Víctor Ullate

Víctor Ullate (born 9 May 1947, Zaragoza, Spain) is a dancer, choreographer, ballet director and ballet teacher.

Dancer

He studied dance wit
María de Avila
and at the École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower. He began his professional career in 1962 at the age of 15 in the company of the worldwide sought-after Spanish dancer Antonio Ruiz Soler.

Three years later he was engaged by Maurice Béjart in his Ballet du XXième Siècle as a Principal Dancer. In the fourteen years of collaboration, Béjart created a number of roles for him, among others
Ni fleurs, ni couronnes
' (1967),

' (1970)

(1971), ''Golestan'' (1973),

' (1974); In Maurice Béjart'

(1978) an autobiographical ballet, he incorporated the role of Béjart.

Artistic Director and Choreographer

In 1979 the Spanish government commissioned him to found the country's first classical ballet company, today Compañia Nacional de Danza, of which he was artistic director for four years. In 1983 he opened his first own school, the Centro de Danza Víctor Ullate, in order to find and educate the missing offspring. In 1988, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, he founded the Víctor Ullate Ballet. officially Spain's first private dance company, of which he has been director for more than 30 years.

He brought works by Maurice Béjart, George Balanchine, Hans van Manen
Nils ChristeJan LinkensMicha van Hoecke
to the stage for his audiences in Spain, South America, Russia, and many European countries. He worked on classics of the repertoire including ''Les Sylphides'', ''Giselle'' (after Jules Perrot) and ''Don Quixote'' (after Marius Petipa and Alexander A. Gorski), and premiered more than 40 of his own choreographies, often with reference to Spanish music and culture. Some of his most successful pieces choreographed for his own company are:
El Amor Brujo
' (1994),

' (1996),

'(1996),

2000)
La Inteligencia de Las Flores
2001)
El sur
2005)
Samsara
2006)

(2010)

(2017),'' finally

' (2019, together with choreographer Eduardo Lao). His works are an original combination of classical and neoclassical ballet and flamenco, combining Spanish traditional and classical music.

Teacher

His efforts for individual advancement and the base of technical ability are met by the successes of such personalities as Angel Corella, Lucía Lacarra
Carlos LopezJoaquín De Luz
Tamara Rojo, Igor Yebra
Itziar Mendizabal
to name just a few of the most internationally known names of the ballet world. In 32 years many hundreds of pupils were starting into a professional dance career after graduating from his school. With the aim of enabling talents without financial resources a universal training for the dance profession and promoting classical ballet in all its forms of expression in Spain, he set up a foundation in 2000. After decades of fruitful work, he closed his ballet company in 2019., the other institutions finally fell victim to the cultural and political change in Spain in 2019–2020.

Awards

Víctor Ullate has received numerous awards, including the Spanish Dance Prize (1989), th
Medalla de Oro de las Bellas Artes
(1996), he renowne
Medalla Festival de Granada
(1998), the Culture Prize of the City of Madrid in the ›Dance‹ category (2003), the »Autor-Autor« Award (2007), th
MAX Honorary Award
(2008), th
MAX Award
for his creation

' as best dance production (2011). In 2013 he was awarded the » Gran Cruz de la Orden del Dos de Mayo« by the City of Madrid, and in 2016 the » Medalla de Oro al Mérito del Trabajo« by the Council of Ministers of Spain. In 2014 he was made an honorary member of th
Academy of Performing Arts

Víctor Ullate has three sons, Patrick Ullate, Víctor Ullate Roche and Josué Ullate.

References

External links

Academia de las Artes Escenicás de España

Biography Víctor Ullate: Carmen Guaita
La vida y la danza : memorias de un bailarín
Madrid 2013.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ullate, Victor
Living people
1947 births
Spanish male ballet dancers
Ballet choreographers
20th-century Spanish dancers
People from Zaragoza