Antonio Gades

Gades, Antonio (b Alicante, 14 Nov. 1936, d 20 July 2004). Spanish flamenco dancer and company director. He studied dance in Madrid and spent nine years dancing with Pilar López's company (1952-61). After working for several years as a choreographer in Italy he formed a company of his own in Spain in 1963. Its early success in Barcelona resulted in an invitation to the New York World's Fair in 1964. The enormous success of this venture launched him on decades of international touring. In 1978 he was invited by the Spanish Ministry of Culture to form the National Ballet of Spain (Ballet Nacional Español). In 1974 he created his famous Blood Wedding, inspired by Lorca's play; in 1981 the film-maker Carlos Saura committed it to screen, filming it without sets or costumes and staging it in a rehearsal hall. Blood Wedding was a cinematic triumph and led to further collaborations between Saura and Gades which resulted in both film and stage productions (Carmen, El amor brujo). In the 1980s and 1990s Gades formed several companies which toured internationally.