RICARDO FRAYHA
producer

Invited by the Bienal Sesc de Dança, in its 2017 edition, the legendary dancer and choreographer Jose Gutierrez Xtravaganza's presence was a highlight of the program. Jose was one of the responsible for bringing the "voguing dance" from the underground and enshrining it in the video clip Vogue (1990). The video ensured one of the greatest successes of Madonna's career, and left a legacy in pop culture and the LGBT community. During his visit to Brazil, Jose presented the films Paris is Burning and Strike a Pose, followed by a public talk with the audience and presented masterclass and Vogue workshop for Brazilian participants.

​

​

JOSE GUITEREZ XTRAVAGANZA 

​

Jose Gutierez, better known as Jose Xtravaganza, began his dance career at the age of 7, when he was selected out of thousands of students to be part of a dance educational program to train and hone his skills as a ballet dancer, earning him a spot as an apprentice with the school's ballet company, Feld Ballet. As a teenager, Jose continued his academic and dance education at the famed La Guardia High School of Performing Arts. During his formative years, he encountered the LGBTQ New York City Ballroom underground scene where he was introduced to the legendary House of  Xtravaganza, and where his technical dance training melded with the street dance called Vogue. His mastery of the dance led him to featured appearances in Jenny Livingston's Paris is Burning, and his relationship with superstar Madonna. So impressed was Madonna with Jose's talent, she invited him to audition for her troupe. He beat out seven thousand competing dancers and earned himself a spot as one of the lead dancers featured in Madonna's Blonde Ambition world tour. Jose was also featured in the cult film/documentary classic Truth or Dare. Jose Xtravaganza was one of the very few dancers of the troupe to continue to work with the pop icon for years after. His work with the star earned him a nomination for Best Choreography in a Music Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, also jumpstarting his career as a Dancer, Choreographer, Artistic and Creative Director. As a choreographer, Jose has worked with Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, The Rolling Stones, and Icona Pop, just to name a few. Jose Xtravaganza has been featured in Vogue, Time, and Details magazine. He has been a movement coach to Naomi Cambell, Joan Smalls, Sigrid Agren, and Kendall Jenner. Most recently, Jose worked with director Baz Luhrmann on the Netflix series The Get Down, and also collaborated with choreographer Daniel Ezralow for Pop Star Katy Perry for Saturday Night Live, where he was a featured dancer. Jose was also cast to be part of Ryan Murphy's series Pose.

​

​

Production: prod.art.br

Production direction: Ricardo Frayha

​

Realisation: Sesc São Paulo

Bienal Sesc de Dança

Campinas, SP, Brazil

14 to 24/09/2017​