Meet Pampa Cortés

Dancer and choreographer of international renown, Pampa Cortés continues to seduce audiences in South and North America, Japan and Europe in various stage productions. In the United States, he has often been called the “Fred Astaire of tango” for his charismatic and masculine elegance on stage.

Pampa Cortes is a champion malambo dancer from Santiago del Estero (the cradle of Argentine folkloric dance) “whose experience puts him in the same class as the great maestros of Argentine dance…” (Danza Hoy). His professional career began at age 15 and spans 48 years. He studied and performed with master folk dancers such, Mario Machaco y Norma Rey, the Malón Ballet, and with Santiago Ayala “El Chúcaro” the creator of modern folkoric stage performance. As a member of the Victor Rayo Ballet, he performed in the movie “El Pájaro Loco” with the great Toro Santiageño. He partnered Celia Queiros in her famous company for two years. With his own company Ballet Pampa, he was invited to present in the most prestigious folkloric festival in Argentina at Cosquín, where they performed to great acclaim. He performed with folkloric music greats Los Chalchaleros, Los Fronterisos, Horacio Guaraní, y los Hermanos Abalos.

While Cortés initially focused his dance energy on only the folkloric dances, over time he acquired sufficient skill to be invited to dance in the famous tango Ballet of Juan Carlos Copes, which he did for six years, ultimately serving as assistant choreographer. He directed the folkloric & tango company that performed for Argentine TV's "Grandes Valores del Tango" for a year. His tango credits include roles in the best tango houses in Buenos Aires: La Ventana, El Viejo Almacén, Taconeando, La Carreta, Caño 14, and as principal dancer at La Casa de Carlos Gardel. He has worked with many masters of tango music including Alfredo De Angeles, Horacio Salgán, Libertad Lamarque, Roberto Rufino, Mariano Mores, Los Solistas de D’Arienzo, Carlos Acuña, Roberto Goyeneche, Nely Omar, Sexteto Mayor, Sexteto Canyengue, and Enrique Cadícamo (Carlos Gardel’s lyricist).

Cortés brought his formidable dance skills to the United States with the international tour of the show "Tango Revue" in Miami for which he was choreographer. He then toured the US for more than two years with the stage hit "Forever Tango". Cortés settled in San Francisco, California to continue his successful performance and teaching career. He founded and directed two dance companies, “Los Tangueros de San Francisco” (tango), and Pampa y Estrellas (malambo). Both groups were audience favorites in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, the acknowledged leader of ethnic dance presenters in the U.S.

It is in San Francisco that he formed his own dance and stage production company, Tango A Media Luz. In California and various West Coast cities, Cortés created and directed several stage shows, including an adaptation of a Borges work. Cortés likes to juxtapose the sophisticated tango and the energetic folkloric dances and malambo rhythms to render the multifaceted and rich Argentine spirit. His creations include ¡Así Se Baila el Tango!, ¡Argentina! Tango & Malambos, Destino de Tango, Fantasía Argentina, and his most recent production “The Americas in Dance & Song”. He created works as guest choreographer for Khadra International Dance Theatre and Carolina Lugo’s Brisas de España, among others.

Throughout his career, his presence in the international press, his extensive work for Japanese TV, his photos in tango books and on CD covers, including Julio Iglesias’ “Tango” CD, confirm Pampa Cortés place as a dance legend.

Maestro Cortés shares his experience as a performer, choreographer, director, and teacher with audiences and students in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Japan, and in several Central & South American countries. In 2009, he directed and performed in “Alma de Tango de Pampa Cortes” in Guatemala City for the prestigious ArteCentro Cultural Graciela Andrade de Paiz. His most recent international engagement was in Calgary, Canada.