THÉÂTRE DE SURESNES_BLANCA LI

Biography

Blanca Li is a choreographer, dancer, actress, and film director. In 2019, she became a member of the Academy of Fine Arts and was appointed director of the Teatros del Canal in Madrid.
Born in Granada, she joined Spain’s national gymnastics team at the age of twelve and moved to New York at seventeen to study with Martha Graham. There she also discovered hip hop and immersed herself in the city’s vibrant international cultural scene before returning to Europe, where she founded her contemporary dance company in Paris in 1992. Her creations have toured worldwide, attracting a broad, loyal, and enthusiastic audience.
In 2021, she created Le Bal de Paris de Blanca Li at Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse, a production that won the Lion for Best VR Experience at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. This virtual reality performance immerses audiences in a fantastical universe and was presented for four months at Théâtre Le Palace in Paris before embarking on an international tour.
In February 2022, she created a festive hip hop version of The Nutcracker for the Suresnes Cités Danse Festival, featuring eight virtuoso Spanish dancers blending breakdance, popping, and Hispanic influences.

Blanca Li has choreographed and directed numerous ballets, operas, and musicals, including:

• Les Indes Galantes for the Paris Opera,
• Scheherazade for the Paris Opera Ballet,
• Treemonisha at the Théâtre du Châtelet,
• El Quijote del Plata for Uruguay’s National Ballet Sodre,
• and, more recently, Pulcinella for the National Ballet of Spain.

She has also directed three feature films — Le Défi, Pas à Pas, and Elektromathematrix — as well as many short films, commercials, and music videos.

For cinema, music, and fashion, Blanca Li has collaborated as choreographer with internationally renowned artists and creators including:

• Pedro Almodóvar
• Jean-Jacques Annaud
• Michel Gondry
• Daft Punk
• Paul McCartney
• Beyoncé
• Blur
• Coldplay
• Jean-Paul Gaultier
• Azzedine Alaïa
• CHANEL
• Stella McCartney

Among the many honors she has received for her contribution to the arts and dance, Blanca Li was named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by French President François Hollande and awarded the Medalla de Oro al Mérito de las Bellas Artes by King Juan Carlos of Spain.