Rocío Molina
Who is Rocío Molina?
Rocío Molina Cruz was born in 1984 in Málaga. She began dancing at the age of three and at seven started formal studies at the Conservatorio de Danza de Málaga, going on to graduate with honors from the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza de Madrid in 2002. At barely thirteen she had already put together her first show, an early sign of her calling for creating her own work rather than simply performing.
Career
In 2001 she joined the company of María Pagés, with whom she toured Italy, Japan, Canada and the United States and took part in the Gala de Andalucía at New York’s City Center, and in 2003 she made her solo debut at the Flamenco Festival USA alongside Manuela Carrasco, Chocolate and Israel Galván. Since then she has produced her own shows such as “Entre paredes” (2005, Teatro Principal de Vitoria), “El eterno retorno” (2005-2006, inspired by the texts of Nietzsche, with Pasión Vega and Teresa Nieto as collaborators), “Turquesa como el limón” (2006, alongside Laura Rozalén), “Almario” (2007, premiered at the Festival de Jerez under the direction of Miguel Serrano), “Oro viejo” (2008, born from fieldwork involving interviews with elderly people) and “Danzaora” (2013, presented at the London Festival). She has also collaborated with Antonio Canales, Dorantes, Carmen Linares, Belén Maya, Rafaela Carrasco, Miguel Poveda and Chano Lobato, and has performed in France, Italy, Canada, the United States, Japan, London, Switzerland and Rome.
Style
She herself sums up her approach by saying she practices neither pure nor modern flamenco, but rather her own style combining what critics have described as “strange innocence and earthly power,” interpreting and updating palos such as the taranto, the seguiriya, the garrotín and the soleá with impeccable technique and a remarkable ability to absorb forms outside the flamenco tradition.
Legacy
Among her many awards are the Giraldillo a la Mejor Coreografía at the Bienal de Sevilla (2008), several honors from specialized critics as best bailaora, and the Premio Nacional de Danza in 2010. She is regarded as one of the most important bailaoras from Málaga in recent decades for her ability to break the mold and take the choreographic exploration of flamenco into deeply personal territory.