Juan Carlos Copes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Juan Carlos Copes
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Born | 31 May 1931 Buenos Aires, Argentina
|
| Died | 16 January 2021 (aged 89) Buenos Aires, Argentina
|
| Occupation | Tango dancer, choreographer, and instructor |
| Years active | 1940s–2015 |
Juan Carlos Copes (born May 31, 1931 – died January 16, 2021) was a very famous Argentine tango dancer. He was also a talented choreographer and performer. He began dancing with María Nieves when he was 17 years old and she was 14. They later got married.
Copes and Nieves played a huge part in making tango dancing popular again, especially after the 1970s. They were key figures in the revival of Argentine Tango after Argentina became a democracy again in 1983. Juan Carlos Copes was the first person to create choreographed tango shows for the stage. He also worked on seven films. Later in his career, he danced with his daughter, Johana.
Contents
Early Life and Dance Journey
Juan Carlos Copes was born in Mataderos, a neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 31, 1931. He grew up in another area called Villa Pueyrredón. From a young age, he started dancing at milongas, which are places where people go to dance tango in Buenos Aires.
When he was 17, he chose 14-year-old María Nieves as his dance partner. They soon became a couple. María Nieves once said that Copes wasn't a great dancer at first. But she also said he got much better very quickly. Their first dance competition was in 1955 at the Luna Park Stadium. They had one of their first professional performances with the Francisco Canaro orchestra in the same year.
Copes and Nieves got married in Las Vegas in 1964. However, their marriage ended in 1973. Even after their marriage ended, they kept dancing together. They were known as the "Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of tango" because of their amazing four-decade partnership.
Bringing Tango to the World
During the 1960s, Juan Carlos Copes helped create the modern tango show. This new idea for tango performances became very popular in Buenos Aires. Copes and Nieves starred in a show at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway in 1962. They also appeared many times on The Ed Sullivan Show between 1962 and 1964.
Their famous show, "Tango Argentino", first opened in Paris in 1983. It then came to Broadway in 1985 and was performed there again in 1999. Copes also danced at famous places like the Juilliard School, Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and the Sorbonne University.
Tango's Comeback and Teaching
Juan Carlos Copes played a big part in the worldwide return of tango dancing after 1970. When Argentina became a democracy again, Argentine Tango saw a huge comeback. Copes and Nieves were key leaders in this revival.
Copes taught his unique tango style, which became known as the "estilo Copes-Nieves," to many dancers. Some of his famous students included Robert Duvall, Julio Bocca, Eleonora Cassano, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Liza Minnelli. He also taught dance instructors at the Fred Astaire Dance Studios.
Copes had a daughter named Johana with his second wife, Myriam Albuernez, in 1976. He started dancing with Johana on stage in 1994.
Choreography and Film Work
Juan Carlos Copes was the first person to create choreographed tango shows for the stage. His work included being the main choreographer for Ástor Piazzolla's María de Buenos Aires in 1968. He also choreographed other shows like Tangos Para El Mundo, Copes Tango Show, Entre Borges y Piazzolla, and Sentimiento de Tango.
Copes worked on seven films. Some of his film credits include Raúl de la Torre's musical, Funes, un gran amor (1993). He also worked on Tango Baile Nuestro with Robert Duvall, and "Arena de Tango Mío for the BBC. He was the chief choreographer in Tango, la película (Tango, the Movie), a 1998 film by Carlos Saura.
Later Years
Juan Carlos Copes stopped dancing in 2015 because of his health and financial reasons. In the same year, a documentary film by German Kral called O Nosso Último Tango ("Our Last Tango") was released. This film showed the often difficult relationship Copes had with María Nieves.
Juan Carlos Copes passed away from COVID-19 at a hospital in Buenos Aires on January 16, 2021. This happened during the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina. He had first gotten sick with the disease in December 2020.
See also
In Spanish: Juan Carlos Copes para niños
