Catch dance sensation and former Jacksonville University student Carlos Garland in “Rock the Ballet” this weekend!

Be sure to try to catch former JU student and dance sensation Carlos Garland as he performs in “Rock the Ballet” featuring the Bad Boys of Dance company at 8 p.m. today and tomorrow, Oct. 26 and 27, at the UNF Fine Arts Center Get, 11852 University of North Florida Drive.

Rock the Ballet is described as a “high energy dance performance blending ballet, hip hop jazz and modern dance.” It comes to Jacksonville from sellout seasons in Berlin, Russia, Australia, Hamburg, Vienna and Frankfurt and fuses classic ballet technique with musical theater, hip hop, ballet, tap, contemporary, gymnastics and more. Rock the Ballet features a soundtrack including hits from U2, Michael Jackson,Prince, Queen, Coldplay and Lenny Kravitz.

Admission is $35 in advance for the public, $30 for Senior, Military and Students; and $40 for all audiences at the door. Tickets are available by calling (904) 620-1895 or visiting https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/team.asp?SponsorID=4802.

Garland attended JU in 2010, and his dance crew Systematic won BET’s 106th and Park dance competition on Wild Out Wednesday twice in a row. The crew has been seen in national and international commercials for companies such as Head Tennis Rackets. He is currently with Rasta Thomas’ Bad Boys Of Dance, seen on the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance”. He has danced and worked with artists and choreographers such as Adrienne Canterna, David Parsons, Jennifer Muller, Travis Wall, Christian Von Howard, Dave Scott, Chuck Maldanado, Cris Judd, Brian Friedman, Luam Keflezgy,and Quest Crew.

Below is a short clip of Garland performing in Rock the Ballet, followed by a portion of his bio from http://carlosgarland.com:

From CarlosGarland.com:

Carlos Garland was born on July 4, 1988, and was raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He started dance at the age of 13 at Lavilla School of the Arts. Originally in drama, he was brought into dance through a bet by a friend in the 7th grade. He graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, studying dance all four years. During this time he performed in the First Coast Nutcracker as lead the Russian Doll for 6 straight years. In 2005 Carlos was the winner of the Mille Lewis America’s Models and Talent Competition in dance. In his senior year of high school in 2006 he received a Merit Award in the NFAA (National Foundation of Advancement of the Arts) in hip hop. Carlos has been trained in ballet, modern, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, comtemporary, and breakdance. He has a previous background in Taekwondo of 7 years and reached a second degree black belt. In the future Carlos hopes to maintain his role as a professional dancer for as long as he can and become a well-known choreographer for many styles of dance.