Matthew Renko was born in Tampa, Florida and raised in Sumter, South Carolina where, at age 8, he began his ballet training at Miss Libby’s School of Dance, then later at Columbia Conservatory of Dance under the tutelage of Serge Lavoie. He eventually continued his training at North Carolina School of the Arts and then The School of American Ballet in New York City. He began his professional career in 2007, joining the New York City Ballet as an apprentice and then joining the corps de ballet in 2008. He went on to join the Suzanne Farrell Ballet in 2010, where he was promoted to soloist in 2013. Simultaneously he was a member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet, joining in 2011. Having danced an array of ballet repertoire, he has performed featured roles in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, La Source, Le Baiser de la Fée, and Rubies, Robbins’ Watermill and Molissa Fenley’s State of Darkness. Matthew’s choreographic credits include participating in SAB’s Student Choreography Workshop, The New York Choreographic Institute, and PNB’s Next Step program.