Company

Antonio Ruiz Soler’s interpretation of Pablo Sarasate’s music enhanced his reputation as both dancer and choreographer and became one of the jewels of his repertoire following its premiere in 1946 at the Teatro Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. The influence of tap dance evident in the technique of this zapateado makes it a virtuosic example of stylised flamenco. In 1959, Antonio performed a version of this solo while walking along a country road in the film Honeymoon, a Spanish-British co-production directed by Michael Powell whose visual imagery recalls Gene Kelly in An American in Paris. Over the years, it has been performed by countless principal dancers from different companies, all of them seeking to follow Antonio’s maxim: “To dance it is to caress the floor; you have to speak to the floor, not kick it.”

Zapateado performed by Francisco Velasco at the Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid, 2020) and at the Centenario de Antonio Ruiz Soler

Zapateado performed by Mariano Bernal