Miami Royal Ballet: Choreographing with Lourdes & Maia

Directors, Miami Royal Ballet

Lourdes Arteaga was a prima ballerina in Argentina and Chile before she and her daughter, Maia Duschatzky, moved to the U.S. when Duschatzky was two. By the time she was five, she was already following in her mother’s footsteps, learning to dance in a variety of styles, including ballet, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, and more.

Just a few years later, in 2008, Arteaga opened the first Miami Royal Ballet (MRB) location. Since then, the studio has taught hundreds of people — from children as young as three up to adults in their 20s and 30s — the art of ballet. Duschatzky, now 24, has been an active participant in her mother’s business since she was young, but has become something more: a coworker. She choreographs, teaches, and handles the studio’s marketing efforts alongside Arteaga.

Latest Achievements

In June, Arteaga and Duschatzky opened Miami Royal Ballet’s new location at 300 Altara Ave. With multiple studios and even a small kitchen, the space is MRB’s sole location now, a place where regular people can be transformed into ballerinas. Many graduates of Miami Royal Ballet go on to dance in college or even in training programs for world-renowned ballet companies. Trophies are commonplace and performances often receive rave reviews from industry professionals.

What They Say

“Classical ballet provides the foundation for every type of dance,” says Duschatzky. “Anything you do, you need to have a certain technique [that you learn in ballet]. So, we mostly focus on ballet since it’s the foundation of all dance, but we also just feel that it’s the most beautiful.” Arteaga adds, “You learn how to use your body like it’s your instrument…. It’s not just about becoming a dancer. It’s about learning the discipline, the structure, and the values that don’t just help you in dance, but in life.”

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