Jose Greco

José Greco, born Costanzo Greco on 23 December 1918 in Montorio nei Frentani, Italy, became an international star who brought Spanish theatrical dance to mass audiences across concert halls, Broadway, television and film. After spending part of his childhood in Seville, Greco's family settled in Brooklyn, New York around 1928, placing him within an immigrant performance world from which he launched his professional career in 1937. In the early 1940s, he joined La Argentinita, the renowned Encarnación López, as featured male dancer and partner. Following her death in 1945, he continued working with her sister Pilar López, touring in Europe and the Americas with companies that fused flamenco with the broader repertory of Spanish theatrical dance.

By 1949, Greco had established his own ensemble, the José Greco Spanish Dance Company, which became the major vehicle through which audiences outside Spain encountered Spanish dance. The company's repertory combined flamenco, regional Spanish forms and theatrical staging, with works including *El Cortijo*, *Bolero*, *La Castellana* and *Andalucía Flamenca*. Extensive international tours cemented his prominence, and his visibility expanded across multiple media: he appeared in films including *Sombrero* (1953), *Around the World in 80 Days* (1956) and *Ship of Fools* (1965), while television appearances brought Spanish dance into American popular entertainment formats. This multimedia presence was exceptional for a male dancer of his period working in flamenco-centered repertory.

In the 1970s, Greco and Nana Lorca founded the José Greco Foundation for Hispanic Dance and opened the Centro de Arte Español in Marbella. He published his autobiography *The Gypsy in My Soul* in 1977 and later returned to touring with members of his family while teaching at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Greco remained active in dance education until the late 1990s and died on 31 December 2000 at his Lancaster home.