Biography

Julio Bocca was born on March 6, 1967 in Munro, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is an actor, known for Tango (1998), Tiempofinal (2000) and El milagro (2001).

He came to world attention at 18, when he won the gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1985. The 1969 winner, Mikhail Baryshnikov, invited him to join the American Ballet Theater.

He was acclaimed for his interpretations of Albrecht in "Giselle", Basilio in "Don Quijote", and Romeo in "Romeo y Julieta". His final performance with the American Ballet Theater, in "Manon" in 2007, brought a 25-minute standing ovation.

His appearances filled soccer stadiums in Latin America, with over 80,000 fans at many performances. His career outlasted most male dancers, who retire in their late 20s or 30s.

He started taking ballet lessons when he was four, encouraged by his mother, a dance teacher. By seven, he was attending the National School of Dance (Argentina). He soon joined the elite ballet program at Argentina's famous Teatro Colon.

He is retiring from dancing because of foot and knee injuries. He plans to keep managing Ballet Argentino and running his private dance studio.