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You coincided with another bailaora there who had the same name as you. How did you two sort that out?

	Mercedes Ruiz (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

At first it was OK, because we took it as an anecdote. But then, when I won the award in Córdoba and I came to the Bienal, I didn’t like it so much any more. After leaving Eva’s company, I no longer had so much connection with them. I started to get things on my own and people went on thinking I was still with Eva. That made me really livid because it’d been really hard for me to leave. Eva tried to solve the issue on several occasions, but between one thing and another we continued with the same names. Then, my agent registered my name and the other Mercedes had to change her name. But I mean, the only thing she’s done is to call herself Mercedes Ruiz ‘de Córdoba’. For us to distinguish between our names is something beneficial to both her and me.

In 2001 you won the ‘Antonio Gades’ prize in Córdoba. Had you previously entered any other contests?

I entered ‘La Perla de Cádiz’ when I was about fourteen years old. But at a more serious level, Córdoba was the first contest I entered.

What did that award mean to you?

Many things for many reasons. It was quite a bad time for me because nobody used to put their trust in me. I went to a ton of auditions and no-one took me for any company, so I didn’t have any work. Then I decided to enter in Córdoba because it was an incentive. It wasn’t for the fact of winning, but for feeling like dancing. At that time I didn’t have anyone to tell what I was doing. That was the time when I felt the need to dance solo. I entered for five different styles. Of the five, I passed four. That really pumped me up. And winning the prize, you can imagine.

The following year, you won at the Bienal. Was that your definitive showcase?

As a result of winning the award, I then started to get things. The fact of entering and winning at such an important event has really helped me out. After winning the prize, my agent was the first one to trust in me and encouraged me to set up the company. I began to do several things and I decided to formalize the situation because we were already going to important places.

Until you presented your first show, ‘Dibujos en el aire’, in Jerez...

That was something unbelievable. All the troubles you’ve previously been through are rewarded with that. When I found out it was going to be at the Festival in my native land, it was something wonderful. I didn’t really care about the place or if I was sharing the bill with whomever; the important thing was being there. It was a great responsibility for me, but later I felt that reward was coming. It was a great day for me, though I think the most important day was the final of Seville’s Bienal at the Teatro Lope de Vega. It was the nicest thing that could have happened to me because I felt really good. That theater is something really special to me. It was the first time I’d danced solo in Seville.

What do you think of Jerez’s baile?

I like it. The little kicks in bulerías de Jerez are masterful. But you shouldn’t settle for just that. You have to seek out many other things. You have to search for another meaning for the baile. Not just what’s trimmed is good. I felt the need to fly and to go beyond all that. That’s why I went to Barcelona and then Japan. It was really clear in my mind because I’d seen a lot of people dance who weren’t from Jerez. People from here still don’t understand that sort of thing. Many of them don’t want to see reality and a lot of uncalled-for comments are made which are a result of ignorance. I respect that they don’t want to take risks; what I don’t agree with is that they don’t appreciate what we do.

Mercedes Ruiz (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

In 2004 you premiere ‘Gestos de mujer’. What is female baile like today?

I think it’s at a really good time, since there’s a bit of everything. Everyone does what they feel like at a given moment. I don’t think femininity’s being lost because of it. I really like the bailaoras of my age group. For example, I love Pastora Galván. Adela Campallo also has a lot of strength. I don’t think the fact that feet are being used more is bad. I think we all like to finish off with our feet. And I don’t finish off that way to seek out sensationalism; I do it because I like it. But there are many other things. Nowadays we’re pulling out a lot of batas de cola. I think we’re upholding the old style. I don’t think things are being lost.

And that wide limit between dancer and bailaor?

I don’t think they should be mixed. If somebody has good technique, then he should put it into his repertoire. Why not? Israel Galván has great technique and he expresses it in his baile. That doesn’t mean he’s a dancer. Those types of things enrich the artist; there’s no reason for them to confine him. If you know how to do things, you have to do them. Things done well and at the right moment have to be applauded.

Lately, baile through malagueñas is being stylized. Do you think a man can dance them?

Everything that has music can be danced. It also depends on the bailaor, but I think it can be danced. It all depends on the angle and the shape you give to it. It’s the same as the baile of the farruca. A woman can dance it just as well as a man. And a man can dance a malagueña just as well as a woman without the need for embellishment. I don’t think we should pigeonhole bailes.

What’s changed in your baile since the first show?

It’s changed a little. I’m more serene now. Before, I used to have to seek out more complicated things to feel good about myself. And now I settle for a little Jerez finish. At this point in time, I see things from another viewpoint. You get that with age and experience. You change your way of looking at things over the years. And that can be seen in the baile.

Do you continue along the same lines in conceiving your shows?

So far, yes. Right now I don’t feel ready to get involved in shows with dramatic art or a theatrical storyline. It takes me enough time and devotion to set up a soleá for me to get involved in other things. I don’t rule it out in the future, but it doesn’t grab my attention right now. There are still many styles I haven’t touched; that’s why I’d rather spend my time dancing those styles than on other things I don’t feel like.

You’ll soon present your latest show, ‘Juncá’. What do you want to contribute in this new work?

I want to show a riper Mercedes Ruiz. Just as thin, but weightier (she jokes). I feel more capable of carrying things forward. As a novelty, in this new show I want to have three bailaores with unequal personalities so that they contribute different things to me. And in the back, the same as so far; good guitar and good cante. I don’t deny other instruments, but I don’t feel like it right now. For the time being, we’re going to premiere it in France in November, though I hope it can be premiered earlier at Seville’s next Bienal, where I think it should be in its own right. I haven’t been back there since I won the prize. I’d be disappointed if they didn’t call me. But oh well, I already know I’ll be at the Festival de Jerez next year.

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