Julio Bocca

Julio Bocca (born March 6 1967) is one of the most important ballet dancers of the later part of the 20th century and probably the most important Argentine dancer of all time. Born in the Munro neighborhood of the Greater Buenos Aires, he started ballet lessons at the age of four, and at the age of seven entered the National School of Dance from where he progressed to the Teatro Colón's Advanced Arts Institute a year later.

A prodigiously gifted youngster, he joined the Chamber Ballet Company at the Colón Theatre in 1981, and a year later had already performed as soloist at the Colón in a production directed by Fleming Flindt. In 1985, aged just 18, he won the Gold Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow and was invited to join the American Ballet Theatre by Mikhail Baryshnikov.

In 1990 he fulfilled his dream of creating his own ballet company; the "Ballet Argentino", of which he is, as of 2005, the artistic director, and which performs regularly in theatres around the globe. Bocca often dances with the Argentine dancer Eleonora Cassano. In the year 2000 he participated in the international "Millennium Day" event, dancing in Ushuaia with Casano and the Ballet Argentino in a performance broadcast to the whole world.

Julio Bocca has also mixed ballet dancing with Tango; a combination that has been very well-received by the public. In 1998 he appeared in the film "Tango, no me dejes nunca" (English title:Tango), which gained him a new audience. In combining ballet with tango, he has often worked with the tango choreographer Ana Maria Stekelman.

Bocca danced his farewell performance in the American Ballet Theatre's production of Manon on June 22 and 23, 2006. Though he will continue to dance with his Ballet Argentino, he has announced that he will finally retire from dancing at the end of 2007.

His biography, [http://biografiajuliobocca.blogspot.com/ Julio Bocca, la vida en danza] , by the French journalist Angeline Montoya, was published in Argentina in March 2007 by the Spanish publisher Aguilar.

Awards

The awards Julio Bocca has received include:
*1985 - "Golden Medal" 1985 (International Contest) in Moscow.
*1986 - "Primus Inter Pares" in Buenos Aires
*1987 - "Dancer of the year" 1987 (New York Times), in New York
*1990 - "Acquidanza" in Acqui-Terme, Italy
*1990 - "Gino Tanni Award", in Rome
*1990 - "Best International Classic Dancer" (Iberoamerican Dancing Association) in Barcelona
*1991 - "Leonid Massine" in Positano, Italy
*1992 - "Benois" (International Coreografers Association) at the Bolshoi Theatre
*1999 - "Platinum Konex" for Male Ballet Dancer (Konex Foundation) in Buenos Aires

Personal life

In 2001, after years of speculation about his sexuality, Bocca came out as bisexual in an interview with the journalist Jorge Lanata on his television program called "La Luna". [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX3YHHK26kc]

External links

* [http://www.juliobocca.com/ Official page] (Spanish)
* [http://www.boccaultimotour.com.ar/ Official Site UltimoTour] (Spanish- English-Italian)
* [http://www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/archive/2003-2004/perform/bocca.asp ArtesAméricas]
*imdb name|id=0090496|name=Julio Bocca
* [http://www.fundacionkonex.com.ar/ingles/premios/curriculum.asp?ID=1164 at Konex]
* [http://biografiajuliobocca.blogspot.com/ Julio Bocca's biography]