- Antonio Canales
- Spanish Dance
- Spanish culture
- Destinations
Antonio Gómez de los Reyes, A.K.A. Antonio Canales, was born in Seville in 1961, at the Corral de Saramaya, a tablao (flamenco club) located at 76 Castilla Street, in the Triana quarter. His was a family of flamenco artists, and it seems that his grandfather, Canales, was a great cantaor (flamenco singer), though he never sang as a professional. Antonio started dancing out of mere pleasure, but soon he decided that he wanted to get into professional dance, and so he studied ballet at the Club Natación Sevilla, where there was a dance teacher.
He presented himself to the Lope de Vega Theatre, for a casting for the Ballet Nacional de España (Spain's National Ballet), and was selected. Soon, he was a soloist in this company, and started to guest-star in other artists shows. In 1981, for instance, he collaborated with the Paris based Maguy Marin Company, first step of a long international run, that has paired him with such outstanding artists as Rudolf Nureyev, Maya Plisetskaya, Carla Fracci, Vladimir Vasilev, Fernando Bujones, Peter Schaufuss, Sylvie Guillem, Patrick Dupond and Julio Bocca.
In 1988 he received the Mavisela Award (Italy), granted to the best dancer, and in 1990 he was awarded with the "Mejor Bailarín Internacional" in Mexico City, ex aequo with Julio Bocca. In 1992 he taked part in the Giants of the Dance gala, held at the Paris-based Champs Elysées Theatre, and he founded his own company, which made its debut in Bilbao, with two shows: A ti, Carmen Amaya and Siempre flamenco. The same year, and because of the Five Hundred Years of the Discovery of America celebrations, Canales performed at New York City's World Financial Center, at the Holland Festival and at Tokyo's Metki Hall.
In 1994 and 1995 he was invited to perform at the Canada based Stars of Montreal Gala, and in 1997 he did participate at the Gala of the Stars, organized by the Montecarlo Ballet. This last year, he also created the choreography Grito, commissioned by the Ballet Nacional de España, that was presented at the New York's City Center in February 1998.
In 1999 he was awarded with the Andalusia Medal, an honour given to those artists that have helped to extend the name of their homeland around the world.
The Ballet Flamenco de Antonio Canales Company has represented, among other works, A ti, Carmen Amaya; Siempre flamenco; Bengues, Venus y Narciso; A cuerda y tacón; Gitano; Variaciones sobre el Guernica de Picasso; La casa de Bernarda Alba and Raíces.
