Sonia Osorio, the 83 year-old founder of the Ballet of Colombia, has passed away in Cartagena after complications with pneumonia and a kidney infection, Semana reported Tuesday.
Colombia’s most famous and distinguished choreographer created the Ballet of Colombia in 1960, through which Colombia’s many traditional dances, such as “cumbia,” “sanjuanero,” and “curulao,” among others, were catapulted onto the world stage, gaining a global audience.
While Osorio also worked as a renowned designer and journalist, it was through the art of dance that she devotedly portrayed Colombia’s ancestral roots mixed with its contemporary culture. This work was most evident in the 30 years of input she did for folkloric dances at the famous Barranquilla Carnival.
Born in Bogota in March 25, 1928, she grew up in Barranquilla before studying dance and choreography in the U.S, South America and Europe.
Osorio had five children, two with her second husband Alejandro Obregon, the Colombian-Spanish painter with whom she spent five years living in France before returning to Colombia to embark upon her illustrious career.