Luna Negra Names Gustavo Ramirez Sansano as New Artistic Director

Posted October 20, 2009 11:05 AM in Press Releases

“Gustavo Ramirez Sansano comes to Luna Negra with an impressive artistic pedigree and choreographic experience in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. We could not have found a better fit” said Luna Negra Board Chair Jorge Solis, “Sansano has followed the company since its inception in 1999 and intuitively understands our mission. He has the institutional knowledge, artistic talent and vision to continue to develop Luna Negra into a cultural driving force not only in Chicago and the U.S., but also internationally.”

“Gustavo was one of the very first outside choreographers that Eduardo brought in to work with Luna Negra when he created Flabbergast in 2001”, said Michelle Manzanales, Acting Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater. “He is an exceptional artist – one of the most inspiring and creative talents I have ever worked with. I look forward to seeing the company flourish under his direction.”

Added Joanna Naftali, Luna Negra Dance Theater Executive Director: “Sansano embodies a powerful combination of creativity, ambition, and artistic excellence. I am thrilled to lead Luna Negra into its second decade with this formidable partner.”

“I am proud to lead the company forward – building upon the company’s rich history and guiding its wonderful potential for new artistic discovery,” said Sansano. “I am eager to begin this exciting journey with Luna Negra.”
Sansano has choreographed several works for Luna Negra including Flabbergast in 2001 and Luna de Miel in 2003.

Born in San Fulgencio, Spain, Sansano, age 31, started dancing with Josetta Garciasuch and trained with such teachers as Karemia Moreno, Guillermina Coll and Jose Maria Escudero from the Instituto del Teatro of Barcelona. In 1990 Sansano joined the Ballet Joven de Alicante, directed by Pilar Sanchez (1990-1994). Following that he danced in Ballet Contemporaneo de Barcelona, directed by Amelia Boluda (1996-1997), Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid, directed by Victor Ullate (1997--1998), Nederlands Dans Theater II, directed by Gerald Tibbs and Jiri Kylian (1998-2001), and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, directed by Jim Vincent (2001-2002). For the last four years he has served as the Artistic Director of his own company in Valencia, TITOYAYA Dance Project. He has danced works by Jacopo Godani, Hans Van Manen, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, Paul Lightfoot, Victor Ullate and Jim Vincent, among others.

Sansano has been the recipient of numerous awards, including First Prize for choreography at the 1997 Ricardo Moragas Barcelona Competition, First Prize at the Dom Perignon choreographic competition Hamburg, Best Choreography and Best of Show at Las Artes Escénicas de la Comunidad Valenciana 2. Sansano’s work has been featured at “Les Etoiles del Ballet2000” in Cannes (2004), and the IX International Festival of Ballet in Miami (2004). He has been commissioned to create works for Compañía Nacional de Danza (Spain),Hamburg Ballet (Germany), Ballet Met (USA), Ballet Carmen Roche (Spain), Gyori Ballet (Hungary), Ballet Junior de Geneve (Switzerland), Budapest Dance Theater (Hungary), Balletto dell’Esperia (Italy), Passerelles (Belgium), Abc Dance Company (Austria), IT Dansa (Spain), Ballet de Teatres (Spain), Patas Arriba (Spain), Nederlands Dans Theater II (Holland), Luna Negra Dance Theater (USA), and Dominic Walsh Dance Theater (USA). Sansano was chosen by the magazine Por La Danza for its 15th anniversary as one of fifteen choreographers to consider.

Luna Negra Dance Theater creates, performs, and teaches contemporary dance by Latino choreographers. In ten years, Luna Negra has established itself as a significant and vital component of Chicago’s arts and cultural community. Founded by Eduardo Vilaro in 1999, Luna Negra serves as a springboard for Latino contemporary choreographers to give expression to their stories and bring new life to the cultures of their communities. Steering away from stereotypes and folkloric representations, Luna Negra brings to audiences modern Latino expressions with energy, power and passion, reflecting through dance the immense cultural shift that is shaping America in the 21st century. Luna Negra also collaborates with Latino artists of other disciplines, including visual, media artists, musicians and composers which fosters cross-disciplinary explorations and results in richly textured and highly original, contemporary dance theater. The company currently has works in the repertory by choreographers from Argentina, Columbia, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico and Spain. In addition to performing, Luna Negra conducts extensive outreach and education programs, serving annually over 10,000 students in the Chicago area. Luna Negra Dance Theater’s company includes Javier Amaya, Nicholas Duran, Elise Drew, Ricardo J. Garcia, Veronica Guadalupe, Louis James Jackson, Rebecca Lemme, Hamilton Nieh, Sarah Rodriguez Roberts, Kirsten Shelton, JP Tenuta and Tiffany Vann. Vilaro served as Artistic Director until August 2009, when he moved to New York to become Artistic Director of Ballet Hispanico.