María Benítez

Maria Benitez photo by Lois Greenfield

María Benítez is an American dancer, choreographer and director, internationally recognized as a leader in Spanish dance and flamenco. A native New Mexican, Benítez is best known for the work of the company she and her husband Cecilio founded and direct - María Benítez Teatro Flamenco.

Known as a standard for rising Spanish flamenco performers wanting to break into the US market, The María Benítez Teatro Flamenco has performed at festivals and concert halls in all 50 states of the US, as well as Canada, Germany, Holland, Spain and Austria since the early 1970s.

Early career

After initial ballet training in the USA, Benítez traveled to Spain to study and perform. Her basic training was with Mercedes and Albano and Victoria Eugenia in Madrid. During her tenure abroad she performed throughout every province of Spain, in North Africa, Portugal and in South America with large national Spanish dance companies and smaller flamenco groups. She also performed numerous times on Spanish television. After returning to the USA, Maria and her husband Cecilio established homes in New York and Santa Fe. They continue to be active promoting Spanish dance and culture in the US.

Choreography for Opera

Benítez regularly performs and choreographs for opera. Her first opera experience was performing and choreographing The Santa Fe Opera production of La Vida Breve With the Metropolitan Opera of New York, she choreographed their production of Carmen in 1987; La Forza del Destino (directed by Giancarlo del Monaco) in 1989; in 1996 the Met's new production of Carmen (directed by Franco Zeffirelli) and in 1998 the Met's new production of La Traviata also directed by Franco Zeffirelli. The Met's Carmen was televised by PBS's Great Performances in the spring of 1997 and Benítez performed in this production in 1997 and 1998 in New York. She has also choreographed and/or performed with the Boston Lyric, Virginia, Dallas, Fort Worth, St. Louis and Austin opera companies and in 1997 choreographed and performed in the Santa Fe Opera production of La Traviata. As a solo artist, Benítez has performed with the Orchestra of Santa Fe, the New Mexico and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras.

Awards and recognitions

Among many other recognitions, Benítez has been awarded the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Field of Dance, the City of Santa Fe Mayor's Arts Award, the Classical Spanish Dance Award from the Institute of Puerto Rico in New York City, the Hospitality Individual of the Year Award, for María's boost to tourism in Santa Fe and a golden key to the City of Miami. She received a nomination for the National Medal of Arts, supported by U.S. Senator Pete Domenici; New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson; former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson; and through a joint resolution of the New Mexico House and Senate. In addition. Benítez was elected to the Board of Directors of The Santa Fe Opera.

Additional Appearances

Benítez was featured nationally in her choreography of El amor brujo on PBS's "Evening at POPS" with the Boston POPS, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. Benítez reunited with Graves at the Dallas Opera, choreographing and performing in El amor brujo and La vida breve by Spanish Composer Manuel de Falla.^[1]

Current Projects

Currently Maria Benitez, along with husband, Cecilio Benitez, is the Founder and Director of the Institute for Spanish Arts. The Institute for Spanish Arts, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a not-for-profit, educational and cultural organization established to present programs of the highest quality of the rich artistic heritage of Spain. The institute's mission is to preserve, strengthen and disseminate the rich and artistic Spanish heritage as expressed through music, dance, visual arts and other art forms. ^[2] Major projects include adult and children's Spanish arts workshops every summer, Flamenco's Next Generation summer season performances and Flamenco dance and guitar classes for youth and adults year round.

References

1. ^ Institute for Spanish Arts website: http://www.mariabenitez.com/index.asp?ID=3
2. ^ Institute for Spanish Arts website: http://www.mariabenitez.com/

External links

• Official site

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