sinatra,” City Ballet’s season opener.
“He was the little brother I didn’t have, all raw talent and insane energy,” Gonzalez said. “He didn’t quite know how to harness it into mature artistry — he didn’t know the subtleties of acting. He gave the most emotion in every single moment. Now, he has a more mature approach, not just to abstract dancing but his classical acting has a lot more subtlety and artistry.”
Since his arrival in San Diego, Breschi has performed major ballet roles, including his favorite, the iconic part of Apollo in George Balanchine’s ballet of the same name.
Breschi said that he’s received national and international recognitions that “have deeply humbled me and affirmed my commitment to the art of dance.”
Last year, he returned to Miami to represent Brazil in the annual production of Men Who Dance, an international festival for male dancers, and he was nominated as one of the top Latin American dancers in America by UOL (Universo Online), one of Brazil’s largest online media platforms.
Additionally, he enthused, his hometown awarded him a certificate of excellence for representing Brazil on global stages.
Breschi described his position with City Ballet as transformative, due to his fellow dancers and challenging repertoire that in 2026 includes Christopher Wheeldon’s “The American,” George Balanchine’s “Who Cares?” and the return of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Ecliptic,” which received standing ovations when it premiered last year.
The company believed in his potential early on, he affirmed, and gave him the opportunity to take on challenging roles that helped him to grow as an artist.
“The entire company is committed to excellence,” he said.
“I feel like my hard work and sacrifice is being seen. I want to give everything I have on stage and make people feel something real.”
City of Ballet of San Diego’s 2026 season
“Sinatra (The Best is Yet to Come)” with “The Seasons,” Sept. 12-13 at UC San Diego’s Epstein Family Amphitheater.
“Giselle,” Oct. 25-26 at California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
“The Nutcracker,” Dec. 20-23 at California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
“Rhapsody in Blue” with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Ecliptic” and the premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s “The American,” March 7-8, 2026 at Balboa Theatre and March 11, 2026 at California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
“The Firebird” with George Balanchine’s “Who Cares?” May 2-3 at California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
A meet-and-greet with the City Ballet of San Diego Season 25|26 dance artists follows every performance.
City Ballet of San Diego presents ‘Sinatra (The Best is Yet to Come)’
When: 8 p.m. Sept. 12-13
Where: Epstein Family Amphitheater, 9480 Innovation Lane, UC San Diego, La Jolla.
Tickets: $39-$79
Online: cityballet.org
City Ballet dancer Iago Breschi photographed on Nov. 20, 2023, in San Diego. Breschi will be a featured dancer in the company’s “Sinatra” program Sept. 12-13 in La Jolla. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Originally Published: August 31, 2025 at 6:00 AM PDT