Patricia Guerrero

Patricia Guerrero is a Granada-born flamenco bailaora, choreographer and company director whose work joins traditional compás and theatrical intensity to experimental contemporary stage structures. She began dancing at three in her mother María del Carmen Guerrero's academy in the Albaicín, then at fifteen entered Mario Maya's Centro de Estudios Flamencos, where she gained early professional experience while absorbing flamenco alongside Spanish-classical and contemporary vocabularies.

Guerrero established her traditional credentials through competition wins: the Ciudad de Ubrique prize in 2005 and the Desplante award at the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas in 2007. She appeared as a soloist in Carlos Saura's touring production *Flamenco Hoy* and his film *Flamenco, Flamenco* in 2010, the year she also premiered her first solo work, *Desde el Albayzín con Matisse*. In 2011 she became first dancer of the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía under Rubén Olmo, and the following year received the Seville Flamenco Biennial's Giraldillo as revelation artist.

Her authored works developed a recognizable artistic line centered on spatial and dramatic architecture. *Latidos del agua* arrived in 2013; *Catedral*, premiered at the 2016 Biennial, won the Giraldillo for best production. *Distopía* followed in 2018, then *Pies de Barro* in 2019. These productions made stage environment, character and ensemble relationships integral to the dance rather than decorative accompaniment. Guerrero continued to cross disciplinary boundaries in collaborative works: *Paraíso perdido* with viola da gamba player Fahmi Alqhai, and *Proceso Eterno* with guitarist Dani de Morón, singer Sergio "El Colorao" and percussionist Agustín Diassera.

In 2021 Guerrero performed the title role of *La Bella Otero* as a guest of the Ballet Nacional de España and received Spain's National Dance Award for interpretation. The Junta de Andalucía selected her in October 2023 as artistic director of the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, placing an artist formed within that public company in charge of shaping its institutional repertoire and voice. Granada awarded her its Gold Medal of Merit in February 2024, while *Alter ego*, created with Alfonso Losa, received both critics' and audience awards at the 2024 Festival de Jerez.