- Spain
- Choreographer
- Stage director
Maria Ribot studied classical ballet and modern and contemporary dance in Madrid, then France, Germany and finally New York. In 1984 she moved to Madrid, working as a choreographer as she put the finishing touches on her first original creation Carita de Angel (1985). In 1986, in partnership with dancer and choreographer Blanca Calvo, she founded the Bocanada Danza troupe, overseeing performances of works by numerous artists until the company broke up in 1989.
In 1991 she began working under the stage name La Ribot and rose to prominence with the comic “striptease” Socorro! Gloria! (Help! Gloria!), a piece which brought her to the attention of a new audience and inspired her solo series 13 Piezas distinguidas (13 distinguished pieces).
In 1997, La Ribot moved to London where she continued to work on her Distinguished Pieces series.
In 2000, La Ribot began to experiment with film. In particular, she began to explore the potential of shot-sequences filmed from the body’s perspective, developing the concept of the body-as-cameraman.
In 2004, La Ribot moved to Switzerland. In the years 2004 to 2008 she founded and co-directed Art/Action in Geneva, devoted to teaching and research in the field of live art. That decade also saw the debut of her large-scale participative performance piece 40 Espontáneos, followed by Laughing Hole. La Ribot continued to perform internationally throughout this period.
In 2011 she returned with PARAdistinguidas, a new series of Distinguished Pieces for five dancers. Another Distinguée is the fifth instalment of Pièces distinguées.
