He will take a three-month leave of absence from the company for treatment in Miami, as will his wife and assistant, Maria Bujones. During his absence, Orlando Ballet School director Peter Stark will represent Bujones at the company. Ballet mistress and master Samantha Dunster and Orlando Molina will take over his direction of the company's holiday performances.

Bujones has directed Orlando Ballet since 2000. He is a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, and in 1974 became the first American to win the International Ballet Competition's gold medal. In over 30 years of performing, he appeared with, among other companies, the Royal Ballet, the Paris Opera, and the Stuttgart Ballet. His choreographic works have been performed by ABT, the National Ballet of Canada, Boston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Tokyo Ballet.

In 1994 he founded the Madrid-based company Ballet Clasico Mediterraneo.