Guest Artists
2007-2008
2006-2007
2005-2006
2004-2005
2003-2004
2002-2003
2001-2002
2000-2001
Guest Artists 2005-2006
Victor Manuel Ruiz, Co- Artistic Director
Mexican dancer, choreographer, teacher and lighting designer, Victor Manuel Ruiz has been praised by national and international critics for his interpretation and choreography. He studied in the National School of Dance and in the Superior Center of Choreography in Mexico. In Venezuela he was a dancer with Danzahoy for 7 years. In 1992 he founded Delfos Contemporary Dance Company with Claudia Lavista, receiving the National Dance Award that same year. He has also designed lighting for many productions and in 2005 and 2002 won the award for Best Lighting Designer at the National Dance Award. FONCA 2005 (National Foundation of Culture and Arts) honored him repeatedly with the following scholarships: Young Creator (1994), Best Interpreter (1998), on two occasions won state scholarships through the Cultural Co-inversion Project. Since 1999 he has been part of National System of Art Creators of FONCA. His choreographic works have been praised for their poetic quality and clarity and have been presented in many countries. As a teacher, he has taught classes in Mexico and abroad. Currently he is Co-Artistic Director, choreographer, lighting designer and dancer with Delfos Contemporary Dance and is also Co- director and teacher at the Mazatlán Professional School of Contemporary Dance. He continues to implement, along with Claudia Lavista, the project of de-centralization, promotion and dance education in Mazatlán, Mexico.
“Ruiz is one of the best choreography talents in Mexico…” Rosario Manzanos, Proceso, México
Claudia Lavista, Co-Artistic Director
Dancer, choreographer and teacher, Claudia Lavista, started her studies of music and theater at the age of 8, later she studied dance at the National System for the Professional Teaching of Dance and with Maestro Federico Castro in Mexico. In 1987 she joined the group U X Onodanza and later danced with the company Danzahoy in Venezuela for 5 years. In 1992 she founded Delfos Contemporary Dance along with Victor Ruiz and won the National Dance Award that same year. She has received many awards for her outstanding artistic works such as: Best Female Dancer at the International Dance Festival of San Luis Potosí and Best Female Dancer at 1998 and 2002 National Dance Award, through FONCA (National Foundation of Culture and Arts) was honored with the following fellowships: Experience Interpreter (2005-06), Young Creator (2002), VII Special Projects Concourse (1996) and Interpreter (1994). Through FOECA (State Arts and Culture Fund) she won a fellowship for “Recognized Artist” in 2001. She has taught classes in Mexico and internationally and her choreography has been praised by critics in more than 10 countries and presented by 7 dance companies, among them the prestigious Mexican National Dance Company and the Winnipeg´s Contemporary Dancers among others. Currently she is Co-Artistic Director, dancer and choreographer of Delfos Contemporary Dance and Co-Director and teacher of the Mazatlán Professional School of Contemporary Dances, she serves as the Mazatlán representative of the Cultural Promoters of Latin America and the Caribbean Network.
“If we want to talk of the great figures of Latin American contemporary dance, the name of Claudia Lavista is unavoidable” Valerio Cesio, Por La Danza Magazine, Madrid, Spain