Cristina Hoyos
Born in Seville, Spain, Cristina Hoyos began dancing at the age of twelve in the children’s shows Galas Juveniles. Standing out among her many teachers are Adelita Domingo and Enrique El Cojo.
In 1969, she joined Antonio Gades’s company as his dance partner. She stayed with the company for two decades, during which she not only travelled the world but also participated in a well-known cinematic trilogy directed by Carlos Sauro: “Bodas de sangre” (Blood Wedding), “Carmen”, and “El Amor brujo” (translated as either Love, the Magician or Wedded by Witchcraft). In 1983, Cristina Hoyos travelled to Paris to play the starring role in Carmen. At the time, she was widely considered to be the greatest dancer to have ever played the part.
In 1989, she debuted her own company, Ballet Cristina Hoyos, in Paris with its first show, “Sueños flamencos” (Flamenco Dreams). Only one year later, Ballet Cristina Hoyos became the first flamenco dance company to perform at the Parisian opera house Palais Garnier, opening with overwhelming success. The company also presented the first flamenco performances at the Paris Opera and the Royal Swedish Opera. Cristina Hoyos later choreographed the opera “Carmen”, directed by Nuria Espert and Zubin Metha, which was performed at the Convent Garden opera house opera house in London.
In 1992, she performed in “Yerma” (Barren) and “Lo Flamenco” at the 1992 Seville Exposition, as well as both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Barcelona.
In 1994, she presented the show “Caminos andaluces” (Andalusian Pathways) at the Châtelet Theater in Paris.
In 1996, she choreographed “Cuadro flamenco” based on the choreography of Peter Medak’s The Hunchback. It was performed at the Nice Opera in France with a set made of works by Pablo Picasso. That same year, Cristina Hoyos’s new show, “Arsa y Toma”, premiered at the Avignon Opera with costume design by Christian Lacroix.
In 1999, she presented “Al compás del tiempo” (To the Beat of the Time) and choreographed “Las bodas de Fígaro” (The Marriage of Fígaro), directed by José Luis Castro for the Maestranza Theater in Seville.
In 2001, she danced and acted in “Carmen 2, le retour”, directed by Jerôme Savari.
In 2002 she premiered “Tierra adentro” (Inland) at the Teatro Principal in Valencia.
In 2003, she presented “Yerma” (Barren), directed by José Carlos Plaza, to a crowd of over sixty thousand at Los Jardines del Generalife at the Alhambra in Granada.
In January of 2004, she was named the director of the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía (Andalusian Flamenco Ballet).
In 2005, she presented the production “Viaje al sur” (Southward Journey), directed by Ramón Oller, in the Gran Teatro de Córdoba.
During the summer of 2006, Cristina Hoyos introduced “Romancero gitano” (Gipsy Ballad) based on the work of Federico García “Lorca. Directed by José Carlos Plaza, the show premiered in Los Jardines del Generalife at the Alhambra. The fourty-sixth Minas de la Unión flamenco festival later paid tribute to the production.
José Carlos Plaza also directed Cristina Hoyos show “Poema del Cante Jondo” (Poem of the Deep Song) in June of 2009. Also based on Lorca’s work, the show debuted in the café Chinitas in Granada before touring around the world.
Source: Flamenco Dance Museum ‘s website
