PILAR GALLEGOS (Mexico, 1973)

Choreographer and dancer, was born in Ensenada, Baja Califronia, lived her first childhood in College Station, Texas, United States, and grew up in Mexico City, where she trained in classical and contemporary dance from 1986 to 2000, mainly at the Conservatory of Dance, under the tutelage of Guillermo Maldonado. She studied a Degree in Chorography at the National School of Classical and Contemporary Dance (ENDCC) from the National Institute of Fine Arts (1996-2000), having principally as teachers Cecilia Appleton, Pilar Urreta, Cecilia Lugo, Sonia Fernández Moliner, Clarisa Falcón, Rossana Filomarino, Ester Lópezllera, Joaquín López Chapman, Jaime Soriano, César Pérez-Soto, Javier Contreras and Carlos Ocampo.

From 1998 to 2002 she founded and led the Dance-Theater company Movimiento Perpetuo, which won the First Place Award category B at the XXI INBA-UAM with the choreography Café: bebida exótica and the First Prize of the Critics "Raul Flores Guerrero" under the INBA-UAM Award XX with Adam's Street. These two pieces, together with the choreographies Marionetas, S.A., Angela de Charlie and El Concurso Panashiba conformed the repertoir of Madame Cuquita's Show (2000). The second and final work created for the group was Zoo (2001). Some members were Angela Rodríguez, Cecilia Camino, Lydia Margules, Yuriria del Valle, José Antonio Cordero, Adolfo Flores, Omar Sáchez, Octavio Michel and Mario Oliver.

Since 2002 to nowadays she performs as a solioist dancer of her own personals Mi cuerpo es mi casa (2011), Sin Título (2007) and Emoción Plástica (2002). In 2008 she moved to Udine, Italy, where she currently lives and works as a dance and yoga teacher, executing in parallel her choreographic productions.

Her work has appeared in the principal forums of Mexico City such as Theatre of the Palace for Fine Arts, Dance Theatre, Theatre Miguel Covarrubias, Hellenic Theatre, Theatre Santa Catarina, Theatre Raul Flores Canelo, Experimental Forum, Shakespeare Forum, La Gruta Forum, The Contemporary Theatre Forum, The Workshops of Coyoacan, Sports Palace, Zocalo Piazza, to name a few, thanks to the support of institutions like the National Council for Culture and the Arts, National Dance Coordination of the INBA, the Department of Dance of the UNAM, the National Arts Centre, the Institute Culture of Mexico City and the Hellenic Cultural Centre.

She has participated in various festivals and meetings in the interior of Mexica Republic in cities like Monterrey, Guadalajara, San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, Jalapa, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Cuernavaca, among others.

Internationally, she has participated in the International Student Festival in Trondheim (ISFiT-01) in Norway, the V Meeting of Contemporary Choreographers in the Dominican Republic, has performed at The Banff Center in Canada, at the Theatre Anita Villalaz of Panama, at the Theatre Giovanni da Udine, in the Leggére Strtutture Factory from Bologna and in the Second Festival Art Tal Ort from Fagagna in Italy, at La Nave del Duende in Spain, and the company Teoría de Gravedad performed a reassembly of Café: bebida exótica on their tour in Cuba.

She has received financial support from the National Fund for Culture and Arts (FONCA) several times, twice getting the grant for Young Creators (2000-2001 and 2005-2006), an Artist Residence Exchange Mexico-Canada at The Banff Center (2002), a production support within the program Development Projects and Cultural Co-investments (2006-2007) and currently is a member on the National System of Creators of Art (2010-2013). She received a grant from Ibero-American Fund for the Performing Arts (IBERESCENA) Mexico-Spain, for a Choreographic Creation in Residence at La Nave del Duende (2010-2011).

Participated in the National Tribute to Xavier Villaurrutia with the choreography Ulyses (2003). Coordinated and implemented the project Bestiario Extremo (2001), co-produced by Historic Center Festival and the Youth Festival of the Third Millennium. Brought to stage Sala de hule espuma (2002), as graduation for ENDCC dancers participating in the season "Dibujos de otros mundos" at the Palace of Fine Arts. Competed in the XIX INBA-UAM Award with the choreography En la habitación donde fui llevada (1998). She has been guest choreographer for companies Teoría de Gravedad led by Aurora Buensuceso and Ruby Gámez and for UDLA-Danza directed by Sunny Savoy, creating choreography Después de la Ira (2006).

