Flamenco Festival New York 2016

Flamenco Festival 2016 presents Spain’s finest dancers and singers on its thirteenth anniversary for a celebration of Flamenco that is stirringly authentic while challenging the conventions of the form.

One of the year’s biggest dance events in New York City

—The New York Times

The Festival will feature artists like Vicente Amigo, Rocío Molina, Manuel Liñán or Israel Galván among others. Flamenco Festival will kick off in New York, and continues through the U.S. with passion, drama and lighting footwork in a three-week celebration of flamenco. The series entitled Beyond Flamenco will bring some of the country’s most creative and charismatic new generation of artists.

Jackson Browne & Raúl Rodríguez. Song & Son

• On Wednesday, March 2 and Thursday, March 3 at 8 pm.
• At Town Hall.

Jackson Browne and Raúl Rodríguez meet in Song y Son, a project that embarks on an exciting exchange, a crossing of American sounds and Spanish rhythms. Supported by years of friendship and collaboration, their meeting gives us a new music born on the border of two traditions. In the first set, Raúl Rodríguez, with his band (Mario Mas on flamenco guitar, Guillem Aguilar on bass, Pablo Martín Jones on percussion and Alex Tobias on drums,) will introduce the songs of Razón de Son, his first solo album. In the second set, Jackson Browne will play with the band and take his songs into the flamenco rhythms and Son of the Afro Andalusian Caribbean.

Israel Galván & Akram Khan. Torobaka

• From Wednesday, March 2 to Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 pm.
• At BAM Howard Gilman Opera House.

These shows have been canceled.

In a circle of deep-hued light, dance artists Akram Khan and Israel Galván square off, flanked by four musicians. Exploding into a volley of sharp movements –angles and arcs, mirrored and refracted– they unfurl an electrifying evening-length work that is equal parts dialogue and duel. Torobaka is rooted in the vocabularies of kathak, the classical South Asian dance form at the center of Khan’s movement practice, and the contemporary flamenco of Galván, an innovator celebrated for his mastery of the form and exuberant transgression of its boundaries. Negotiating a new, shared language— marked by percussive footwork, expressive musicality, and powerful, articulate gesture—these two figures come together, confronting and mirroring one another in a muscular, sinuous exchange.

Vicente Amigo in Concert

• On Friday, March 4 at 8 pm.
• At Carnegie Hall.

Different. Global. Surprising. That’s how you can describe Vicente Amigo’s new album Tierra, the most innovative and international of his career. The great Flamenco guitar player has opened his music’s window to the fresh air of the British producer Guy Fletcher. His Flamenco music blends naturally with other music styles, opening new paths without losing depth, holding tightly to the inspirational Southern Spanish sounds but wrapped in Celtic melodies, linking light and mist, hovering over different styles to create something completely new. Vicente Amigo is one of the greatest flamenco guitar players ever, who has been widely recognized.

Farruquito Improvisao

• On Thursday, March 10 and Friday, March 11 at 8 pm.
• At NY City Center.

Farruquito presents Improvisao, a work of intimate, authentic and visceral flamenco. It is a show that transports the audience to a traditional and magical universe, which Farruquito calls “a return to my roots.” From the legendary Los Farruco dynasty, the first family of Gypsy flamenco dance, Farruquito, or Juan Manuel Fernandez Montoya, is regarded as one of the most faithful representatives of flamenco puro. Son of the singer El Moreno and dancer La Farruca, he is the chief proponent of the unique dance style founded by his grandfather, the famed El Farruco. At just 15 years old, Farruquito created his first show, Raíces Flamencas (Flamenco Roots.)

Orchestra Of St. Luke’s. Colors of Spain

• On Thursday, March 10 at 8 pm.
• At Carnegie Hall.

The warm nights and charms of Spain come to life in this program conducted by Granada-born Principal Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado. Pianist Javier Perianes is the soloist in the Falla’s Noches en los jardines de España, an evocative portrait of his beloved Andalusia. Two highly atmospheric works for strings, Toldrà’s Vistas al mar and Turina’s La oración del torero, conjure visions of the sea and the bullfighting ring. Singer Marina Heredia adds flamenco fire to the Falla’s spectacular gypsy-inspired El amor brujo. Presented by Carnegie Hall.

Compañía Manuel Liñán. Nómada

• On Saturday, March 12 at 8 pm.
• At NY City Center.

Nómada is the fourth creation from the multiaward-winning performer Manuel Liñán as a choreographer, bringing together six dancers, three singers and two guitarists, resulting in a collective journey, situated in different geographical areas, framing the art of flamenco. Sprung from pure Flamenco, this artist exudes purity from himself and his dance. Manuel Liñán is life, freshness and passion. After many years researching new tendencies, the dancer and choreographer leans toward tradition, reaching a point of sheer geniality and simplicity, as he becomes a trend setter in Flamenco vanguard dancing. Manuel Liñán is not only a dancer, but a choreographer and director.

Esperanza Fernández & Gonzalo Rubalcaba ¡Oh, Vida!

• On Saturday, March 12 at 8 pm.
• At Roulette.

