Flamenco Agency at Festival de Jerez

Festival de Jerez

With this brief review of the 24th edition of the Jerez Flamenco Dance Festival, we would like to mention some of the most outstanding shows of this event. This edition will be remembered for the premiere of Invocación by Rubén Olmo with the Ballet Nacional de España that closed the festival, a work dedicated to the master, Mario Maya, who lived his final years on the same street as the Flamenco Agency office.

The opening of the Festival was performed by Rafaela Carrasco, who premiered Ariadna, a piece with a male corps de ballet, and a wall as a set, that drew attention to itself. However, the best show that has passed through this annual event with flamenco dance has been ¡Viva! by Manuel Liñán. Also Paula Comitre should be mentioned. She amazed the audience with a fresh dance, bringing novelties to Cámara abierta. In the same way, the quality of the show Por un Sueño by Farru, inspired by Paco de Lucía, was pleasantly surprising. Other magnificent productions were See, Listen and Dance by Francisco Hidalgo and a new experimental piece by Belén Maya.

The variety of the proposals presented in this 24th edition of the Festival is a clear indication that current flamenco is perhaps the richest aesthetically and artistically in history. However, a summary of the current situation of the performing arts in general and of flamenco dance, particularly in Spain, is that Flamenco is still in crisis. It has not emerged from the economic and financial crisis of 2008. We were struck by the almost total disappearance of dance bodies in the proposals that were presented in the Villamarta Theatre with more than 1200 seats. For example, Marco Flores presented a show at the Jerez coso with only 3 artists. Where are the corps de ballet? How many flamenco ballets do we have left?

Therefore, we would like to recommend the large format Ballets that we represent at Flamenco Agency. It is also worth mentioning, in all of the shows at the Festival there were some or several artists, with whom Flamenco Agency has collaborated with during its 14 years of existence: Shows. Nevertheless, the festival takes place in one of the birthplaces of flamenco, Jerez de la Frontera, and constitutes a meeting point for creators, professionals and flamenco lovers. Flamenco Agency will also be delighted to share with you all the latest news of the Seville Biennial Flamenco Art Festival in September!