It was produced a television program about her career, part of the ART X series, entitled Pilar Gallegos, el juego de las casualidades (2004), broadcasted on Channel 11, and also a television capsule included in the series La edad de merecer co-produced by TV UNAM and ILCE, broadcasted on Channel 22.

She has collaborated as a consultant for the Historic Center Festival, as a choreographic assistant for the National Opera Company, as a choreographer for Santa Sabina's band concert Espiral and in the theater play productions Croll, Casa de Muñecas, Instrucciones para volar and Cabaret Museo Deseo directed by José Antonio Cordero, for El Motel de los Destinos Cruzados written and directed by Luis Mario Moncada, Libros para cocinar and Las ocupaciones nocturnas directed by Ignacio Escárcega, for El Carro de Comedias directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios, La noche en que raptaron a Epifania (for Festival del Centro Histórico) and Titus Andrónicus (for the Festival Internacional Cervantino) both directec by Ana Francis Mor, and for the latter received the Award for Best Choreography for Theatre by Jounalists Association of Theatre (2003). She advised body-training for the film La Sangre Iluminada directed by Iván Ávila (supported by Foprocine). She did the choreography for the video Metrosexual directed by Artemio Narro (produced by Sony Music).

As a dancer she has collaborated with companies Quiatora Monorriel, Producciones la Manga, Utopía, Fuera de Centro, Pilar Urreta, Opus Nigrum, Nuevos Pasos and Compañía Nacional de Danza, dancing in choreographies created by Evoé Sotelo, Benito González, Gabriela Medina, Marco Antonio Silva, Alberto de León, Pilar Urreta, Manuel Stephens, Oscar Ruvalcaba, Isabel Romero and Guillermo Maldonado, among others, obtained with the choreography Momentos en Amor created by the latter, the Award for Best Contemporary Dancer in the Virginia Fábregas Constest (1993).

She has taught at the ENDCC, UDLA Drama Faculty and The Contemporary Theatre Forum. She has conducted several workshops on choreography in Mexico and abroad. She has participated in performances, video art, short films, video and advertising. Was the keyboard player for pop-band Aurora y la Academia, performing in various stadiums and squares, emphasizing participation in the Festival Vive Latino, and abroad in The House of Blues of Chicago, USA and in Lima, Peru.

Her artistic education also includes several workshops and diplomas in Performing Arts with renowned national teachers Guillermina Bravo, Michel Descombey, Lydia Romero, Adriana Castaños, Pilar Medina, Marco Antonio Silva, Gerardo Delgado, Saúl Maya, Luis de Tavira, Ludwik Margules and Alejandro Luna, and internationally Jim May, Barbara Dilley, Mark Sieczkarek, Randy Duncan, Eugenio Barba, Iztok Kovac at the LoStudio di Arearea in Udine, Italy, and a Coaching Project with Maguy Marin during the XXVI Impultanz Festival in Vienna, Austria.

She was invited to participate in the academic program of the XXVII Festival Internacional de Danza Lila López in San Luis Potosi, attending workshops with Cuauhtémoc Nájera, Francisco Illescas, Tito Vasconcelos, among others, distinguishing the one on Nacho Duato's reperoir given by Calos Iturrioz.

She has participated in Festival Tec-Art-Eco, a three-year interdisciplinayr program of productions workshops and laboratories (2009-2011), promoted by the media dance company Ariella Vidach-AiEP from Milan, Italy, in co-production with Switzerland, taking courses with Iñaki Azpillaga, Ted Stoffer, Claudio Prati, Federico Lupica, Paolo Solcia, and conference with Marcelí Antunez and Stelarc.

She has supplemented her artistic education with various diplomas and courses, such as dance therapy obtained in the University Center for Dance; in hatha yoga with Oscar Velázquez, Dharmapriya (Iyengar Yoga), Dharma Mittra, getting certified as a teacher in Yoga Espacio under the tutelage of Jñana Dakini; has studied singing, vocal, piano and languages French, German, Italian and English, having a teacher certification gived by The Anglo Mexican Foundation.