HONORARY JUDGE

​

“I love to dance and breathe” JB

Julio Bocca was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He began his studies at the age of four under the guidance of his mother, a dancer and a teacher. In 1974 he was accepted as a member of the National Ballet School in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His teachers included María Luisa Lemos, Gloria Kazda, José Parés and Ninel Julttyeva. Additional teachers included Maggy Black, Lidia Segni and Wilhelm Burmann, the latter being their teacher for more than 21 years. As a child prodigy in 1982 he danced as a soloist in a ballet directed by Flemming Flindt. Mr. Bocca’s professional career began in 1982 as a dancer at the Teresa Carreño Foundation in Venezuela and a year later he was invited to dance as the Principal dancer at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From 1983 he performed as a soloist and Principal guest dancer at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. In 1985, he won the Gold Medal at the Fifth International Ballet Competition in Moscow, which gave him a definitive international career. The following year, at the age of 19, he began his career as Principal dancer, at the American Ballet Theatre (1986 – 2006). After 20 years He said goodbye in June 2006 dancing De Grieux in Manon with the choreography of Kenneth MacMillan with Alessandra Ferri, his companion during the 20 years he danced at the American Ballet Theatre. 

​

Participations as a guest artist:

Mr. Bocca danced with the Royal Ballet of London, Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg, Alla Scala of Milan, English National Ballet, Zarzuela Theatre of Madrid, Danish Royal Ballet of Denmark, Opera Ballet in Oslo, Stuttgart Ballet, Opera Ballet in Paris, Tokyo Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Ballet A national of the Municipal Theater of Santiago de Chile, Ballet Nuevo Mundo in Venezuela, Ballet Nacional de México, Ballet Nacional de El Cairo, he made an important tour with the Ballet Nacional de España under the direction of Maya Plisétskaya and Ballet of the Municipal Theater General San Martín, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For the opening of the Helsinki Opera House, Mr. Bocca was invited as a featured artist. It has also performed in Poland, the Philippines, Israel , United Arab Emirates , Greece and Japan, as well as at the most important summer festivals in Europe and at the International Ballet Festival in Havana, Cuba and Peralada Festival.

​

Artists with which he shared the stage:

He had the honor of sharing the stage with the world’s leading exponents of his generation, such as: Natalia Makarova, Nina Ananiashvili, Alina Cojocaru, Eleonora Cassano, Alessandra Ferri, Cecilia Figaredo, Carla Fracci, Cynthia Gregory, Cynthia Harvey, Paloma Herrera, Susan Jaffe, Julie Kent, Amanda McKerrow, Noelle Pontois, Raquel Rossetti, Tamara Rojo, Viviana Durante, Heidi Ryon, Darcey Bussell, Sara Nieto, Silvia Bazilis, Cristina Delmagro, Ana Botafogo, Monique Loudier. , Ludmila Semeniaka, Cecilia Kerche, Cheryl Yeager. , Mariana Tcherkassky, Arantxa Arguelles, Ofelia Gonzalez. Among other dancers. 

​

Beginnings of your own Company:

In 1990 he participated in the film Tango, Baile nuestro by Jorge Zanada. That same year he founded his own dance company, Ballet Argentino, under the direction of Lidia Segni. They toured all over the Republic of Argentina and the world. Ballet Argentino was the first foreign company to perform at hermitage palace Museum in St. Petersburg. In 1992 she danced at the premiere of the choreography,Bestiario deOscar Aráiz and music by the Spaniard Jerónimo Maesso, at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, Spain, together with the Contemporary Ballet of the Teatro Municipal San Martín in Buenos Aires, directed by Oscar Aráiz. In 1992 heperformed in Rio de Janeiro for Eco World on a special night with Placido Domingo. He also performed with the Washington orchestra conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich along with violinist Isaac Stern. At the International Festival of Peralada.

​

Ballet for all:

Mr. Bocca has performed in outdoor venues and football stadiums, attracting thousands of people. Scenarios such as Luna Park, with capacity for 5,000 people, where it made more than 140 presentations. In this scenario he premiered most of his productions, including: Birdy by Jean Pierre Aviotte, Kuarahy de Julio López, La Consagración del Tango, by Ana María Stekelman and Bocca Rock Nacional. In 1997 he participated in the film Tango directed by Carlos Saura. In 1999, she performed with the Argentine Ballet in Israel, Greece, Bangkok and Singapore. The shows in Bnagkok were part of the festival commemorating the birthday of the King of Thailand.

