Company News: Welcoming Julio Bocca

Learn More About the Dance Legend

We are thrilled to welcome Julio Bocca into our studios as a Guest Coach for Swan Lake, where he will be working directly with the Principal Dancers in the lead roles. In addition to coaching, he will also be teaching Company class and working with students in the School.

Julio Bocca was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He began his studies at the age of four under his mother’s guidance. In 1974, he was accepted as a member of the Institute Superior of Art at the Teatro Colón, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He entered the company of Ballet of Camera of the Teatro Colón in 1981 and a year later danced as a Soloist in a ballet directed by Flemming Flindt.

Julio Bocca’s professional career began in 1982 as Principal Dancer with the Teresa Carreño Foundation in Venezuela and a year later at the Teatro Municipal in Río de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1983 and until 2016, he was appointed member of the Ballet Estable of the Teatro Colón. In 1985, he won the Gold Medal at the Fifth International Ballet Competition in Moscow. The following year, he began his twenty-year tenure with the American Ballet Theatre as principal dancer (1986–2006). His farewell was on June 22, 2006 dancing De Grieux in Manon.

He also danced as a guest artist for the world’s top dance companies, including 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, Royal Danish Ballet of Denmark, Opera Ballet in Oslo, Stuttgart Ballet, Opera Ballet in Paris, and many more.

In 1990, he founded his own dance company, Ballet Argentino, and toured throughout the world. In Argentina, Julio Bocca has performed in outdoor venues and football stadiums, attracting thousands of people. He has also performed at Luna Park, a 5,000-seat venue, over 140 times. In 1998, he founded the Musical Theater School with choreographer and director Ricky Pashkus.

In April 2004, Mr. Bocca was part of the Benois de la Danse Gala, which honors international artists who were awarded the Benois de la Danse Prize. His definitive retirement from dance was made in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 22, 2007, next to the emblematic obelisk in the city in front of over 300,000 people.

At the beginning of 2010, he was invited by the American Ballet Theatre as a coach for soloists and principal dancers of the Company. When he returned to Montevideo, Uruguay, where he was living a year ago, the President of that country, Mr. José Mujica, offered him the Artistic Direction of the National Ballet Sodre where he took office in June 2010.

Julio Bocca is the Cultural Ambassador for the Mercosur and a member of the International Dance Council CID París – UNESCO. He has been jury of many competitions and still is called to be in most of them; apart from the Benois de la Danse and Roma Award in Italy, he was invited by the Barcelona competition for the first time, and competitions from Moscow, China, Korea, the Youth America Grand Prix, President for Prix of Lausanne, Sinaloa Dance Competition in Culiacán, México where he had a chat with dancers as well as gave them a master class, and when his activities allow him he is President of the Julio Bocca Competition, created by the Argentine Council of Dance of Buenos Aires in 2010 and continue in tell 2017. After 7 years directing the National Ballet from Uruguay, he retired in December 2017.

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