Carly Topazio - Artistic Director and Founder
Originally from Millis, MA, Topazio trained at Boston Ballet, and later at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under Marcia Dale Weary. In 2011 Topazio joined the Alabama Ballet, where she performed featured roles in ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Twyla Tharp’s Bakers Dozen, Jiri Kylian's Sechtanza, as well as George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Allegro Brillante, and Raymonda Variations.
Topazio has trained and performed internationally including a residency under Iratxe Ansa in Mexico City, IB Stage in Spain, ART of Forsythe residency in Madrid, Prague Masterclasses, and can also be seen performing as a ballet dancer in the Disney movie The Game Plan starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. In 2013 Topazio moved to New York and was a guest artist with Ballet Inc, Eglevsky Ballet, and Ballet Neo among others. Topazio joined City Ballet of San Diego from 2014 - 2020 as a company dancer for six seasons, where she had the opportunity to perform soloist and principal roles in various classical and contemporary ballets, as well as having numerous roles originated on herself. In 2021, Topazio joined the newly formed Golden State Ballet for their inaugural production of Jared Nelson's The Nutcracker at The Civic Theatre.
In addition to her professional dance career, Topazio has branched out to simultaneously pursue her other passions including marketing and graphic design and video production for arts nonprofits, and in 2014 started her own freelance photography business, respectively named Carly Topazio Photography. Her work has been featured in publications such as the San Diego Tribune, The Voyager, Pointe Magazine, Peer Space, and various others, as well as being named one of the Top Ten Fine Art Photographers in San Diego in 2019.
Outside of the studio Topazio is constantly collaborating with artists and exploring different art mediums. In 2019 Topazio was recognized as an Emerging Arts Professional in San Diego by Rising Arts Leaders, and in 2021 was asked to be a panelist for California Arts Council.
In May of 2018, Topazio founded The Rosin Box Project, with a mission to reimagine the way artists and audiences experience this art form.
Topazio says that the company dancers fully believe in the works they perform and that unity resonates with audiences.
“We don’t engage in anything that we can’t commit to authentically,” she adds. “I think that vibe comes through in what we do. Our artists are comfortable in themselves and in the work that we do — even if it’s pushing boundaries or going outside our comfort zone in terms of what we are used to or what we feel we are good at.
“We want to present a very professional and confident brand, and I think it kind of naturally takes shape in that way.”
- Interview with Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union Tribune