Richmond Ballet Dancers Maggie Small and Fernando Sabino performing Snake and Charmer in "The Nutcracker" by Stoner Winslett. (Photo source: Richmond Ballet. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Sarah Ferguson)
The role of the sensual snake charmer — as portrayed by Brazilian-born dancer Fernando Sabino — is a perennial audience favorite in Richmond Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” which runs Dec. 9-23 at Dominion Arts Center’s Carpenter Theatre. Audiences will also see Sabino, 31, as the Cavalier, dancing the grand pas de deux with the Sugar Plum Fairy. While frequently paired onstage with dancer Maggie Small since he joined the ballet in 2006, Sabino is engaged to fellow company member Sabrina Holland; the two are planning a June 2018 wedding.
What I love about Richmond is that every time you go out, you find something new to do. I like to be outside. I like the river.
One thing I wish I could change about Richmond is not everybody has an open mind. It’s a historic place, and I understand that. I would like more sidewalks.
My all-time favorite role as a dancer was Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet.”
Audiences respond to me as the snake charmer because I really enjoy the role and I have a great partner [Small] that I’ve been dancing with in that role for a long time. I like creating the character, even though I don’t like snakes.
If you’re having me over for dinner, I like good food. I like meat and salad, rice.
I never get tired of listening to Brazilian popular music, bossa nova or pagode, and Bruno Mars, R&B.
If my friends had to use one word to describe me, it would be spicy.
The biggest challenge I’ve faced was three years ago when I had my neck surgery. I had a disk compressing my spinal cord. I went to three different doctors. They said I needed to have a fusion, like Peyton Manning. I had to stop dancing for five months.
The bravest thing I’ve done was six or seven years ago when I was at Belle Isle, and I saw a guy who was trying to stay above the water. I realized he was drowning. I swam to him and flipped him over and started CPR on him. [The man survived.]
Something people should know about me is I love riding motorcycles.
When I was growing up, I thought I was going to be a soccer player, just like I think all the boys in Brazil think they are going to be.
The best day of my life? Every time I open my eyes is a great day. I’m a person who always worries about the future. Lately, I’ve been trying to be grateful that I could do what I had to do today.
If I wasn’t a dancer, I could see myself working on houses or woodworking, carpentry or things like that. It’s very nice to see the work after it’s done.
When all else fails, I pray. I don’t go to church a lot, but my family’s very religious. I pray every night. I have to pray on my knees and not lying down, just like my mother told me.
