After a
first week of success in
the main performing arts venues in
London, with shows such as
"¡VIVA!" by Cía. Manuel Liñán,
"Mujeres de Cal y Cante" by Cía. María del Mar Moreno, or
"Named Body" by Paula Comitre, among many others, the
17th edition of
Flamenco Festival London faces its
final stretch with a
wide offer of
activities and performances at the emblematic
Sadler's Wells Theatre, as well as at the headquarters of the
Instituto Cervantes in Manchester and London.
Lineage, renovation, transgression, and reflection in the second week of Flamenco Festival London.
Until next
Saturday 2 July, Flamenco Fesrtival London proposes
a week that brings together
key artists who are
defining the current flamenco scene. Names such as
Tomatito, María Pagés, Jesús Carmona, Rocío Márquez & Bronquio, El Yiyo, Paula Comitre and Los Voluble will present works in
London that
broaden the horizons of flamenco,
updating its forms and codes, by the incorporation of
new themes, from flamenco
women's vindication to the
celebration of sexual diversity.
"The Jump" by Jesús Carmona:
An exploration of masculinity in the 21st century.
Challenging the themes traditionally
associated with flamenco and adding to them others such as
acceptance and
sexual diversity, or
breaking stereotypes about
gender identity, the bailaor
Jesús Carmona captivated the public with
"The Jump", yesterday
Tuesday 28 at
Sadler's Wells. This
production was
developed during an
"In Progress" artistic residency, and it is a
co-production with
Sadler's Wells and the
Bienal de Flamenco of Seville.
"The Jump" explores
art’s ability to affect personal growth, as Carmona looks at
his own journey around
masculinity in the
21st century, and Londoners will be able to
enjoy it again today
Wednesday 29 at
Sadler's Wells Theatre.
Tomatito: the master of the Spanish guitar offers a concert at Sadler's Wells.
Flamenco Festival London wants to highlight the
value of tradition and lineage in the
flamenco of our time, recognising
the precedents that have been set by
leading figures and sagas such as
Tomatito, one of the
first flamenco artists to experience the
opening of this art form by
Camarón and
Paco de Lucía. The artist from Almeria, one of the
most important solo guitarist in the field of
flamenco guitar, will show off
his mastery in a
unique concert on Thursday
30 June at
Sadler's Wells Theatre.
Paula Comitre will present the result of her "In Progress" artistic residency at Sadler's Wells.
From 25 June until Thursday 30, Flamenco Festival's
artistic residency programme "In Progress" has hosted the artist
Paula Comitre, one of the most
promising artists in today's flamenco, who has already
captivated British audiences with her work
"Named Body", last weekend
at
Rich Mix London and at the
Instituto Cervantes in Manchester.
Paula Comitre, awarded
Best Emerging Artist in 2020 at both the Festival de Jerez and Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla, has been working with
multi-instrumentalist Sabio Janiac and the artist
Ivan Bavcevic to create
new flamenco sounds that
will undoubtedly surprise London audiences on the night of
Friday 1 July at the
Lilian Baylis Studio at
Sadler's Wells, where the artistic trio will share
the results of their artistic residency in a
showcase of
elegance and energy.
El Yiyo: among the new promises of the "Generation Z" of flamenco.
Flamenco Festival 2022 is
giving voice to
the "Generation Z" of flamenco, that group of artists born in the
second half of the nineties, such as
Ángeles Toledano, Paula Comitre, El Yiyo, Yerai Cortés or
Daniel Ramos & Víctor Martín, who are
changing their approach to
flamenco,
defining the future of this art from
new perspectives,
taking risks with
other genres such as
electronica.
After
last week's successful dates,
El Yiyo will present
"El Yiyo & Su Troupe" at Lilian Baylis, a show in which he
transcends genres and
explores new sounds,
expression without limits and a
world of fantasy. Joined by
a troupe of artists, El Yiyo will bring his
charisma, authenticity and passion to create a
flamenco show that will
surprise Londoners on the evening of
Friday 1 July, at
Sadler's Wells. In addition, a day later,
El Yiyo will give the last of the
three masterclasses that
Flamenco Festival has organised for its 2022 edition at
Studio 5 at Sadler's Wells.
María Pagés will captivate the audience with an allegory about memory and the passage of time.
María Pagés, winner of the
National Dance Award,
Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts and recently recognised with the
Princess of Asturias Award, comes with her
dance company to
Sadler's Wells thanks to
Flamenco Festival with
"An Ode to Time", on
1 and 2 July. Accompanied by
eight dancers and a delicate
original score, the versatile
bailaora and choreographer, one of the
most important figures on the
current flamenco scene, looks at
the chance of happiness in uncertain times and the
nature of time itself in this
incisive choreography, that draws from a
variety of flamenco styles and inspirations.
"Third Heaven" by Rocío Márquez & Bronquio:
From Flamenco Festival's artistic laboratories to the Lilian Baylis Studio.
On 2 July, Rocío Márquez and Bronquio will bring to the stage of the
Lilian Baylis Studio an unique and
original concert of their last project
"Third Heaven", a work developed in their
"In Progress" artistic residency, in Torrox (Málaga).
"Third Heaven" is the result of a profound creative process in which both artists have allowed themselves to explore the
intermediate zone between
the known/unknown, and tradition/creation. The
common language they find moves
beyond the confines of musical genres and is projected with a
contemporary scenic view,
expanding our understanding
21st century flamenco.
"Flamenco Is Not a Crime":
A reflection on cultural appropriation through electronic music and flamenco.
Los Voluble, composed by the brothers and DJs
Pedro and Benito Jiménez, will bring a
flamenco and dance music party to the stage of the
Lilian Baylis Studio, with
"Flamenco Is Not A Crime", on
2 July, in a
final celebration of Flamenco Festival 2022. The artists will blend
grime, gqom, dub, and reggaeton with
projections inspired by the
Free Party Is Not A Crime movement, to perform a
musical experimentation that will raise
critical questions about
cultural appropriation, the
tradition and purity of flamenco and the
new languages and codes of this art form.
Flamenco Festival London and the World Flamenco Congress of the Instituto Cervantes put the spotlight on the new generations of flamenco.
Within the framework of the
World Flamenco Congress organised by the
Instituto Cervantes and also with an eye on the
young promises of flamenco, their
concerns and
perspectives, the
Instituto Cervantes London will host the
talk "Generation Z, a new way of understanding flamenco", by the cultural journalist specialising in flamenco
Luis Ybarra, tomorrow
Wednesday 29 June, which can be heard again one day later at the
Instituto Cervantes Manchester, on
Thursday 30 at the same time (
6 pm).
21 performances over 12 days in more than 6 venues, make Flamenco Festival London 2022 the largest flamenco festival organised in the United Kingdom.
Flamenco Festival London 2022 is a project of the Sadler's Wells Theatre, Flamenco Festival, and the Cervantes Theatre in London. It is supported by the Instituto Nacional de Artes Escénicas y de la Música del Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte del Gobierno de España, the Instituto Cervantes as part of its World Flamenco Congress, and Jerez City Council (Cádiz) and Acción Cultural Española, through the Programa para la Internacionalización de la Cultura Española (PICE). It also has the collaboration of Huelva City Council, the Andalusian Agency of Cultural Institutions of the Department of Culture and Historical Heritage of the Andalusian Regional Government and Murcia City Council.
