George Mattox
In 1980, George Mattox moved to Miami and observed a lack of development opportunities for young singers and dancers. This led him to seek a solution. In 1986, he founded the Hispanic-American Lyric Theatre (HALT). Through the years, HALT has presented operas, operettas, zarzuelas and ballet featuring young artists from the University of Miami, FIU and dance academies, providing encouragement and training to several generations of future artists. Among them are sopranos Elizabeth Caballero, Eglise Gutierrez, mezzo-soprano Mabel Ledo, baritone Nelson Martinez who have all performed in major opera houses in the U.S, Europe and Latin America and dancer Melissa Fernandez who was a principal dancer with Ballet Hispanico of New York. HALT presented and sponsored the inaugural season of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami in 2016. The sold-out performance featured former principal dancers of the Miami City Ballet Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra, earning the Miami Herald headline: "Ballet Troupe makes exuberant Miami Debut!" At 84, Mr. Mattox continues to perform every year in The Nutcracker Ballet presented at the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center.