Susana di Palma is unparalleled both as a performer and choreographer and is respected and recognized internationally for her innovative flamenco/theatre works. Having spent a lifetime studying all aspects of the art of flamenco in Spain with maestros such as Enrique “El Cojo”, Carmen Mora, Manolete, Manolo Marin, Merche Esmeralda and “new generation” dancer, Rafaela Carrasco, and dancing in “tablaos” in Madrid, festivals throughout Spain, and in dance companies such as La Singla, Rafael de Cordoba and Maria Benitez ’ Estampa Flamenca, her performance and choreographic skills have, at their core, the essence of flamenco tradition.  Although she is an accomplished and critically acclaimed flamenco soloist, her unique contributions to her art form are her provocative theatre/flamenco works that reflect and respond to our contemporary world.

By founding Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre in 1982, di Palma was able to find a vehicle for balancing her passionate love for Spain and flamenco with her urgent need to create theatrically compelling works that would address social/political concerns and, also, tantalize the imagination.  Some of her multimedia works include: “La Virtud Negra” (1999), a flamenco murder mystery commissioned by the Walker Art Center; “Garden of Names” (1996) inspired by the novel of political torture “Imagining Argentina” (earning her the City Pages “Artist of the Year” award); “First, I Dream-Sor Juana” (1999), commissioned by St. Catherine’s Woman of Substance Series; “Encuentros”(2003), a gospel/flamenco collaboration with JD Steele; and “Tales of the Inquisition” (2005). She is currently working on a site-specific work, “La Romeria”, to premiere in the summer of 2006 in Minneapolis. Her puppet flamenco work for children, “Tra Tri Tri Tran Tran Toro”, which involves young audiences in a little Spanish bull’s difficulty adjusting as an immigrant to a Minnesota farm, was performed in numerous Twin Cities communities as part of Zorongo’s “Gypsy Caravan” in Summer 2006. In 2005, as part of the Women of Substance Series at The College of St. Catherine, she collaborated with Katha Dance Theatre in “Naari - The Women” with Rita Mustaphi and tap dancer Roxanne Butterfly.

Susana’s work outside of Zorongo includes “Blood Wedding”, in which she was co-choreographer and played the part of “Death” in the Guthrie Lab’s production directed by Marcela Lorca in 2000, guest artist and instructor at the International Flamenco Festival (l998) in Albuquerque, Pangea Theatre in Minneapolis; and the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Opera.  In 2003, she was guest soloist with Ballet La Rosa in Miami. Her piece on Frida Kahlo was performed at the Florida Dance Festival in 1998, where she also taught flamenco.

In 2006, she was chosen to receive a second Bush Fellowship for choreography.  She has received numerous grants for her choreography such as The McKnight Fellowship (2002-3), Minnesota Arts Board, The Jerome Foundation, The National Endowment for the arts, and others.

Respected for her comprehensive expertise in all forms of dance, Susana has recently served as a panelist for The National Endowment for the Arts (2005), James Irvine Foundation (2005), Minnesota State Arts Board (2004), and The McKnight Foundation (2005).

A beloved teacher, Susana has taught flamenco for over 25 years.  She directs the Zorongo Flamenco School and has taught for 12 years as an adjunct teacher at the University of Minnesota. In 2005, she was an instructor at the University of Ohio.

“Susana di Palma’s sense of defiance is ferocious, enigmatic, poignant…”
-- Seattle Times