Mercedes Ruiz
Who is Mercedes Ruiz?
Mercedes Ruiz was born in 1980 in Jerez de la Frontera. She began dancing professionally at just six years old, in 1986, when she made her debut in the show “Semilla flamenca,” directed by Ana María López, and from childhood she trained with Manuel Morao and Los Gitanos de Jerez, taking part in their show “Esa forma de vivir” from 1988, with performances in Madrid, New York and Broadway in 1992.
Career
While still young she passed through the companies of Antonio El Pipa, with whom she danced in “Vivencias” between 1998 and 2000, and of Eva Yerbabuena, with whom she took part in “5 Mujeres 5” between 2000 and the end of 2001, in addition to collaborating with Andrés Marín on “Más allá del tiempo” in 2002. This formative period alongside some of the most important figures of dance from Jerez and Seville shaped her later artistic development.
As a soloist she has premiered her own shows such as “Dibujos en el aire” (Festival de Jerez, 2003), “Gestos de mujer” (2004), “Juncá” (2006) and “Tauromagia,” the latter alongside guitarist Santiago Lara and a nominee for the Max awards in 2019. She has taken her dance to stages across Europe (Mont de Marsan, Gimont, Biarritz, Lyon), Japan, South America and other locations such as Mauritania and Bratislava, and has featured on the bill of festivals such as the Bienal de Sevilla and the Festival de Jerez.
Style
Her dance combines modernity with a very strong connection to her Jerez roots, especially visible in her mastery of the farruca and the alegrías, though her repertoire also extends to the petenera, the bulería, the seguiriya, the zambra, the milonga and the trilla.
Legacy
She has been recognized with the Premio Nacional de Córdoba “Antonio Gades” (2000), the Premio Jóvenes Intérpretes at the Bienal de Sevilla (2002) and the Premio Internacional de Danza “Movimientos” of Wolfsburg (2009). Since 2007 she has also taught summer courses in Jerez, combining her work as a performer with passing on her technique to new generations of bailaores.