Matilde Coral
Who is Matilde Coral?
Matilde Corrales González, artistically known as Matilde Coral, was born on 22 June 1935 in the Plaza de Chapina, in the Sevillian neighborhood of Triana, one of the historic strongholds of flamenco. She trained with teachers such as Adelita Domingo, Pastora Imperio and Eloísa Albéniz, and later completed her academic training with a diploma in Spanish Dance from the Escuela de Arte Dramático y Danza de Córdoba, obtained in 1979.
She made her debut as a bailaora at the cortijo El Guajiro in Seville and shortly afterward became lead dancer at the Madrid tablao El Duende, owned by Pastora Imperio and Gitanillo de Triana, a position that placed her, from a very young age, among the leading figures of flamenco dance of the era.
Career
Throughout her career she toured half the world alongside artists such as Alejandro Vega, Alberto Lorca and José Greco, joining their international companies. Married for fifty-seven years to the bailaor Rafael “El Negro,” with whom she had three children (Rafael, Rocío and María), she also formed, together with him and Farruco, the trio Los Bolecos, one of the leading groups of Sevillian dance in the mid-twentieth century.
In 1967 she founded her own school in Seville, from which nationally award-winning bailaoras such as María Oliveros, Pepa Montes, Manuela Carrasco and Milagros Mengíbar have emerged. She combined teaching with her work as a performer in the films of Carlos Saura, as choreographer and lead dancer in “Sevillanas” (1992) and as the star of “Flamenco” (1995); in 2016 she was the subject of the documentary “Acariciando el aire.” She also worked as a Flamenco Dance teacher at the Conservatorio de Arte Dramático y Danza de Córdoba and gave seminars and master classes in Spain and Japan.
Style
Her dance represents the refinement of the Sevillian school, characterized by elegant arm movements and expressive restraint, in contrast to the more overflowing power of other flamenco schools, a style she has passed on to generations of students through her academy.
Legacy
Matilde Coral has been honored with the sole Golden Key of Flamenco Dance, awarded in 1972, along with three national awards (Juana “La Macarrona,” Pilar López and Encarnación López), the Medalla de Oro de Andalucía in 2001, the Premio Compás del Cante in 1997 and the Premio UNICEF Andalucía, presented by the King and Queen of Spain. Her career as a performer, choreographer and teacher makes her one of the leading guardians and transmitters of the Sevillian school of dance.