​

Dancer and Ambassador:

As part of the Millennium Day celebrations in Ushuaia, Argentina, on December 31, 1999, Mr. Bocca danced representing Argentina with Eleonora Cassano, Lito Vitale, it was simultaneously broadcast to more than sixty networks worldwide. The Red Cross and UNICEF, both from Argentina, asked him to run two separate advertising campaigns in support of the two institutions. UNICEF, appoint him as its ambassador. In February 2001. I make his Broadway debut in the Musical Fosse. Tour the United States with the Argentine Ballet, including his third performance at the City Center in New York. In 2001 Boccatango premiered by Ana María Stekelman at the Teatro Maipo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. with which they toured the world with great success. Then, in February of that same year, Julio Bocca and Argentine Ballet performed at the Peacock Theatre in London. Also at the Teatro Opera in Buenos Aires in October 2003, where they premiered works such as Alvin Ailey’s The River, Repercusiones and Ana María Stekelman’s Macbeth. In Once a Trunk,a clown solo created especially for him by Argentine actor and director Claudio Gallardou, where he also showed off his dramatic skills. In January 2004, she performed in China at Great People’s Hall with Rosana Pérez for the closing ceremony of the first international ballet festival in honor of the centenary of George Balanchine’s birth. Mr. Bocca also premiered and toured Elio Marchi’s The Man in the Red Tie, based on Natalia Kohen’s novel and choreographed by Ana Maria Stekelman. In April 2004 he was part of the Benois de la Danse Gala, which honors international artists who received the Benois de la Danse. Paloma San Basilio was a contributing singer for Balada for a madman from Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer, in Madrid .In February 2005, he played the Ballet ,Russian Hamlet (Beethoven and Mahler) at the Mariinksy Theatre as a guest artist at the Eifman Ballet in St. Petersburg. They later performed the same ballet at the Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires in May 2005. Also in May 2005, he Dance Don Quixote with the American Ballet Theatre for the last time. In August of the same year, he participated in the Bournonville Gala. at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark. The closing of the 2006 Argentine season consisted of a national tour and the world premiere of Farewell Brother Cruel a long-running ballet written by Elio Marchi, inspired by the film, Tis Pitti She is a Whore by John Ford in 1633. The music was set by Lito Vitale and choreographed by Ana María Stekelman. Julio Bocca also starred in Manon in Buenos Aires with Alessandra Ferri and the Municipal Ballet of Santiago de Chile. 

​

Farewell as a dancer:

His definitive retirement from dance took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 22, 2007, in the emblematic obelisk of the city in front of more than 300,000 people. A mega show on Avenida 9 de Julio, with 10 giant screens so that no one misses details of the performance, accompanied by its Argentine Ballet and many Argentine and foreign artists. Notable dancers, musicians and singers who were invited to be part of the friends who accompanied him on stage, such as Maximiliano Guerra, Eleonora Cassano, Cecilia Figaredo, Tamara Rojo, Nina Ananiashvili, José Carreño, Manuel Legris, Tangokinesis -company created by Ana María Stekelman-, Mercedes Sosa, Carlos “La Mona” Jiménez, Lito Vitale and his group, Diego Torres, , Sandra Mihanovich and Antigua Jazz Band. This show was recorded and broadcast by an Argentine channel. In 2008 he participated in national geographic’s “Earth Special”. Jury, teacher and artistic director: He was sworn in at the 2008 and 2017 Benois de la Danse Prize in Russia and the Rome Prize in Italy. In 2009, Ballet Master Class prague, Check Republic invited him. to give a master class and returned in the following seasons. In early 2010 he was invited by the American Ballet Theatre as the company’s solo coach and principal dancers. When he returned to Montevideo, Uruguay, where he lived a year ago, the president of that country, Mr. José Mujica, offered him the Artistic Directorate of the Ballet Nacional Sodre, where he took office in June 2010. where he took office in June 2010. Since then, the Company has toured not only Uruguay but also the world,  presenting its works in Latin America, Europe and Asia, always with audience success and criticism. In 2012, under his direction, he presented a ballet gala at the Teatro Real in Madrid, with ballet stars. The dancers who took place at this Gala were Eleonora Cassano, Cecilia Figaredo, Nina Ananiashvili, Christina Michanek, Marianela Núñez, Sebastian Kloborg, José Carreño, Manuel Legris, Patrick De Bana and Thiago Soares. With such success that Mr. Bocca and the dancers had to be on stage for more than 10 minutes to receive the applause. Julio Bocca is the Cultural Ambassador for Mercosur and a member of the International Dance Council CID Paris – UNESCO. He has sworn in many competitions and is still called to participate in most of them; apart from Benois de la Danse and the Rome Prize in Italy, he was first invited to the Barcelona competition and competitions in Moscow, China, Korea, the Youth Grand Prix of America, President of Prix of Lausanne, Sinaloa Dance Competition in Culiacán, Mexico, where he spoke with dancers and gave them a master class, and when their activities allow it , is President of the Julio Bocca Competition, created by the Argentine Dance Council of Buenos Aires in 2010 and continues in 2017. After 7 years conducting the Ballet Nacional de Uruguay he ended his participation with the opening of the dance festival in Cannes and a total of 105 performances in a year, leaving the Ballet Nacional de Uruguay as the first South American ballet company.

