Carmen Tórtola Valencia (June 18, 1882 – February 13, 1955) was a Spanish early modern dancer, choreographer, costume designer, and painter, who generally performed barefoot. Tórtola Valencia is said to have been the inspiration for

Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (18 January 1867 – 6 February 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as '' modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...

's poem, ''La bailarina de los pies desnudos'' ("The Barefoot Dancer").

Biography

Born in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

to a Catalan father (Florenç Tórtola Ferrer, d. 1891) and Andalusian mother (Georgina Valencia Valenzuela, d. 1894), she was three years old when her family emigrated to London. In his book ''Tortola Valencia and Her Times'' (1982), Odelot Sobrac, one of her early biographers, said Tórtola Valencia developed a style that expressed emotion through movement and that she was inspired by

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American-born dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance and performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Bor ...

. A member of

Generación del 13 Generación del 13 (Generación del Trece; The 13 Generation) was Chile's first painter collective. Its name derives from the year 1913, after a joint exhibition was held at the Salon (gathering), ''Salon'' of the Chilean newspaper ''El Mercurio' ...

, her costumes are part of the collection of

Centre de Documentació i Museu de les Arts Escèniques The Centre de Documentació i Museu de les Arts Escèniques (''Documentation Centre and Museum of the Performing Arts of the Institut del Teatre''), also known as MAE, is a centre for information and research on the performing arts in Catalonia, ...

. Her Spanish ''modernismo'' style enabled a career as a solo concert dance artist who performed classic, Oriental, and Spanish pieces. She made her debut at the Gaiety Theatre in London (1908), appearing at the

Berlin Wintergarten theatre The Berlin Wintergarten theatre was a large variety theatre in Berlin-Mitte. It opened in 1887 and was destroyed by bombs during the Second World War. The Skladanowsky brothers showcased the first short film presentation at the theatre in 189 ...

and the

Folies Bergère 150px, Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg">Walery, 1927 The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the arc ...

of Paris in the same year. She performed in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

and London in 1909. One of the people she taught was the Anglo-Indian dancer Olive Craddock aka ''Roshanara''.Roshanara
Victoria and Albert Museum, Retrieved 14 October 2015 In 1911, she made her Spanish debut at the Romea Theatre of Madrid. She was at the

Ateneo de Madrid The Ateneo de Madrid ("Athenæum of Madrid") is a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain that was founded in 1835. Its full name is ''Ateneo Científico, Literario y Artístico de Madrid'' ("Scientific, Literary and Artistic ...

in 1913.Pérez (2002), p. 609

The feminist

Tórtola Valencia was also a "pioneer Spanish feminist of the 20th century". Being gay and having leftist ideas, Tórtola Valencia was jailed at the end of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. In 1928, she met Magret Angeles-Vila and they were inseparable thereafter. She danced for the last time in 1930 in

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

. She began painting in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

where she died in 1955 and is buried at Poblenou Cemetery.

Papers and possessions

Tórtola's collection of musical scores is preserved in the

Biblioteca de Catalunya The Library of Catalonia (, ) is the Catalan national library, located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The primary mission of the Library of Catalonia is to collect, preserve, and spread Catalan bibliographic production and that related to the ...

. Her personal papers and dress collection are preserved in the

in Barcelona.

References

*Carlota Caulfield, "Carmen Tortola Valencia (1882 - 1955)", ''Corner'', Vol. 2 (Spring 1999). *María Pilar Queralt del Hierro, ''Tortola Valencia, a woman in the shadows'', Barcelona, Editorial Lumen, 2005.

External links

Musical Scores Collection of Tórtola Valencia in the Biblioteca de Catalunya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tortola Valencia, Carmen 1882 births 1955 deaths Dancers from Seville Spanish female dancers Lesbian dancers Lesbian painters Spanish choreographers Spanish women choreographers Spanish feminists Spanish vedettes Modern dancers Spanish LGBTQ dancers Spanish LGBTQ painters Spanish lesbian artists Spanish people of Catalan descent Burials at Poblenou Cemetery 19th-century Spanish LGBTQ people 20th-century Spanish LGBTQ people

Biography

The feminist

Papers and possessions

References

Further reading

External links