Studied philosophy, arts and theatre before devoting himself to dance. In 1981 he received a grant from the Colombian government to study in New York under Jennifer Muller, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham and Cho Kyoo-Hyun, among others. There he worked with the choreographers Remy Charlip, Cho Kyoo-Hyun and Tammar Rogogg. In 1986 he founded his own company, Athanor Danza, and premiered, at the Teatro La Mama in New York City, his first piece Desde la Huerta de los Mudos (From the Garden of the Dumb), a homage to García Lorca on the fiftieth anniversary of his assassination. From then on began his international career as a choreographer and performer of his own creations.

His most distinguished works include: Rebis (1987), Sol Níger (1989), Yo, Arbor Gonzalo (1991), Raveliana (1992), La enfermedad del ángel (1993), Ordalía (1994), El país de los ciegos (1996), Pequeño Réquiem (2000), La Noche de la hormiga – Tetralogía (2001). His work shows a constant preocupation with the atmosphere of ritual and the sacred nature of performance.

In 1992 he was appointed sub-director of the Instituto Colombiano de Cultura (Colombian Institute of the Arts) and in 1993 director of the Academia Superior de Artes de Bogotá (ASAB), where he created the first school of contemporary dance at advanced level. Since 1995 he has lived and worked in Cartagena de Indias, where he founded the Colegio del Cuerpo (eCdC) in 1997 with dancer, choreographer and teacher Marie France Delieuvin. In 2005 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Laokoon Festival in Hamburg (Germany).