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José Gómez Carmona “Rapico” (Mallorca)
When he was born and as if by premonition, the parents of José Gómez “Rapico” bought him a pair of little booties in the shape of Flamenco boots which he treasures to this day. When he was seven months old and not yet walking, his father recalls how he used to hold him up and, on listening to Camarón, would begin to dance.
At the age of 5, his teachers had to accept him coming to school wearing dancing boots and even playing soccer with them on, or else he would sob inconsolably…
When at the age of 7 Rapico attended the Flamenco show “Torero”, of the legendary Antonio Canales, at the auditorium of his hometown of Palma de Mallorca, an uncontrollable urge made him hop onto the stage to join the dancers. Very impressed and before the astonished audience, Canales stopped the show and invited him to dance. Some of the dancers in the company at that time who recall the story now dance alongside him in Cardamomo (David Jiménez, Kelián Jiménez and Mónica Fernández). It all foretold that José Gómez – whose nickname comes from the family of artists “the Rapicos”- would become the great dancer that he is today. And this was also predicted by Paco de Lucía when he said that he had everything required to become successful; and by Michael Douglas who, after having seen him dance, hired him at the age of 12 to dance at a private party in his home. However, aside from these memorable anecdotes, his career is full of trips and events that are testimony to his professional dedication. In 2015 he travelled to Kuwait and Dubai as part of a Flamenco show comprised of renowned performers from Granada, Madrid and Barcelona. He has also danced in a TV commercial for ADIDAS in the United Arab Emirates, where he left his indelible Flamenco footprint. He has danced in the company of Tito Losada, having toured Japan and another 18 cities as a solo dancer. He has performed alongside renowned guitarists such as Tomatito and Pepe Habichuela; he has taken part in the Festival of Marseille, formed part of the company of Gerardo Núñez and collaborated with the company Promesa Flamenca. All in all, he boasts an impressive range of festivals, awards, accolades, performances in first rate Spanish and international venues. In summary, Rapico, an exceptional artist who at the early age of 7 was already studying ballet, Spanish classical and Flamenco dance, today, at only 26 years of age, recognises he has learnt what he knows by “watching the videotapes of the best Flamenco performers, over and over again and, above all, at home, from his own family”.
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