Back from her stay at the Joffrey Ballet in New York, Nora resumed her functions as Prima Ballerina in the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro. Then, she was invited to participate of Companhia Brasileira de Ballet, founded by Paulo and Regina Ferraz in Rio de Janeiro. She integrated this company for one year, under the direction of Arthur Mitchell, who was the Main Dancer of the New York City Ballet and the first black person to participate of a classic ballet company in the United States, which choreographer was George Balanchine.

Mitchell developed several choreographic creations for Companhia Brasileira de Ballet, of which Nora participated performing the main role. One year later, Hector Zaraspe came to direct the Ballet of the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro and to make reassembles. For Nora, Zaraspe reassembled the pas-de-deux of “Don Quixote”, with Luis Fuentes, a spanish ballet dancer radicated in New York who was Nora’s colleague in the Joffrey Ballet.

Zaraspe also presented with Nora the pas-de-deux of “Le Corsaire”, which was, then, performed for the first time in the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, also with Luis Fuentes as the partner. Afterwards, George Skibine came to the Ballet of the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro to assemble “The Firebird” and “Daphnis and Chloé”. Nora played the main female role of the two choreographies.

In the following year, it was the turn of Oscar Araiz, an Argentinean choreographer, to arrive at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro. Araiz selected Nora to play the most important roles of the ballets “Cantabile” (pas-de-deux), “Romeo and Juliet” (ballet in 2 acts) and “The Wonderful Mandarin”. Nora continued her career in the Municipal Theater and, in 1984, she won the “Golfinho de Ouro” award in the Dance category, an award granted by the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro to several artistic areas. She was invited by Ballet Contemporâneo (RJ), to perform “Earth Song”, by Fábio de Mello. She also worked with Regina Sauer’s group Nós da Dança.

In 1997, she participated of the Brazilian tour of the show “Musical Images”, with pianist Braz Velloso and choreography by Dalal Achcar. In 1998, she danced in several Brazilian cities and released her video “Nora Esteves in Foco”, the first video on classic ballet made in Brazil. She worked with Deborah Colker in the series “Brazilian Choreographers” in the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, in the choreography “Passion”.


Presently, she teaches at Centro de Movimento Deborah Colker and at Companhia Deborah Colker.

She created a choreography for the musical “Imperium”, with direction, text and lyrics by Miguel Falabella and music by Josimar Carneiro.