Sonia Amelio (born

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, Mexico, 1941) is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

dancer, musician, choreographer, and actress. She is notable and well-known as a

castanet Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar ...

player and arranger. Amelio was on stage as a pianist and ballerina from age six. She was trained in dance, both classical ballet and traditional Spanish and Latin American styles. For the latter, she often utilized castanets. Amelio has developed castanet arrangements to accompany works of such composers as Chopin and

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, and has performed them as a guest artist with orchestras in several countries, including the city symphonies of

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

, Russia and

Reutlingen Reutlingen (; Swabian: ''Reitlenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it has a population of 115,818. Reutlingen has a university of applied sciences, which ...

, Germany. She has also developed dance routines to accompany the works of romantic era composers such as

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

and Paganini. Amelio appeared as a dramatic actress in a number of films and television programs in her native Mexico during the 1960s and 1970s. Her one appearance in a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

film was a small part in director Sam Peckinpah’s '' The Wild Bunch'' (1969). She portrays a young Mexican woman named Teresa who is shot to death by a lover in a public square after scorning him for another man. Much of her recent career has been devoted to musical education. She has conducted seminars and master classes on dance and choreography outside Mexico. Her institutional affiliations have included the Choreographic Institute of Beijing and the Ana Pavlova Institute in Moscow.

Partial filmography

*''Los tres calaveras'' (1965) - Herself *''

A Faithful Soldier of Pancho Villa ''A Faithful Soldier of Pancho Villa'' ( es, Un dorado de Pancho Villa) is a 1967 Mexican drama film written, directed by and starring Emilio Fernández. It was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Emilio Fernández a ...

'' (1967) - María Dolores *'' The Wild Bunch'' (1969) - Teresa *''El crepúsculo de un dios'' (1969) - Angela Baretti / Sonia Amelio *''Remolino de pasiones'' (1970) - Dancer *''The Fearmaker'' (1971) - Linda *''Tacos al carbón'' (1972) - Leonor *''Mi niño Tizoc'' (1972) - Raquel, enfermera *''Me caí de la nube'' (1974) - Emma *''Los 7 pecados capitales'' (1975) *''Los tres compadres'' (1975) *'' Nobleza ranchera'' (1977) *''De Cocula es el mariachi'' (1978) - (final film role)

External links

*
Sonia Amelio Official Website
(In Spanish) 1941 births Living people Castanets players 20th-century Mexican actresses Mexican choreographers Mexican female dancers Mexican musicians {{Mexico-musician-stub