Joaquín Cortés
Who is Joaquín Cortés?
Joaquín Pedraja Reyes, known artistically as Joaquín Cortés, was born on 22 February 1969 in Córdoba, into a Roma family, and grew up in the Madrid neighborhood of Lavapiés. He began his dance studies in Madrid at twelve, and at fifteen was admitted to the Ballet Nacional de España, where he rose quickly to become a soloist dancer.
Career
With the Ballet Nacional he performed on internationally prestigious stages, such as the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and the Kremlin in Moscow, and worked alongside dance figures such as Maya Plisetskaya, Sylvie Guillem and Peter Schaufuss. In 1992 he founded his own company, Joaquín Cortés Ballet Flamenco, with which he premiered “Cibayí,” touring Japan, France, Italy, Venezuela and the United States.
His great leap to international fame came in 1995 with “Pasión gitana,” with costumes by Giorgio Armani, a show that toured more than thirty countries before more than a million spectators. It was followed by “Soul” (1999), for which he collaborated with choreographer Debbie Allen in New York, “Pura pasión” and “Live” (2001), and “Mi soledad” (2006), with costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier. In film he appeared in Pedro Almodóvar’s “La flor de mi secreto” and in Carlos Saura’s “Flamenco,” and starred in “Gitano” (2000). He also choreographed for Mecano in 1992 and performed alongside Alicia Keys at the 2001 Grammy Awards gala.
Style
His personal signature has centered on the soleá and a strong Roma imprint, with marked stage drama and an element of cultural fusion that has brought flamenco dance to mass audiences unaccustomed to this art, in large venues and total-spectacle formats.
Legacy
In 2009 he received the Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes from the Spanish government, in recognition of a career that, more than most, has helped popularize large-scale flamenco beyond its traditional circuits.