Pepita de Oliva

Josefa Durán y Ortega (1830–1872), known by the stage name Pepita de Oliva, was a Romani Spanish dancer who performed across Europe, popularizing Spanish flamenco dancing and costumes. Despite her official marriage with her dance teacher Juan Antonio Gabriel de la Oliva in 1851, the following year she established a partnership with the British diplomat Lionel Sackville-West with whom she had five children. Her daughter Victoria gave birth to the English writer Vita Sackville-West, who in 1937 published a biography of her grandmother titled Pepita. Biography Born in Málaga in 1830, Josefa Durán y Ortega was officially the daughter of Pedro Durán and Catalina Ortega although it was rumoured her father was the celebrated nobleman Francisco de Borja Téllez-Girón y Pimentel, the 10th Duke of Osuna. Her mother was a gypsy washerwoman and dealer in old clothes who had earlier performed in a circus, while Pedro Durán, a barber, died in a street brawl when she was six. Thanks to her mother who had a close, supportive relationship with her daughter, Pepita was given dancing lessons in Málaga, soon becoming a promising performer. Her mother took her to Madrid and convinced the director of the Teatro del Principe to send her to dancing lessons as a means of joining the theatre's corps de ballet. Unfortunately Pepita did not make the grade, no doubt because her style did not coincide with the theatre's requirements. The ballet director of Madrid's Teatro Real, Manuel Guerrero y Casares, thought she would become popular outside Spain, He arranged dancing lessons for her under Juan Antonio Gabriel de la Oliva, who had gained a reputation in A Coruña and was performing at the Teatro Real. He fell in love with Pepita and the two married in January 1851 in the Iglesia de San Millán but separated a few months later. Her first appearance was at the Grand Théâtre in Bordeaux, France, where she was highly acclaimed. She then performed in Copenhagen, dancing "La Farsa Pepita" which had been specially composed for her, receiving even more enthusiastic admiration. After equal acclaim in German cities, including Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Berlin, in May 1852 she appeared at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, dancing the "Madrileña", the "Aragoneza", and the "Jaleo de Jerez".