Francisco Miralles Arnau (

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, August 2, 1871 -

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, May 9, 1932) was a

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

and Spanish and classical dance teacher. His solid training allowed him to develop a successful international career in which he emphasized playing the

Bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

.On July 29, 2022, the Consell de la Generalitat Valenciana approved the declaration of the day of his birth, August 2, as the Day of Traditional Valencian Dance in honor of the artist with an international career.

Biography

Early years

Francisco Miralles was born on August 2, 1871, in a humble family. From a very young age, he showed interest in Spanish dance. He initially took lessons from Spanish dance ''maestro'' Ramón Porta Ricart in the field of traditional Valencian dance. Later on, he continued studying with ''maestro'' José Martí and, finally, with Vicente Moreno. Vicente Moreno was the opera ballet teacher at ''Teatro Principal'', one of the main theaters in Valencia.

Career

After his debut in the Valencian theaters, Francisco Miralles traveled to

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

and settled in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

. In this city he danced in the ''Café de España'' with the dancer Cándida Espinosa Conde, and they got married in 1897. He traveled then to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, where he was discovered by French managers when he worked at the ''Granvía'' Theater. He left Spain in 1898 to work in Paris, and, after his international career began, he would only come back to his hometown for short visits or during the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He developed his artistic career mainly in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where he was known as ''The dancer of the Russian Tsars'', but also in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. He was the dance teacher of several artist from the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, with whom he also performed many times. Also, famous writer

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell ( ; ; February 21, 1903 – January 14, 1977) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

learnt Spanish dance in Paris with Francisco Miralles from 1927 to 1930, as she recorded herself in her diaries. He taught many Spanish dancers, to whom he transmitted more than two hundred and fifty choreographies, whose titles he collected in his teaching notebook, many with references to Valencian dances. Among all of them, his most notable student was Mariemma, who always remember her professor with admiration and appreciation.

Discography

Francisco Miralles was also concertmaster of

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument ( idiophonic), used in Spanish, Calé, Moorish, Ottoman, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Sephardic, Portuguese, Filipino, Brazilian, and Swiss music. In ancient ...

and recorded several albums with the Aerophone label, where he performed his own compositions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miralles Arnau, Francisco Spanish male dancers 1871 births 1932 deaths Spanish expatriates in France