Bilal Shakur Smith began his ballet training at the age of 14 after being accepted into the Baltimore School for the Arts. He has also trained on full scholarship with Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Nashville Ballet.  Favorite Ballets include Zalman Raffael and Robert Weiss’ Bariolage, George Balanchine’s Rubies, and Lynne Taylor Corbett’s Chiaroscuro . This is Bilal’s 10th and final season with the company. He would thank the company , community , and patrons for all it has given him throughout his time here in Raleigh.