Julio Bocca, Soho Award to a Legend: "When you love what you do, any pain can be overcome"

He is a legend of dance, a quality that grants him a brilliant career but also a reality at street level: everyone, whether they frequently go to the theater or not, knows who Julio Bocca is. He has performed for thousands of people, holds countless distinctions, and has shared the stage with masters from the golden age of dance. And yet, at a relaxed gathering with just about fifty people at the La Pérgola del Mediterráneo restaurant, he admitted he was nervous. "One of the reasons I chose dance was to avoid speaking," joked Julio Bocca, flanked by Antonio Banderas and dancer Lucía Lacarra.

The Argentine dancer visits Málaga with both to receive the first Lux Ductor Award (guiding light), a new accolade established by the Tip Toe dance festival that will recognize greats of the stage each edition. And he, as in many other things, has paved the way. Julio Bocca made a declaration of love for dance, above the sacrifices it entails, the discipline it requires, and the pain that accompanies it. "When you love what you do, you can overcome any pain," said the man who has undergone eleven surgeries. At 59, he no longer dances, having retired from the stage in 2007, but remains active and connected to dance through directing the ballet at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Lucía Lacarra, sitting by his side, knows well what he's talking about. The festival director arrived at the meeting in a wheelchair and used crutches to sit down after an injury she suffered on Tuesday, which forced her to cancel her performances at Tip Toe. "This year I was left wanting due to an unfortunate accident," she acknowledged, a "bitter pill" that does not prevent her from enjoying the festival's progress. Because, as she and Banderas guaranteed, she will return.

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Bocca embodies the philosophy of this meeting: "Bringing dance to the streets, making people lose their fear and that preconceived idea that one needs to understand to go to a show," Lacarra pointed out. In fact, the first thing the Argentine dancer asked his agent when he began to emerge was "to bring ballet to the Boca Juniors stadium." "He wanted to make dance popular, so everyone could see the ballet and enjoy it as I do," he explained. A dream fulfilled, like so many others he set out to achieve. Since deciding to dedicate himself to dance at seven years old, his aspiration was to take a solo bow in front of the curtain at the Teatro Colón. "And it happened when I was 14 years old."

His big career break came shortly after, at 17, when he dared to compete in a competition in Moscow despite not having passed even the first test of a similar contest in Osaka. And he triumphed at the Bolshoi. "My family and some friends saw me off." He was welcomed by journalists and authorities. A call from Mikhail Baryshnikov took him another step up. After a simple audition in New York, he was signed to a contract: at 19, he was already a principal dancer at the American Ballet, a major name in dance.

When he reflects on his career, Bocca admits he has had the pleasure "to do a little bit of everything." He has danced on Broadway, recorded a film with Carlos Saura, and performed a live reading alongside great Argentine actress Norma Leandro. Besides directing the National Ballet of SODRE in Uruguay for years, founding the Ballet Argentino, and now directing at the Teatro Colón. There he strives to continue bringing dance to the streets, to new audiences, "who can come in jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt." Without elitism.

He misses the routine of his years as a leading figure, but after his farewell in 2007, Bocca is clear: "I don't plan to dance again." "And I don't miss it," he asserts. "I experience it in a different way. I don't need to be on stage to live the magic of the applause and the respect of the people," he says. This Thursday in Málaga, he received good doses of both.