Vicky Cooke

Victoria Flores Cooke, born in Mexico City of Spanish parents, lived in New York until age 10 and moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Studied ballet at the Teatro Municipal and Spanish/Flamenco dance with her mother Mariquita Flores. In her teens, returned to New York where she continued her dance studies in ballet and jazz. Danced and acted in several Off-Broadway shows as well as acting/dancing in the Spanish play, Blood Wedding and the Spanish Zarzuela/operetta La Chulapona. She was also active in summer stock musicals. Met her husband ballet dancer Alex Cooke, in her mother's dance classes at Carnegie Hall and together danced and toured with Spanish/flamenco dance companies such as Jimenez y Vargas, Pilar Gomez, Jose Greco, Teresa and in her mother's company.

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Performances

• Did extensive touring under the management of Colombia Artists and performed throughout the United States, Canada, South America and Europe. Performed in supper clubs, casinos and nightclubs in Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Europe. Also performed on cruise ships, going to Europe and the Near East.
• Danced on the Ed Sullivan Show, The Voice of Firestone, The Steve Allen Show, Omnibus as well as several commercials.
• Retired and went to Maine where husband started the dance department at the University of Maine and opened a dance studio near Bar Harbor. Became involved with musical theater, directing and choreographing many shows such as Brigadoon, King and I, West Side Story, Showboat and started the Gilbert and Sullivan Society in Ellsworth, Maine.
• Toured New England with Teresa doing Spanish/flamenco concerts and lecture-demos through a grant from the NEA, the New England Council for the Arts and the Maine Commission for the Arts.
• Worked with Jacques D'Amboise with his National Dance Institute in Maine for 5 years.
• Moved to Virginia Beach and is now co-owner of Denise Wall's Dance Energy Ltd, where she is at present teaching ballet and Spanish/flamenco dance. During the summer she taught at the Virginia School of the Arts in Lynchburg, a pre-professional performing high school.
• She currently has a Flamenco dance group, the Flores Flamenco Dance Ensemble, made up of her Spanish/Flamenco dance students from the studio. Her students perform in lecture demos, social and cultural events in the area.

Recent Work

Vicky is no longer teaching classes at DWDE, but she is a co-owner of the studio.