Afanador, Ballet Nacional de España successful production, comes to Barcelona’s Liceu Theatre

Audiences can enjoy Afanador across six performances at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, from October 12^th to 17^th, the first of which is aimed at audiences under 35. This production by Ballet Nacional de España, directed by Rubén Olmo, has already premièred successfully in several cities across Spain. Since its première in December 2023 at Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Afanador has appeared on the stages of the Teatro Real (Madrid), Teatro Mira (Pozuelo de Alarcón), Teatros del Canal (Madrid) and Les Arts (Valencia).

This show reflects photographer Ruven Afanador's surrealist perspective on flamenco through the language of dance, inviting viewers to dive, without prejudice, into a universe built on fascination and desire. Afanador's acclaimed works, Ángel Gitano and Mil Besos, were the starting point for this show, in which Spanish dance meets contemporary dance to "view the world of flamenco through a distorting lens, a lens that stems from dreams, desire, and memory," explained Marcos Morau, responsible for the idea and artistic direction of Afanador.

In Afanador, the black and white of photography prevail in a dramatic contrast that transforms costumes and sets – designed by Silvia Delagneau and Max Glaenzel – from traditional and familiar elements of flamenco into strange and unrecognisable ones: waterfalls, avalanches and storms. 

The choreography was created by Marcos Morau himself, Lorena Nogal, Shay Partush, Jon López, and Miguel Ángel Corbacho, assistant director of the Ballet Nacional de España. Large lassos, gallows and long trains accompany the musical composition created by Juan Cristobal Saavedra, with the special collaboration of singer and composer Maria Arnal. This journey through worlds that dance on the borders of dreams, death and life is guided by playwright Roberto Fratini Serafide, with audiovisual design by Marc Salicrú and lighting design by Bernat Jansà.

Each scene is based on an iconic image captured by the photographer. The setting transports us to the moment captured by the lens, and the evocation comes to life. Electronic music, minera, seguiriya, cantar de trilla floor songs and echoes of Holy Week move the dance, accompany it, awakening the memory of the black and white snapshots. Rubén Olmo, director of the BNE and protagonist of one of the iconic pages of Ángel Gitano, also brings the photograph to life with his dance, in this original work.

For Marcos Morau, “Afanador is a work that takes a sacred legacy and juxtaposes it with our time and everything that has changed since then. It is a work of rigor, beauty and mystery: because it is only when we mix past and present that we can truly discover truths and launch ourselves into the present. This is what Afanador aims to do: respect the legacy of the past, mix it with our present and then launch it towards into the future.” 

Programme:

AFANADOR
 Ballet Nacional de España

Gran Teatre del Liceu  (Barcelona)

Saturday 12^th October 2024, at 19:30 (Under35)

Sunday 13^th October 2024, at 17:00

Monday 14^th October 2024, at 19:30

Tuesday 15^th October 2024, at 19:30

Wednesday 16^th October 2024, at 19:30

Thursday 17^th October 2024, at 19:30