Joaquín Pedraja Reyes (known professionally as Joaquín Cortés; born 1969) is a Spanish classically trained ballet and
flamenco dancer.
Biography
Cortes was born to a
Gitano family in
Córdoba and showed interest in dancing from an early age. Cortés and his family moved to
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
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)
The Metropolitan Opera House (also known as The Met) is an opera house located on Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway at Lincoln Square, New York, Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Part of Lincoln Center, the theate ...
of
New York and the
Kremlin Palace in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. 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', with other artists such as Antón Jiménez as guitarist, 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
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
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 (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South America. In the 1990s Joaquín Cortés gained notoriety for his close relationships with high-profile celebrities such as
Naomi Campbell,
Giorgio Armani and
Mira Sorvino.
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
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
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
Vamp from the ''
Metal Gear'' 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
See also
*
List of dancers
References
External links
Official Joaquín Cortés websiteJoaquín Cortés filmography on IMDBCNN interview with Joaquín Cortés
Video: 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
Spanish flamenco dancers
ACT Music artists
20th-century Spanish male actors
21st-century Spanish male actors
Masked Singer winners
Calé people
Romani flamenco dancers