​

 Awards and distinctions received: 

1985: Gold medal in the Moscow International Competition

1986: Together with María Ruanova Primus Inter Parejas, Argentina.

1987: Dancer of the Year according to the New York Times

1987: Knight of the Order of San Martín de Tours, Argentina.

1990: Gino Tanni Arts Award, Italy. 1990.

1990: Personality of the Year, France, 1990.

1991: Martín Fierro Award for Best Performance in a Musical Show, Argentina. 

1992: International Association of Choreographers in the first edition of the Prix Benois. Danse Theatre, Bolshoi Theatre, Russia.

1996: King David Award from the Argentine House in Jerusalem, Israel.

1998: Dance Magazine Award, USA

2001 Barocco Award, sponsored by Television Network RAI, Italy.

2006: Clarín Newspaper Celebrity of the Year Gold Award, Argentina. 

2007: Max HispanoameRican Award for the Performing Arts, by the General Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE), Bilbao, Spain.

2007: Illustrious citizen, appointed by the Legislature of Buenos Aires, Argentina

2007: Equinoccio Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2008: Cultural Equinox, granted by the Embassy of Spain in Buenos Aires, for its trajectory and contribution to the world of dance, Argentina.

2008: Gold Medal in the Arts, awarded by the Kennedy Center’s International Committee of Arts, for his Achievements and dedication to cultural exchange between Argentina and the United States of America, Argentina.

2008: Certificate of Honor of Dance, awarded by the International Dance Council (UNESCO) for his career.

2008: María Guerrero Award for her career, Argentina, 2008.

2008: Tribute of the American Ballet Theatre in “Latin Night”, United States.

2008: Doctor Honoris Causa, Universidad Siglo XXI de Córdoba, Argentina. 

2008: Prince Juan Bravo in Segovia, for the presentation of the Argentine Ballet, under his direction, as best dance show, Spain, 2009.

2009: Latin American Award at the Ballet Gala in Asunción, Paraguay.

2010: Rome Culture Prize, received at the Roman Theatre of Ancient Ostia, Italy.

2012: Ibero-American Ambassador of Culture, awarded in Cadiz by the House of Latin America, Spain,

2014: Italianness Award, awarded by the Embassy of Italy, Argentina. 

2014: Culture Award for his career. “400 years” of the National University of Córdoba, Argentina.

2014: “Ibera_e” award in performing arts, awarded by the Ibero-American Television.

2015: Ariel Award, Montevideo, Uruguay.

​

In 2015, the President of Uruguay, Dr. Tabaré Vázquez, awarded him the Delmira Agustini Medal for his contribution to the art and culture of the country, as well as for his career at the National Ballet of Uruguay. At the same ceremony, the French Ambassador to Uruguay, Mr. Sylvain Itté, gave him the distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, on behalf of the Government of France. 

​

Today:

Now, as an independent professional, he works around the world, as a teacher and coach, in schools and companies, such as: English national , Bolshoi Ballet , School Paris Opera , Finland Ballet , Australia Ballet San Francisco School , Houston Ballet , American Ballet and School, Orlando Ballet Korea Arts , Bejing Competition International , and many more..