Merche Esmeralda

Merche Esmeralda (, Mercedes Rodríguez Gamero; Seville, 1947/50) is a Spanish flamenco dancer (bailaora) and choreographer. In 2007, she was the recipient of the Fundación Cruzcampo "Compás del Cante" Award; this award is always referred to by the Spanish media as the "Flamenco Nobel prize".

Early life and education Mercedes Rodríguez Gamero was born in Seville, Spain in 1947 or 1950. Merche Esmeralda began singing and dancing at the Adelita Domingo academy in Seville. After that, she attended the schools of Enrique el Cojo and Matilde Coral. When her family could no longer raise money for her education, she learned by observing and imitating famous artists such as El Farruco.

Career Early success Eventually, she was ready to move to Madrid and earn some money there so she could finance her further education and even support her family. In 1963, she made her debut at the Teatro San Fernando in a couple of matinees called Galas Juveniles. Immediately afterward, she professionalized as a dancer in classical Spanish dance shows, dancing in the most important tablaos of the time: in Seville at the Cortijo el Guajiro, in Madrid at El Duende, the tablao of Pastora Imperio and at Las Brujas, where she continued until the 1970s, reappearing again and again. She also danced at Los Castaneros, Café de Chinitas, and Venta del Gato before returning to her hometown of Seville to dance at Los Gallos. In 1986, she returned to the Ballet Nacional as an invited artist and stayed there until 1989. Outstanding performances in those years were her interpretation of Soleá (1986) and her performance in the new production of Medea by José Granero and Manolo Sanlúcar, in the Boléro by Maurice Ravel, in the sombrero de tres picos and in Los Tarantos and Don Juan by José Antonio. In the latter play, she embodied the role of Death. With the Ballet Nacional, she traveled to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Israel, Australia, Germany and Italy, New York City, and Washington, D.C. She had another film appearance in Chus Gutiérrez' work Alma Gitana. She founded a dance school in Madrid and ended the year with a performance in the Teatro de la Zarzuela in front of the Spanish royal couple.

Together with Mario Maya, Antonio Canales, and Manuela Carrasco, Merche Esmeralda performed in the Gala de Danza Flamenca in Seville. But her most important performance that year was without a doubt in the in the play Todas las primaveras. Its director, Ángel Fernández Montesinos called it a symphony of language, music, and dance. In it, Merche Esmeralda embodied love. As such, she persuaded the man, portrayed by Carlos Ballesteros, to recite poems.

In 2010, Merche Esmeralda announced her retirement from the stage. She gave her farewell performance with a new performance of Medea, which she had danced with the Ballet Nacional in 1986. She continued her teaching activities. However, she could not resist the poetry of the play Última parada with verses by Miguel Hernández, and so she returned to the stage in 2014 at the Bienal de Flamenco (Seville) and later in Madrid. Also in 2015, she performed in Última parada in Madrid.

Teaching activities Since 1997, Merche Esmeralda has taught numerous courses and master classes. She taught in Barcelona, Madrid, Santander, Seville, Jerez de la Frontera, at the University of Alcalá, but also abroad, especially in Germany and Japan. In 1999, she presented her self-developed flamenco teaching method. This was taken over by the Alfonso X El Sabio University in Madrid. In 2006, she was appointed professor at the .

Awards and honours 2007, Compás del Cante prize 2008, Calle de Alcalá prize