Masterclasses and conversations with star professional artists are a key part of performing arts students’ education in the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture. In the spring 2025 semester, Movement Migration artist Lorenzo Pagano was welcomed to perform for and engage in conversation with music and dance students for the Department of Music and taught a masterclass in the Department of Dance.

Pagano joined department pianist Claudio Olivera for an improvisation to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," where they discussed the relationship between movement and music and answered questions from the class.

Pagano is an international award-winning contemporary dancer whose career has spanned across concert dance, musical theatre and opera. A former principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, he is currently performing with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and Movement Migration.

Olivera began his musical studies in Venezuela at age eight and debuted as a soloist with orchestra at 12. Olivera has performed with nearly every major Venezuelan orchestra and internationally in Germany, Italy, Chile, Spain, France, and the U.S. His obtained an undergraduate degree in Production Engineering at the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela. He also holds a Pianist Certificate from Juan José Landaeta Conservatory and a Master’s in Piano and Pedagogy from Germany’s Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, supported by a DAAD scholarship. He later earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of South Carolina under Dr. Marina Lomazov.