Angel Corella facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Angel Corella
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Angel Corella López
Madrid, Spain
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| Occupation | Artistic Director |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Current group | Philadelphia Ballet |
Angel Corella López is a famous Spanish ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, which is a very high position. He was the only Spanish dancer to ever achieve this. He also performed as a guest dancer with many other top ballet companies around the world.
Since 2014, Angel Corella has been the Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Ballet. Many people think he is one of the best dancers of his time. He has won many awards, including the Prix Benois de la Danse. This is a very important award in the ballet world.
Angel Corella helped make male ballet dancing more popular in America. He appeared in a documentary called Born to be Wild in 2002. He also had a successful show called Kings of the Dance. The New York Times newspaper said he gave classical dancing a "new image."
He has been on the front cover of The New York Times many times. The newspaper called him a "dancer capable of turning performance into sensation." The Los Angeles Times described him as a "force of nature."
In 2014, he became an official member of the artistic committee for the Kennedy Center Honors. He has appeared in more DVD recordings for the American Ballet Theatre than any other dancer. His performance as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake on PBS even won an Emmy Award.
Angel Corella is the only dancer with a statue in the Madrid Wax Museum. A secondary school and a dance museum are also named after him. He was a judge on the Spanish TV show Mira Quien Baila, which is like "Dancing with the Stars."
On July 22, 2014, the Philadelphia Ballet announced that Angel Corella would be their new artistic director.
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Early Life and Training
Angel Corella was born and grew up in Madrid, Spain. He started his dance training with Karemia Moreno and Víctor Ullate. He began winning dance awards when he was very young. In 1991, he won the First Prize in the National Ballet Competition of Spain. Three years later, in 1994, he won the Grand Prix and Gold Medal at the Concours International de Danse de Paris.
A famous Russian ballerina named Natalia Makarova saw Angel Corella dance in a competition. She was so impressed that she told the artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre to audition him. She later told Dance Magazine that he was "exceptionally incredible." She even called him "an angel who has been sent to us." He joined ABT as a soloist in April 1995. The next year, in August 1996, he was promoted to principal dancer. This is the highest rank a dancer can achieve.
Amazing Performances and Collaborations
Angel Corella has performed as a guest artist with many famous ballet companies. These include The Royal Ballet in London and the New York City Ballet. He also danced with the Kirov Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre in Russia.
He has performed for many important people around the world. These include Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Queen Sofía of Spain. He has also danced for United States Presidents like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. He has been a guest at the White House several times.
In 2006, Corella created a touring show called Kings of the Dance. He performed in this show with other leading male dancers. The show first opened in California and then in New York City. In 2007, Kings of the Dance toured Russia. Angel Corella was the only original dancer to perform it again at the Mariinsky Festival the next year. Other dancers have continued the show since then.
Corella also started his own touring group called Angel Corella and stars of American Ballet. This group performed all over Spain for seven years.
He has also worked with many different artists for special performances. These include actress Bette Midler and violinist Ara Malikian. He also performed with opera singers like Cecilia Bartoli.
Angel Corella has danced in opera productions like La Gioconda. He performed in New York, Barcelona, and Madrid. In 2013, he made his debut with the Paris Opera.
He has danced with many well-known ballerinas. Some of them are Alessandra Ferri, Julie Kent, and Gillian Murphy. He also partnered with Diana Vishneva and Alina Cojocaru.
Angel Corella enjoys helping young dancers. He often judges important dance competitions. He also teaches at summer programs and top dance schools, like the Royal Ballet School in London.
What Critics Said About Angel Corella
Angel Corella earned a lot of respect from critics and publications around the world. They admired his amazing dance skills and artistic talent.
When Corella first joined American Ballet Theatre, The New York Times praised his performance. They said his dancing "explodes with this young dancer’s phenomenal bravura." This quickly led to him getting more important roles. After his first time as the lead in La Bayadere, a critic wrote that he was "nothing short of perfect."
He was called a virtuoso because of his incredible strength and speed. He could do "extremely fast pirouettes suddenly speeding up rather than slowing down." Corella was excellent in the most challenging classical ballets. After his first performance in Le Corsaire, The New York Times said, "This performance bought the house down!" The newspaper also praised how versatile he was. They said he was "the rare dancer who has performed magnificently in each part he has been given."
The New York Times also noted his artistic talent. They described him as a "highly sophisticated artist" with "finely nuanced acting." They said that even though he could impress audiences with many spins, "it was his joy of dance that carried the day."
Critics often said Corella was "the star - and the heart of the show." He frequently made the audience cheer loudly. They felt that "by sheer force, he put the company one step ahead."
When he retired from the American Ballet Theatre, The New York Times wrote about him. They said, "Dancers like Angel Corella are hard to come by." They added that it was not just his amazing technique, but also how generous he was with his talent.
