RAFAELA CARRASCO

Rafaela Carrasco’s approach to flamenco dance can be summed up by the title of her 2004 piece Fuera de los límites (Beyond the Limits), created with dancer Belén Maya. Carrasco, born in 1972, is one of the most important flamenco dancers of the younger generation, and a revolutionary creator of cutting edge flamenco choreography. She is a dancer who boundlessly explores new concepts while maintaining the essence and integrity of true flamenco.
Carrasco began dancing sevillanas when she was six years old and soon began studying classical Spanish dance at Seville’s renowned Maltilde Coral academy. After graduating from the school at age seventeen, she joined the Mario Maya flamenco dance company. At 23, she trained as a soloist in Madrid and performed as a lead dancer in performances by various choreographers.
In 2002 Carrasco formed her own company, and that same she year won prizes for Best Choreography, Best Composition, and Outstanding Dancer at Madrid’s Spanish Dance and Flamenco Choreography Competition. The Rafaela Carrasco Company has mounted five productions. Her first full-length work, La Musica del Cuerpo (The Music of the Body), had its debut at the 2003 Jerez Festival to great renown. The Washington Post deemed her work Una Mirada al Flamenco (A Look at Flamenco) “A bravura display…coherent and true to its roots.” In 2007 she premiered Del Amor y Otras cosas at the Jerez Festival. In 2008 she premiered “ConCierto Gusto” at the Jerez Flamenco Festival and Vamos al Tiroteo, her next show was premiered at the XV Flamenco Biennial of Seville, winning both the Giraldillo and the Press Award for best choreography.