Dance Speaks: New Dance Partners

Meet Choreographer Irene Rodriguez

Born in Cuba, and recently settled in the United States, Irene Rodríguez is a leading international figure of Spanish dance and Choreography. In 2018, the King of Spain granted her the Orden “Isabel la Católica”, Spain’s highest civilian honor. As a Principal Dancer, Choreographer and Dance instructor, Irene has worked both as a dancer and Style and Choreography consultant to the Spanish repertory of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. She earned a Theater Arts Degree and a Master’s Degree in Theoretical Studies of Dance, has given conferences internationally as well as master classes to the Juilliard School, the Straz for the Performing Arts and the San José Ballet; between other. She has danced to great acclaim in the most prestigious theaters and festivals around the world, and in the US she has performed at the Joyce Theater, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (with commissioned works) and the Kennedy Center for the performing arts; among others. In 2012 she founded her own dance company: Compañía Irene Rodríguez and she directed Havana’s most prestigious Spanish dance academy, which she also founded. Among her most important awards are: First Prize in the VIII Iberoamerican Choreography Competition, the UNEAC Choreography Award, the Excellence Choreography Award (International Ballet Schools Competition); she has been included several times in The Book of Honor of the Gran Teatro de la Habana; the Iberoamerican Medal Honoris Causa Foundation (México University); the Audience and UNEAC Award at the Choreography contest “Vladimir Malakhov”; among others. For many years, she has also been the Artistic Director of the International Festival “La Huella de España”, a very significant event in Cuba, directed by Alicia Alonso.