Juan de Juan
Who is Juan de Juan?
Juan Carlos Ramírez Castillo, Juan de Juan, was born on 27 January 1979 in Seville, though he grew up in Morón de la Frontera. He began dancing at seven with Juan Triana at his academy in Morón, continued his training with Juana Amaya and Ramón Barrull, and prepared for entry to the Conservatorio de Sevilla with Ana María Bueno and Carmen Montes. At sixteen he was selected, after a course with Antonio Canales, for an audition in Barcelona that would change the course of his career.
Career
In 1996 he joined Antonio Canales’s company as a dancer, and Canales became his teacher and mentor; he took part in productions such as “La Casa de Bernarda Alba,” “La Cenicienta,” “Prometeo” and “Bailaor,” rising to become the company’s lead male dancer. In 2001 he made his solo debut with his own musical group, and in 2002 presented “Anda-Luz” in Alicante, touring all of Spain, before founding Ballet Flamenco Juan de Juan as a full company, debuting with the choreography “Torero,” handed down by Canales himself. In 2007 he premiered “Inquietudes” in San Javier, a show that incorporated contemporary elements such as piano, electric guitar and percussion.
Style
His dancing is defined by the balance between nerve and restraint, adapted to his mood in each performance, and it seeks to build bridges between the most traditional flamenco and young audiences through instrumentation and contemporary influences.
Legacy
Antonio Canales himself came to call him “the only monster we have” among the bailaores of his generation, an endorsement that sums up how much weight his time in that company carried in consolidating his solo career.