Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Encyclopedia
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is an international choreographer based out of Amsterdam
, Netherlands
.
. She appeared with various German companies before eventually joining Djazzex, a contemporary dance
company, in 1993. In 1997, she joined Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, where she was a soloist for seven years.
Since leaving her performing career, Ochoa has choreographed works for the Scapino Ballet, Dutch National Ballet
, Djazzex, The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballet du Grand Theatre du Genève, Ankara Modern Dance Theater, Ballet X, and Pennsylvania Ballet
, Luna Negra Dance Theater
, Ballet Hispanico
, BJM-Danse Montreal, Le Jeune Ballet du Quebec. She has also worked outside of traditional dance companies, choreographing for theater, opera, and musicals and with Dutch fashion designer Viktor & Rolf
.
but intently connected style of choreography, which occasionally relies on virtuosic technique. Her movement is contemporary, however, she occasionally displays classical virtuosity, such as a soaring grand jeté. Because she uses the abstract form, her works do not have established plot lines or characters. She does, however, want the dancers to “tell a story” within the work. She achieves this by emphasizing the eyes, using them as a connecting point among the dancers on stage as well as with the audience. To organize her movement, she is interested in “constructed chaos,” a carefully structured work that appears to lack structure. This method makes her creations insightfully detailed while remaining well organized. Ochoa enjoys working with a wide range of dancers, and also enjoys working with actors. She finds inspiration primarily from art and music, not from the dancers or from other choreographers.
is Before After, a seven minute duet which “delineates the last moments of a relationship.” The New York Times
described the number as short and simple, but also “the most moving, the most mysterious, the most heartily cheered. Clive Barnes
raved that it was the “best in the…shows.” Not every reviewer shared this enthusiasm, however; Laura Bleiberg suggested that the piece was not unique in its themes or structure, and that “Ochoa added few insights.”
.
L'Effleure (2010)
Zip Zap Zoom (2009)
Locked up Laura (2009)
Nube Blanco (2009)
Requiem for a Rose (2009)
Still@life (2008)
Satie (2008)
ININ (2008)
One (2008)
Miniature (2007)
Reminiscence (2007)
Since (2007)
Padam (2007)
Returning Points (2006)
Lacrimosa (2006)
September (2005)
Mourning Dove (2005)
metAMORPHOsis (2005)
Black Rain (2005)
Nocturne (2004)
Together Alone (2003)
Zip Zap Zoof (2003)
Solitaire (2003)
Before After (2002)
Clair/Obscur (2001)
Graffiti (2001)
Replay (2001)
2. Ochoa's blog.
3. Ochoa's YouTube channel.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Dance Background
Ochoa, who is half-Colombian and half-Belgian, completed her dance training at the Royal Ballet Academy in Antwerp, BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. She appeared with various German companies before eventually joining Djazzex, a contemporary dance
Contemporary dance
Contemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs compositional philosophy, rather than choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement...
company, in 1993. In 1997, she joined Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, where she was a soloist for seven years.
Since leaving her performing career, Ochoa has choreographed works for the Scapino Ballet, Dutch National Ballet
Dutch National Ballet
Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdams Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company has been directed by Sonia Gaskell , Rudi van Dantzig , Wayne Eagling and is currently directed by Ted Brandsen. It is the largest dance company in the Netherlands and attracts many...
, Djazzex, The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballet du Grand Theatre du Genève, Ankara Modern Dance Theater, Ballet X, and Pennsylvania Ballet
Pennsylvania Ballet
Founded in 1963 by Balanchine student and protégée Barbara Weisberger, Pennsylvania Ballet is one of the leading ballet companies in the United States. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company’s annual local season features six programs of classic favorites and new works, including the...
, Luna Negra Dance Theater
Luna Negra Dance Theater
Luna Negra Dance Theater is a dance ensemble that integrates traditional Latin dances, rich musical heritage, folkloric traditions of Latino cultures as well as contemporary movements without using traditional folkloric dress nor dancing strictly traditional dance styles such as Flamenco, Tango or...
, Ballet Hispanico
Ballet Hispanico
Ballet Hispanico is an American dance company based in Manhattan, New York. It was founded by the Venezuelan American dancer and choreographer Tina Ramirez in 1970 and presents dances reflecting the experience of Hispanic and Latino Americans...
, BJM-Danse Montreal, Le Jeune Ballet du Quebec. She has also worked outside of traditional dance companies, choreographing for theater, opera, and musicals and with Dutch fashion designer Viktor & Rolf
Viktor & Rolf
Viktor & Rolf is an Amsterdam-based fashion house. The company was founded in 1993 by designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren .- History :...
.
Choreographic Style
Overall, Ochoa’s work relates emotional experience through an abstractAbstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
but intently connected style of choreography, which occasionally relies on virtuosic technique. Her movement is contemporary, however, she occasionally displays classical virtuosity, such as a soaring grand jeté. Because she uses the abstract form, her works do not have established plot lines or characters. She does, however, want the dancers to “tell a story” within the work. She achieves this by emphasizing the eyes, using them as a connecting point among the dancers on stage as well as with the audience. To organize her movement, she is interested in “constructed chaos,” a carefully structured work that appears to lack structure. This method makes her creations insightfully detailed while remaining well organized. Ochoa enjoys working with a wide range of dancers, and also enjoys working with actors. She finds inspiration primarily from art and music, not from the dancers or from other choreographers.
Before After
Ochoa’s first critically acclaimed work in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is Before After, a seven minute duet which “delineates the last moments of a relationship.” The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described the number as short and simple, but also “the most moving, the most mysterious, the most heartily cheered. Clive Barnes
Clive Barnes (critic)
Clive Alexander Barnes, CBE was a British-born American writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977 he was the dance and theater critic for the New York Times, the most powerful position he had held, since its theater critics' reviews historically have had great influence on the success or failure of...
raved that it was the “best in the…shows.” Not every reviewer shared this enthusiasm, however; Laura Bleiberg suggested that the piece was not unique in its themes or structure, and that “Ochoa added few insights.”
Awards
Ochoa won the Hannover Choreography Competition in 2001 with her work “Clair/Obscur.” She also won first prize at the Bornem International Competition in 2002 with “Replay.” In the fall of 2007, she participated in the New York Choreographic Institute, working for two weeks with the New York City BalletNew York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
.
List of works
Lacrimosa -Long version (2010)L'Effleure (2010)
Zip Zap Zoom (2009)
Locked up Laura (2009)
Nube Blanco (2009)
Requiem for a Rose (2009)
Still@life (2008)
Satie (2008)
IN
One (2008)
Miniature (2007)
Reminiscence (2007)
Since (2007)
Padam (2007)
Returning Points (2006)
Lacrimosa (2006)
September (2005)
Mourning Dove (2005)
metAMORPHOsis (2005)
Black Rain (2005)
Nocturne (2004)
Together Alone (2003)
Zip Zap Zoof (2003)
Solitaire (2003)
Before After (2002)
Clair/Obscur (2001)
Graffiti (2001)
Replay (2001)
External links
1. Official Annabelle Lopez Ochoa website.2. Ochoa's blog.
3. Ochoa's YouTube channel.