María Luisa "Malucha" Solari Mongrio (24 December 1920 – 30 July 2005) was a Nicaraguan-Chilean ballerina and choreographer, winner of the National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts.

Malucha Solari
Born
María Luisa Solari Mongrio

(1920-12-24)24 December 1920
Matagalpa, Nicaragua
Died30 July 2005(2005-07-30) (aged 84)
Santiago, Chile
Resting placeParque del Recuerdo
Occupation(s)Ballerina, choreographer
SpouseAníbal Pinto Santa Cruz
ChildrenMalucha Pinto
AwardsNational Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts (2001)

Biography

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Malucha Solari was born in the Nicaraguan city of Matagalpa, moving to Chile with her family in 1929. Although at first she took piano lessons at the National Conservatory of Music [es], she eventually became interested in dance, studying under Andrée Hass.[1][2] Solari joined the Chilean National Ballet, a group affiliated with the University of Chile and founded by Ernst Uthoff and Lola Botka. Her first performance with the ballet was the work Coppélia, where she portrayed the character Swanilda.[2]

In 1947, thanks to a scholarship, she traveled to the United Kingdom to perfect her technique.[1] After returning to Chile she premiered the work El umbral del sueño (1951), which featured music by composer Juan Orrego.[3] Three years later she premiered Façade, in which she shared the stage with Patricio Bunster [es].[1] In 1966 she created the Ballet de Cámara, a dance group formed under the auspices of the University of Chile's Institute of Musical Extension, with the intent of making tours throughout the country.[4]

In 1967 she traveled to Moscow to study with Eugene Valukin. Upon her return to Chile she helped create the National Choreographic School and the Ministry of Education's Youth Ballet. Years later she formed the Chilean Dance Council and the University ARCIS School of Dance.[1]

Solari won Chile's National Prize for Performing and Audiovisual Arts in August 2001.[5] She died from emphysema on 30 July 2005.[6]

Family

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Solari married economist Aníbal Pinto Santa Cruz. The couple had three children, including the actress Malucha Pinto.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "María Luisa Solari Mongrío (1920–2005)". Memoria Chilena (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b "María Luisa Solari Mongrio" (in Spanish). University of Chile Faculty of Arts. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  3. ^ "El Umbral del Sueño". Memoria Chilena (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  4. ^ "BALCA". Memoria Chilena. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Malucha Solari obtuvo Premio Nacional de Arte" (in Spanish). Radio Cooperativa. 29 August 2001. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  6. ^ "La bailarina y coreógrafa Malucha Solari murió a los 84 años" [The Ballerina and Choreographer Malucha Solari Dies at Age 84] (in Spanish). University of Chile. 1 August 2005. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  7. ^ Carvallo, Lenka. "El arte de amar". Caras. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2018.