MIGUEL ALTUNAGA

From Cuba, Miguel trained at the National School of Art in Havana. After six years with the Cuban National Contemporary Dance Company where he performed as a principal dancer, Altunaga moved to the UK and joined Rambert in 2007.

At Rambert, Miguel has performed works by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Wim Vandekeybus, Hofesh Shechter, Akram Khan, Wayne McGregor, Gary Stewart, Merce Cunningham, Christopher Bruce, Itzik Galili, Siobhan Davies, Doug Varone, Barak Marshall, Lucinda Childs, Marion Martin, Alexander Whitley, Ben Duke, Shobana Jeyasingh, Malgorzata Dzierzon, Andonis Foniadakis, Mark Baldwin and Benoit Swan-Pouffer.

Miguel has worked with other international choreographers including Mats Ek, Steve Paxton, Joaquin Sabaté, Jan Linkens, Georges Céspedes, Julio Cesar Iglesias, Samir Akika and Expedia Dance Company (Greece)

As a choreographer, Miguel has created work for the National School of Ballet-Cuba, Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and the bands Simply Red and The Zutons. He created Memoria for Carlos Acosta at the London Coliseum and was commissioned to create Derrumbe for Acosta’s Cubania evening at The Royal Opera House. He has recently assisted with the choreography for the Jean-Paul-Gaultier Freak Fashion Show.

As a choreographer and movement director, Miguel has created work for Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Rambert, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Simply Red and Carlos Acosta. He was commissioned by The Royal Ballet to create Dark Eye for the Deloitte Ignite Festival 2014 (Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House) and Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2021.

Miguel won the Cuban Best Male Solo Award in 2002 and in 2003 was chosen by Carlos Acosta to perform in Tocororo, which toured internationally from 2003 to 2007. In 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 he was nominated for Outstanding Male Performance and Best Dancer by the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards UK.

Miguel Altunaga is also a self-taught photographer specialising in dance, theatre and portrait photography, and videography. In October 2019 Miguel received a commission from Dance Umbrella to capture images and produce film content for the Festival’s SystemsLAB Mixed Bill. From November 2019 – early February 2020, he was engaged as a Content Producer by Rambert’s Artistic Director. In this role he created image and film content for Rambert’s social media channels and marketing material; including Rambert’s most recent work by Sharon Eyal Aisha and Abaya which was performed in February 2020; the creation of several dance trailers for Rambert and Rambert2; behind the scenes images for the Rambert’s Sadler’s Wells programme and additional photographic work for Rambert’s Learning and Participation Department. Toward the end of his role as Content Producer, he joined the creative team of Lloyd Newson’s re-staging of entering Achilles and produced the production’s photographic content.

Parallel to his own artistic practice, Miguel works closely with independent dance artists on photographic projects to create image content. Miguel has collaborated with filmmaker Dan Lowenstein and Poetry Film Productions founded by Nauris Buksevics.