Rupert Edwards III was born in Kingston, Jamaica. At the age of 10 he relocated with his family to Hartford, Connecticut where he grew up. He received his training at The School of Hartford Ballet. Since then, he has performed with Hartford Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, Boston Ballet, Tulsa Ballet where he was promoted to Demi Soloist, and more recently with Houston Ballet.
His repertoire includes Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort; Anna-Marie Holmes’ Don Quixote; Ben Stevenson’s Dracula; Stanton Welch’s Brusier; John Cranko’s Onegin; Rudy Vandasic’s Romeo & Juliet; George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son; Graham Lustig’s Nutcracker and Cinderella; Septime Webre’s Romeo & Juliet; as well as many other classical and contemporary works.
In 2010, Mr. Edwards joined Houston Ballet where he performed in works such as Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake, Cinderella, Madame Butterfly, La Bayadère, The Rite of Spring, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Giselle, and Romeo and Juliet; Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow; David Bintley’s Aladdin; Trey McIntyre’s Peter Pan; Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty; Julia Adams’ Ketubah, Twyla Tharp’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations; Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land; Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon and Gloria; George Balanchine’s Jewels; Christopher Bruce’s Grinning in Your Face; Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush; John Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew; John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Mark Morris’ Drink to me Only With Thine Eyes; and George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations. Mr. Edwards was also choreographed in the world premiere of Edwaard Liang’s Murmuration. He has also performed as guest artist with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company on their month-long China tour, Ballet Des Moines, Hartford Ballet performing with The San Francisco Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, Santa Rosa Dance Theater, Uptown Dance Center and Victoria Ballet Theater. He has performed in almost every state in the US and internationally, he has performed in China, Korea, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, Australia, Canada and Brazil.
In addition to his passion for dance, Mr. Edwards enjoys teaching. He taught ballet to the men’s and women’s team of the Houston Gymnastics Academy where he also coached the floor and beams routines. Presently, Mr. Edwards is a classical ballet teacher at Houston Ballet Academy and teaches body conditioning targeted to dancers in several dance studios in the Houston area. He has also choreographed for DanceZone’s end-of-the-year production for the past three years. Dance Scape by Joyce end-of-the-year production for the past six years. Also, for the students of Houston Ballet Academy. Mr. Edwards also does extensive coaching for both classical technique and competition dances as well.
Recently, Mr. Edwards graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology - Exercise Science. He also obtained an Associate’s Degree in Science from Houston Community College. Mr. Edwards is also an exercise technician with Fit For Work and an ergonomic specialist.
Rupert lives in Houston with his beautiful wife Karina Gonzalez, Principal dancer with Houston Ballet and their lovely daughter.
