COMPAGNIE BLANCA LI
COMPANY HISTORY
COMPAGNIE BLANCA LI made its debut at the 1993 Avignon Festival, where it was honored with an award from the prestigious Beaumarchais Foundation for Li’s “Nana et Lila,” a dance inspired by her time spent in North Africa. The Company also performed the work in 1994 at the Trianon Theatre in Paris. In 1998, Li created the Centre Chorégraphique Blanca Li, which holds the Company’s rehearsals as well as dance classes for professionals and beginners. Li’s recent work for the Company includes “Borderline,” which premiered in Berlin in 2002 and “Alarme,” which premiered at the Biennale de la Danse de Lyon in September 2004.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY
BLANCA LI (Artistic Director) A versatile artist, Blanca Li is an award-winning choreographer, director, actress and filmmaker, as well as artistic director of Compagnie Blanca Li.
Born in Granada, Spain, Li began her stage career at the age of 12 as a member of the Spanish national rhythmic gymnastics team. At 17, she began studying at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York, where she trained for five years. While in New York City, she also took classes with Paul Sanasardo and Alvin Ailey. Her first dance company, founded in Madrid in 1992, was selected for the Universal Exposition in Seville.

In addition to creating works for Compagnie Blanca Li, Li has directed a number of operas, including Manuel de Falla’s “La Vie brève” and “L’Amour sorcier,” Jorge Zulueta and Jacobo Romano’s “Un Tango pour M. Lautrec” and Rameau’s “Les Indes galantes.” In 1999, Li presented “Macadam Macadam,” a dance using hip-hop and street performers, at the Jean Vilar Theatre in Suresnes, France. She has also choreographed dances for the Paris Opera Ballet and Berlin Ballet, among others.
Li made her American debut in 2001 as part of France Moves, where she presented her one-woman show “Zap! Zap! Zap!.” In December 2004, Li was awarded the Manuel de Falla Prize for her choreographic work and international career.

In addition to her work as a dancer and choreographer, Li has appeared on stage as an actor and in the movie “Pigalle.” Released theatrically in May 2002, Li’s first feature film “Le Défi,” a hip-hop musical comedy with 150 hip-hop dancers, was selected to be part of New York’s Tribeca Film Festival in 2004. She received four awards at the Short Films Festivals of Grenoble, Brest and Créteil for her first short film, “Angoisse.”