"Return. Change. Illusion. Roots. Home. Spain. Friends. Memories. Moving. Pride. Ambassador. Effort. Work. Projects. Challenges. Ideas. Longing. Giving back. Contributing. Rigor. Quality. Dreams. Impetus. Emotion. Respect. Responsibility. Desire. Return. TO. HOME."
– Joaquín De Luz
He began his ballet studies at Víctor Ullate’s school. In 1992 he joined the Ullate company where he remained for three years. During his stay there, he performed choreographies by Ullate, Eduardo Lao, Nils Christie, Hans van Manen, Maurice Bejart, Rudy van Dancing, Misha van Hoeke and George Balanchine. In 1995 he was invited by Fernando Bujones to dance with the Mediterranean Ballet.
In September 1996, the Pennsylvania Ballet offered him to join the company as a solo dancer. With this company he played leading roles in the classics Diana and Acteón, Coppelia, The Sleeping Beauty, as well as the pieces by Lynne Taylor-Corbette, Hans van Manen, Matthew Neenan and George Balanchine, Nutcraker, Tarantella and the latter’s Who Cares.
In December 1997, he joined the corps de ballet of the American Ballet Theater in New York, being named soloist dancer a year later. In his seven years at the ABT he played important leading roles such as The bronze idol and Pain in La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa), Red Cowboy in Bil and The Kid, Champion Roper in Rodeo(A. Demille), Blue boy in Le Patineurs (Ashton), first sailor in Fancy Free (Jerome Robbins), Birbanto in Le Corsaire(A. M. Holmes), Turning boy in Etudes (H. Lander), Benno in Swan Lake (Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov), Clear (Stanton Welch), Black Tuesday (Paul Taylor), Symphonieta, Stepping Stones (J. Kylián) Known by heart (T. Tharp), Smile with my heart (Lar Lubobitch), Gong (Mark Morris), Sin and Tonic (James Kudelka), Spring and Fall (John Neumier) Gaite Parisienne (L. Massine) Yellow couple in Diversions of Angels (M. Graham), La Fille mal Gardee and Midsummernight’s Dream (Ashton), Variations for four (A. Dolin), Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 (Clark Tippet) and Symphony in C, Theme and Variations (George Balanchine).
In 2003 he joined the New York City Ballet as a soloist dancer and was named principal dancer two years later in 2005. Representing this company, he has danced at the Lincoln Center in New York, as well as in the most important theaters in the world. He played the most relevant roles in the history of dance, such as Ballo della Regina, Coppélia, Entertainment from ‘Le Baiser de la Fée’, Donizetti Variations, The Nutcracker, Harlequinade (Harlequin, Pierrot), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Prodigal Son, Raymonda Variations, Rubies from Jewels, La Source, Symphony in C, Tarantella, Theme and Variations, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Union Jack, Valse-Fantaisie, Vienna Waltzes and Sonatine de G. Balanchine, Fearful Symmetries, A Fool for You, Jeu de Cartes, The Magic Flute, Naïve and Sentimental Music, Octet, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Todos Buenos Aires and Zakousky by Peter Martins. Andantino, Brandenburg, The Concert, Dances at a Gathering, Dybbuk, Fancy Free, Four Bagateles, Interplay, The Four Seasons, The Goldberg Variations, Other Dances and Piano Pieces by Jerome Robbins.
Makin’ Whoopee from Double Feature by Broadway star choreographer Susan Stroman and Mercurial Manouvers by Cristopher Wheeldon.
Some of the roles created for him include Slice to Sharp, by Jorma Elo, Bal de Couture, Romeo and Juliet, by Peter Martins, Outlier, by Wayne McGregor, Year of the Rabbit, by Justin Peck, Concerto DSCH and Odessa, by Alexei Ratmansky, DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse and Shambards by C. Wheeldon.
Joaquín De Luz has participated as a guest artist with numerous international companies such as our National Dance Company, American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, Stanivslasky Theater in Moscow, Teatro Colón Ballet in Buenos Aires and the National Ballet of Cuba, among others.
Among his many performances at international galas and celebrated events include Stars of the 21st Century in Paris and New York, Intensio, José Carreño and Friends and The World of Diana Vishneva in Tokyo, Tribute to Nureyev in Rome, as well as the Ravel festivals, Spoletto, Perelada, Santander, Madrid, Vail, Athens and Miami.
He represented Spain at the 1998 Lisbon Expo and was part of the Kings of Dance tour 2007-2011, touring throughout Russia and the United States, receiving great reviews.
Among the multitude of recognitions in his career, awards such as the Gold Medal at the Nureyev International Competition in Budapest, 2006, the Benois de la Danse for the best male dancer, 2009 in Moscow, the Culture Prize of the Community of Madrid stand out. , 2010, and the National Dance Award (Spain) for interpretation 2016.
He has participated in various appearances for television programs and events in the US. He carried out the Freixenet Christmas campaign 1999–2000, on The Today Show, on the American network NBC, Live from Lincoln Center on the PBS network, representing Romeo and Juliet and Nutcracker, the latter of which was broadcast in more than 600 theaters in the US. USA He has also participated in the recordings of El Corsario with ABT, and with the New York City Ballet in Paris.
In 2008 he became artistic director of the New York Ballet Stars dance company, a company with which he toured Europe, Asia, the United States and South Africa.
In May 2013, he debuted in the lead role in the Broadway show Òn your Toes in New York, earning great reviews.
In 2017 he was commissioned to direct the Menorca Danse Gala.
Since 2018, he has combined his role as choreographer and artistic director with teaching as a teacher at the School of American Ballet in New York, at the JKO school and at the ABT Studio Company, the Marat Daukayev Dance School in Los Angeles and at the Rock School of Philadelphia, being required by different institutions to teach numerous courses and master classes internationally.
On March 28, 2019, the INAEM, Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Government of Spain, announces his appointment as director of the National Dance Company of Spain (CND), succeeding José Carlos Martínez, a position he held from from September 1, 2019.
For the CND he has choreographed Arriaga (along with Aguiló and Alosa) (2020) and premiered Giselle in December of that same year at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, with choreography and stage direction by De Luz himself.
In November 2022, the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) presented the the Josefina Méndeza International Honorary Dance Award to Joaquín De Luz in Havana,
His most recent creations for CND are Passengers Within, which premiered in December 2022 at the Teatros del Canal and A tu Vera, which premiered at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid on July 18, 2023. Swoosh premiered at the Naves del Español, Matadero in Madrid on November 7, 2023. Finally, in December 2023 De Luz added August Bournonville’s version of La Sylphide to the CND repertoire.
