Giselle Durand

Giselle is a native of Lima-Peru, her professional career started at the age of 16 at the official ballet company of her country Ballet Nacional del Peru under the direction of Olga Shimazaki as soloist 1 and after 3 years she was promoted to principal soloist.  As a dancer, she participated in festivals and tours performing in Bolivia, Chile, USA, etc. She has performed a number of important leading roles in classical productions as Paquita, Raymonda, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Swan Lake, Sherezade, The Nutcracker, Giselle, among others.  Gissell studied Flamenco and Peruvian Folklore as a complement to her artistic development and she has also participated in publicity events as choreographer and dancer.  She has given ballet instruction at the University of South Florida and at local ballet schools.  She has trained and continues training students for the American Ballet Competition, the American Dance Competition and the Youth America Grand Prix on a regional and national level.

 

J. Barry Griswell

Chairman of the board and retired CEO of The Principal Financial Group®, and the current president of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines.

 

A native of Georgia, Mr. Griswell received his bachelor’s degree from Berry College in Rome, Georgia and his master’s degree from Stetson University in Deland, Florida. Griswell joined The Principal in 1988 as an officer and agency vice president. He became senior vice president in 1991 and executive vice president in 1996. He was named president in 1998, became CEO in 2000 and chairman of the board in 2002. Griswell retired as CEO on May 1, 2008 and remains chairman of the board. Prior to his association with The Principal Financial Group, he served as president and CEO of MetLife Marketing Corporation, a distribution-marketing subsidiary of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

 

Mr. Griswell is active in various industry and community organizations, including serving on the boards of Herman Miller, Inc., the S.S. Huebner Foundation for Insurance Education, Americans for the Arts, United Way of America and the LIMRA/LOMA Global. He is a current trustee of Central College in Pella, Iowa and Berry College in Rome, Georgia. He is chair of the Business Committee for the Arts.

 

In spring 2008, Griswell founded The Harvest Initiative, an endeavor to bring economic help to the people of Crow Creek County in South Dakota. Griswell has addressed his success and journey in overcoming adversity in the book The Adversity Paradox, An Unconventional Guide to Uncommon Business Success which he co-authored.  In addition to all of his activities, Barry is an accomplished tap dancer!

 

A native of Cuba, Julio began his ballet training in 1983.  At the age of seventeen, he launched his professional career at Ballet de Camaguey under the direction of Fernando Alonso and performed in Cuba from 1991 to 1993. In 1993 he joined the Ballet Nacional de Peru in Lima, Peru as a Principal Dancer under the direction of Olga Shimazaki.
In 1995 Julio was the recipient of the Circe Prize.  In Peru, the Circe Prize is the top award  bestowed upon artists in their discipline.  For nine years, Julio danced with the company in South America and around the world before moving to the United States in 2002 to perform as a Soloist with the Tulsa Ballet. He danced with Tulsa Ballet for two seasons under Artistic Director, Marcello Angellini.
Julio has performed most of the lead roles in the classical ballet repertory along with many contemporary ballets. In 2004, he was the co-director of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center Classical Ballet Program.  From 2006 to 2009, taught for the Orlando Ballet School through a partnership with the TBPAC Patel Conservatory. Julio is also a guest teacher at the University of South Florida’s ballet program.