Michael Burfield

From Lubbock, Texas
With Nashville Ballet since 2018

Training and Education
Lone Star Ballet, Ballet Lubbock, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Austin II

Previously
Ballet Austin, Sarasota Ballet

Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Michael Burfield began his training at Ballet Lubbock and Lone Star Ballet. Following high school, he continued his studies at Pacific Northwest Ballet as a Professional Division student on full scholarship.

In 2010, Burfield joined Ballet Austin’s second company and was promoted to the main company the following season. During his tenure, he worked closely with Artistic Director Stephen Mills and Michelle Martin and performed extensively in Mills’ Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project, touring the work to Miami and throughout Israel, with excerpts presented at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of Ballet Across America. He also performed works by other choreographers, including Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Requiem for a Rose, touring the work to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Burfield joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2014 as a coryphée under the direction of Iain Webb and Margaret Barbieri. While there, he performed a wide-ranging classical and contemporary repertoire including works by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Kenneth MacMillan, Anthony Tudor, Christopher Wheeldon, Rudolf Nureyev, Sir Peter Wright, Paul Taylor, Christopher Bruce, Dominic Walsh, Marcelo Gomes, and Will Tuckett. He toured with the company to New York City, performing at the New York City Center on multiple occasions, and also appeared at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

In 2018, Burfield joined Nashville Ballet, where he has performed leading roles in numerous productions across the company’s classical and contemporary repertoire. These include Mercutio in Paul Vasterling’s Romeo & Juliet, the Nutcracker Prince and Drosselmeyer in Nashville’s Nutcracker, Renfield in Dracula, and the Blue Bird in The Sleeping Beauty, as well as featured roles in Swan Lake, Appalachian Spring, and Lucy Negro Redux. His Balanchine repertoire includes Principal in Rubies, Melancholic in The Four Temperaments, and Duo Concertant. He has also portrayed Allan in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s A Streetcar Named Desire, and performed works by Twyla Tharp, Justin Peck, Jiří Kylián, Val Caniparoli, Jennifer Archibald, Nick Mullikin, Penny Saunders, and many other choreographers.

While continuing his performance career, Burfield has taken on increasing responsibilities in rehearsal leadership and repertory preparation under Artistic Director Emeritus Paul Vasterling and current Artistic Director Nick Mullikin. He has led rehearsals across multiple casts and played a central role in the rehearsal and re-staging of Lucy Negro Redux for a four-city national tour and PBS Great Performances. He recently served as Guest Rehearsal Director and Stager for Vasterling’s Cinderella at Sacramento Ballet. His own choreography made its main stage debut at the 2025 Ballet Ball.