Joaquín Pedraja Reyes (known professionally as Joaquín Cortés; born 22 February 1969) is a Spanish classically trained ballet and
flamenco dancer.
Biography
Joaquin Cortés is a Spanish flamenco dancer. A native of
Córdoba, Cortés showed interest in dancing from an early age. Cortés and his family moved to
Madrid in 1981. Soon after moving to Madrid, he began to take formal dancing lessons and studying seriously.
In 1984, he was accepted as a member of Spanish prestigious national
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
company. He traveled the world with the Spanish National Ballet, performing in important venues such as the
Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* ...
and the
Kremlin Palace
The Grand Kremlin Palace (russian: Большой Кремлёвский дворец - ) was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia, on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovits ...
in
Moscow. During his stint with the Spanish National Ballet, he also became a principal solo performer known for his phenomenal stamina and athleticism.
Desiring more creative control, Cortés formed the Joaquín Cortés Flamenco Ballet company and launched his first international tour 'Cibayí' in 1992. The formation of Cortés' own company allowed him to diverge from purist ballet and create his own fusion of flamenco, ballet and modern dance. In 1995, in addition to being featured in two international films- 'La flor de mi secreto' (The Flower of My Secret) and Carlos Saura's 'Flamenco', Joaquín Cortés embarked on what is often considered his most successful venture, 'Pasión Gitana' (Gypsy Passion). 'Pasión Gitana' marked the beginning of Cortés' recognition for not only his prowess as a dancer, but also as a choreographer and artistic director. In 1999 Cortés was the subject of a
documentary film and he launched a successful tour of 'Soul' across
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
and
South America. In the 1990s Joaquín Cortés gained notoriety for his close relationships with high-profile celebrities such as
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...
,
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained notoriety working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expande ...
and
Mira Sorvino
Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born September 28, 1967) is an American actress. She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Woody Allen's '' Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995).
She also starred in the films ...
.
Continuing into the millennium, Cortés' focus shifted from dancing to choreography and artistic direction. He continues to dance in a limited capacity live on stage, in film and television. In 2000, landed a role in the film 'Gitano' (Gypsy) and again in 2004 in 'Vaniglia e cioccolato' (Vanilla and Chocolate). In 2001, he also made a guest appearance on Jennifer Lopez's concert in Puerto Rico. In 2004, Cortés was involved in the international tour of 'De Amor y Odio' that took him to
England,
Portugal,
Thailand and New York, among other places. 2007 marked the beginning of Joaquín Cortés most recent spectacle, 'Mi Soledad.' On 15 May 2007 he performed as a guest dancer in a high-profile semi-final segment on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars."
Cortes is also the visual inspiration for the character
from the ''
Metal Gear
is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operativ ...
'' video game series.
Shows
* Cibayí
* Pasión Gitana
* Soul
* Live
* De Amor y Odio
* Mi Soledad
* Unleashed (2009)
* Esencia (2017)
Filmography
* ''
La flor de mi secreto'' (1995) — Antonio
* ''
Flamenco'' (1995) — himself
* ''Gitano'' (2000) — Andres Heredia
* ''
Vaniglia e Cioccolato'' (2004) — Carlos
* ''
Mask Singer: Adivina quién canta'' (2021) - Erizo/Winner
References
Official Joaquín Cortés websiteJoaquín Cortés filmography on IMDBCNN interview with Joaquín CortésVideo: Joaquín Cortés talks about Madrid for CNN and Nokia's feature series "The Scene"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortes, Joaquin
1969 births
Living people
People from Córdoba, Spain
Spanish male ballet dancers
Spanish male dancers
Spanish Romani people
Romani dancers
Romani male actors
Flamenco dancers
ACT Music artists
20th-century Spanish male actors
21st-century Spanish male actors
Masked Singer winners