Joaquín Ruiz was born in a family involved with dance. He began his dance studies in Madrid at the age of ten with Mercedes and Albano. From a very young age he took part in the first Spanish companies, soon becoming an outstanding solo dancer in the most famous tablaos in Madrid. In 1987 he created his own Company, composed of twenty artists, and he attained his first international success acclaimed by critics  and the audience in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. That very same year, at the Festival of Jerusalem and under the direction of Maestro Ciro, "Torero" was shown for the first time, in which he had the chief role, a show based on Federico Garcia Lorca's "Llanto por la muerte de Sánchez Mejía". As from 1989 he began his career throughout the world as a choreographer and creator of shows: "Danzas y Ritmos Flamencos", in Tokyo; "Tiempos de Silencio", at the Joyce Theater of New York; "Siesta" with music by Miles Davis, at Centro Cultural de la Villa in Madrid. He created pieces of choreography for the dance company of Rafael Aguilar and his show "Carmen", for the dance company "Ibérica de Danza" and for bailaores such as Miguel Angel Espino, Javier Barón and Sara Baras, among others. He was called as a guest artist by the Companies of Blanca del Rey, the guitarist Víctor Monge "Serranito", Paco Peña, La Tati and Luisillo. He performed at the following Festivals: International Festival in Edinburgh, the Art's Festival in Hong Kong, Jacob's Pillow in the U.S.A., the Barbican Center and the Saddler's Wells in London, Argentina Theatre in Rome, Carcano Theatre in Milano, Carré Theatre in Amsterdam, International Dance Show and, in Spain, at the famous and long-remembered show "Los cinco Bailaores" at the Zambra tablao, together with Joaquín Cortés, Antonio Canales, Adrián Galía and Cristóbal Reyes.  As from 1993 he started collaborating with the group Radio Tarifa, appearing on the most distinguished European stages and festivals like Womad, Midem '95 in Cannes, the 50th UNESCO Anniversary in Paris, or the RAI TV special for Europe called "La Notte del Mediterraneo".He has taught flamenco dance at schools in: Rome, Turin, Munich, Hamburg, Freiburg, Manhaim, Ulm, Sydney, Santa Fe, Tokyo and Osaka. In 1995 "Flamenco y Mediterráneo" was performed for the first time in Madrid during the International Dance Festival and he started a tour with this show. In 1998 he and his Company took part in the 10th International Dance Show, at the Albéniz Theatre in Madrid. He took part in the programme "Algo más que flamenco" broadcast by Televisión Española (TVE2). In the summer of 1999 he performed the show "Mar de Tierras" for the first time at the Juan Bravo Theatre in Segovia and he collaborated with the bag piper Carlos Nuñez at the concerts "Os Amores Libres". He performed the show called "Re-encuentros" at Los Veranos de la Villa de Madrid at the Pradillo Theatre. He took the show to Belgium and Holland (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 2000). In the summer of 2001 he performed in the show of the cantaora Carmen Linares at the Epidauro Theatre in Greece and he and his group took part in the "Oslo Kammer Musik Festival". |