In Oh Vida!, Rubalcaba & Fernández pay tribute to legendary Cuban big bandleader Beny Moré, “ El Bárbaro del ritmo.” Moré’s many unforgettable hits include Que Bueno Baila Usted and Como Fué. At this performance, a zesty Flamenco twist will be added to his work when Grammy-winning Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Spanish singer Esperanza Fernández join forces to present a new take on a set of classic songs. The program would not be complete without a proper Flamenco counterpoint, though, so Rubalcaba and Fernández also pay tribute to Manolo Caracol from Seville. Caracol was a heartfelt and flamboyant cantaor (Flamenco singer) who performed with depth and passion. He was regarded as an embodiment of duende, a Spanish artistic concept representing soulfulness and authenticity.

Compañía Rocío Molina. Danzaora & Vinática

• On Thursday, March 17 at 8 pm.
• At NY City Center.

In Bosque Ardora, Rocío Molina draws on deep animal instincts to explore the struggle for survival in the natural world. Two male dancers and six musicians accompany her onstage as she integrates movement, drama, sound looping and a contemporary aesthetic that raises questions about how we think about Flamenco in the modern world. In this fight between nature and culture, Rocío Molina is both the hunter and the hunted. Born in Málaga in 1984, Molina started dancing at the age of three, and by the age of 11 she was winning prizes in national dance contests. She graduated with honours from Real Conservatorio de Danza de Madrid in 2002, premiered her first show, Entre Paredes, in 2005 and has performed worldwide, including in Italy, Japan, Canada and the USA.

Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía. Images: 20 Years

• On Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19 at 8 pm.
• At NY City Center.

Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía is recognised as the most important representative of Flamenco art in Spain. The company returns under the direction of the multi-award-winning Rafaela Carrasco. Images: 20 years commemorates the 20th anniversary of the company, revisiting five of the most celebrated choreographies of its repertoire. Not only a tribute to the former directors who inspired Carrasco during her career, the show is also an interpretation of the rich history of the company.

Rosario “La Tremendita” & Mohammad Motamedi. Qasida

• On Friday, March 18 at 8:30 pm.
• At Carnegie Hall.

Spanish poet Federico García Lorca described the cante jondo –deep flamenco song– as a rare example of primitive song whose notes contain the naked and horrific emotion of the first oriental civilisations. A test of Lorca’s words might be the Qasida project, an extraordinary musical encounter between the young Sevillian cantaora Rosario “La Tremendita” and her Iranian peer Mohammad Motamedi. In Qasida, “La Tremendita” explores the roots of flamenco in the richly varied poetic songs and improvisations of Motamedi, the young rising star of Iranian classical music. Songs of Spanish folk poetry and Persian high art merge into a musical world in which the Al-Andalus of old is perhaps briefly revived.

Beyond Flamenco

Beyond Flamenco will introduce Americans to a new generation of musicians that embrace Flamenco’s roots while re-inventing them, each in their own unique style, updating Spanish music for the 21st century:

Rocio Márquez: Recital

• On Saturday, March 5 at 7 pm.
• At Joe’s Pub.

The art of flamenco and respect for tradition is reinvented by Rocío Márquez, a young artist from Huelva who already caused a sensation in 2008 after winning the “Lámpara Minera” at the “Festival del Cante de las Minas de la Unión”.

Daniel Casares and Adam Ben Ezra: Loco Strings

• On Saturday, March 5 at 9:30 pm.
• At Joe’s Pub.

Spanish guitarist Daniel Casares and Israeli double-bassist Adam Ben Ezra have created this virtuoso string project that combines their own renowned songs and new ones created especially for this occasion.

Nelida Tirado: Dime Quien Soy

• On Sunday, March 6 at 9:30 pm.
• At Joe’s Pub.

A passionate reflection of cultural identity by Nelida Tirado who stumbles upon Flamenco accidentally through her mother’s desires to keep her connected to the roots of her native bomba and plena.

La Banda Morisca: Algarabía

• On Saturday, March 12 at 7 pm.
• At Joe’s Pub.

La Banda Morisca has risen in the last three years from the ashes of Cadiz’s Flamenco fusion bands Radio Tarifa and La Jambre.

Bojaira Band: New York Negro Duende

• On Friday, March 18 at 9:30 pm.
• At Joe’s Pub.

Jazz pianist Jesús Hernández has sought his way of expression through Flamenco music. Hernández delves into his flamenco roots to create a unique and natural musical language.

Ara Malikian: Ara Malikian 15

• On Friday, March 18 at 7:30 pm.
• At (Le) Poisson Rouge.

This concert is intended to be the culmination of this long period of hard work and effort, and as thanks to the public that has supported him over these 15 years in which he has played more than 4,000 concerts in every corner of Spain.

Nino de los Reyes: Inside

• On Saturday, March 19 at 7 pm.
• At Joe’s Pub.

Inside features flamenco dance sensation Nino de los Reyes with bassist Alain Pérez, singer Ismael Fernández & guitarist Juan José Suarez “Paquete.” Nino de los Reyes will be the “master of ceremonies” of this project that takes us to perceive music from inside, an intimate journey to these performers’ inner emotions.

Panel discussion. Beyond Sorrow: Rethinking Flamenco for the 21st Century

• On Wednesday, March 9 at 6:30 pm.
• At King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center.

With Flamenco singer Marina Heredia (Flamenco Festival New York), dancer, choreographer, writer, and organizer Paloma McGregor (Angela’s Pulse, Dancing While Black), Latina/o cultural theorist Josefina Saldaña-Portillo (NYU Department of Social and Cultural Analysis), artist and performance theorist Sebastian Calderón Bentin (NYU Tisch School of the Arts), and Flamenco dancer and scholar K. Meira Goldberg (CUNY Grad Center, Fashion Institute of Technology.)