Famous Roles He Danced
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- Leading roles in other ballets include: Symphony in C, Other Dances, Push Comes to Shove, The Sleeping Beauty Act II, Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison, Variations on America, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Theme and Variations, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Bruch Violin Concerto, Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes, Ballet Imperial, Sinfonietta, Gong, Who Cares?, Variations For Four, The Leaves Are Fading, Mozartiana, Without Words, A Brahms Symphony, Stepping Stones, Americans We, and Spring and Fall, Concerto no. 1 for Piano & Orchestra, Sinatra Suite, In the Upper Room, and Allegro Brillante, among others.
- Ballets created especially for Corella by choreographers: For 4 by Christopher Wheeldon, Non Troppo by Mark Morris, The Pied Piper by David Parsons, HereAfter by Natalie Weir & Stanton Welch, Meadow by Lar Lubovitch, Baroque Game by Robert Hill, Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra by Robert Hill, Known by Heart by Twyla Tharp, Getting Closer by John Neumeier, Sin and Tonic by James Kudelka, and both Clear and We Got it Good by choreographer Stanton Welch.
- Ballets in Opera Productions: Dance of the Hours in Ponchielli's La Gioconda choreographed by George Iancu in Barcelona 2005. Also Christopher Wheeldon's new Dance of the Hours in Ponchielli's La Gioconda for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, 2006.
Retirement from American Ballet Theatre
Angel Corella retired from the American Ballet Theatre in 2012. His final performance was sold out at the Metropolitan Opera House. He received a standing ovation that lasted over twenty minutes. The New Yorker magazine celebrated this event by drawing a cartoon of him. The magazine wrote that people thought of Angel Corella as a "king of dance."
Television Appearances
- 1996 Kennedy Center Honors
- 1998 Sesame Street
- 1999 "Reopening of the Royal Opera House, London"
- 2001 Charlie Rose
- 2000 PBS presentation of documentary film Born To Be Wild - The Leading Men of American Ballet Theatre
- 2005 (Emmy Award-winning) PBS presentation of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, with Gillian Murphy and Marcelo Gomes
- 2006 Freixenet commercial
- 2008 Rolex commercial
- 2011 "Quien Vive Aqui"
- 2012 "Buena Fuente"
- 2014 "Mira Quien Baila"
DVD Recordings
- Swan Lake with Gillian Murphy (American Ballet Theatre - 2005)
- Romeo and Juliet with Alessandra Ferri (La Scala Ballet - 2000)
- Le Corsaire with Julie Kent/Ethan Stiefel (American Ballet Theatre - 1998 VHS, 2001 DVD)
- Born To Be Wild - The Leading Men of American Ballet Theatre (biographical documentary - 1999)
- Don Quixote Pas de Deux with Paloma Herrera (American Ballet Theatre) on a DVD called American Ballet Theatre Now - Variety and Virtuosity (1996)
- "Reopening of the Royal Opera House", London (1999)
- "La Gioconda" Liceu Opera House (2005)
Awards and Honors
- National Ballet Competition of Spain - First prize, May 1991
- Concours International de Danse de Paris - Grand Prix / Gold Medal, December 1994
- Prix Benois de la Danse, 2000
- National Award of Spain, 2003
- Premio Protagonista, Luis del Olmo, 2005
- Men's Health award, 2007
- Dance Europe Magazine DANCER OF THE YEAR Award, 2007
- Leonid Massine Award, 2008
- International medal from the community of Madrid, 2008
- International Medal of Arts, Madrid, Spain, 2009
- Gold Medal the academy of fine arts, Cadiz
- Galileo 2000 Award, Florence, 2009
- Sports and Culture award, Barcelona, 2011
Barcelona Ballet
In April 2008, Angel Corella started the first classical ballet company in Spain in 20 years. It was first called Corella Ballet, Castilla y Leon. In February 2012, the company moved to Barcelona and became the Barcelona Ballet.
The company had its first performance in La Granja, Spain, on July 11, 2008. They performed a mix of ballets. Their first full-length ballet was La Bayadère on September 4, 2008, in Madrid.
Barcelona Ballet grew and became very popular in Spain and around the world. They were a touring company, performing in many theaters across Spain. They also performed internationally in places like New York City and Los Angeles. They toured cities such as New Orleans, Seattle, and Charleston.
Their performances included ballets like Swan Lake and parts from Le Corsaire. They also danced The Sleeping Beauty. Their repertoire also featured works by famous choreographers like George Balanchine and Christopher Wheeldon.
Barcelona Ballet returned to New York City Center in April 2012. They performed a new ballet called "Palpito." They also visited other cities like Detroit and Houston.
In early 2013, Angel Corella decided to close the company. He wanted to work on other projects, possibly in the United States.
Angel Corella continues to perform internationally and work with different artists. In July 2014, he became the Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Ballet.
See also
In Spanish: Ángel Corella para niños
