Merche Esmeralda

Born in Seville and an artist from the cradle, Merche Esmeralda’s took her first steps into flamenco by singing. Taught by Adelita Domingo, Esmeralda’s first performance was Galas Juveniles at the Teatro San Fernando, a children’s show. At the age of fourteen, she made her début at the flamenco tablao El Duende, and a few months later at the Sevillian tablao El Guajiro.

At the age of sixteen, she danced at the Seville Flamenco Festival in the gardens of Maria Luisa Park. From then on she has been called on for the most important events of flamenco art: Festival del Cante de las Minas de la Unión, Festival de Mairena del Alcor, El Gazpacho de Morón, La Caracola de Lebrija, Festival de la Bulería de Jerez, and she has performed at leading tablaos like Las Brujas in Madrid and Los Gallos in Seville.

In the ’70s she created her own dance company and toured Spain, Japan, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Morocco, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and France.  In 1973, she received the degree of dance instructor.  In 1979 she hosted Horas doradas, one of the most important TV dance programs, broadcast from Canada. That same year she went on a tour of Japan.

In 1980 she joined the Ballet Nacional (National Ballet), starring in El Amor Brujo. In 1982 and 1983 she worked with the GIAD-Ballet Español de Madrid, and in 1986 returned to the Ballet Nacional, then directed by María de Ávila. A year later, she made her début at the Metropolitan Opera House. She starred in Soleá, Don Juan and Los Tarantos. In 1989, she founded and directed the Ballet de la Región de Murcia (Murcia Region Ballet). Standing out among the company’s numerous creations are El Cielo Protector, a theater-dance show which Esmeralda directed and starred in; Medea; La Sinfonía de la lo; and Flamenco.

In 1993 she was a guest artist with the Joaquín Cortés Company, with whom she traveled to Japan and Venezuela, among other countries, with the show Cibayí. In 1996 she re-founded her own company with the show Mujeres. Leading her company, she performed in the series Flamenco viene del Sur at Seville’s Teatro Central and Granada’s Teatro Alhambra. She became a director of ACADE (Dance Schools Association) and performed at the Champs Élysées in Paris with Flamenco.

In 1999, she premiered Todas las primaveras with Carlos Ballesteros, and Ciclos at the 20th Valladolid Dance Showcase. In 2002 she starred in El Amor Brujo. She has been featured in the films Alma Gitana by Chus Gutiérrez and Sevillanas and Flamenco by Carlos Saura.

Over the last few years, she has alternated her intense work as an instructor with diverse jobs as an artist, creating her own Baile School in Madrid. Following a break, she returned to stages in 2006 as part of the Gala de Andalucía at Flamenco Festival USA and Flamenco Festival London, together with Manolo Marín, Javier Barón, Rafael Campallo and Adela Campallo.

In 2007, Merche Esmeralda received the Compás del Cante Prize, an award that has been called “The Flamenco Nobel.”  Throughout her career, she has been celebrated with other awards, including First Prize at the Córdoba National Flamenco Art Contest, Jerez de la Frontera’s Dama de la Orden Jonda and Flamencology Prize, Dama de Goya, and Best Foreign Artist Prize from the City of Cremona, Italy.