Afanador opens the BNE’s new season in the Canary Islands

The Ballet Nacional de España opens its 2026–2027 season with a new tour of the Canary Islands. The company, directed by Rubén Olmo, travels to the archipelago with Afanador, a production in which Spanish Dance merges with contemporary dance to create a surrealist work: seeing the world of flamenco through a distorting lens.

The production, which has been captivating audiences on national and international stages since its premiere in Seville in 2023, arrives at the Auditorio de Tenerife on 5^th and 6^th September, before travelling to the Teatro Pérez Galdós in Las Palmas on 10^th September.

Afanador draws inspiration from the imagery of Colombian photographer Ruven Afanador, who fell in love with Andalusia and flamenco, making them both his home and the source of inspiration for some of his most celebrated works, including his books Ángel Gitano and Mil Besos. It is the characters in these photographs that fascinated and inspired Marcos Morau, who conceived the work and is responsible for its artistic direction, in creating one of the company’s most contemporary productions.

According to Morau, his starting point was “to begin with Ruven Afanador’s world and dream upon it and all its oneiric distortions: to see the world of flamenco through a distorting lens, a lens shaped by dreams, desire and memory”.

Each scene begins with one of the photographer’s iconic images. The stage transports us to the instant captured by the camera and the evocation comes to life. Electronic music, minera, seguiriya, harvesting songs and echoes of Holy Week provoke the dance, accompany it and awaken the memory of the black-and-white photographs. Rubén Olmo, Director of the Ballet Nacional de España and the subject of one of the iconic pages of Ángel Gitano, brings the photograph to life through his own dancing in this original production.

In Olmo’s words, “Afanador is an example of how dialogue between different artistic disciplines can enrich when approached without prejudice” and demonstrates that “Spanish Dance can benefit from this exchange while maintaining its character and essence”.

The choreography has been created by Marcos Morau, Lorena Nogal, Shay Partush, Jon López and Miguel Ángel Corbacho, Assistant Director of the Ballet Nacional de España. The costumes and set design, created by Silvia Delagneau and Max Glaenzel respectively, accompany the musical composition by Juan Cristobal Saavedra, with the special collaboration of singer and composer Maria Arnal. This journey through worlds that dance along the boundaries of dreams, death and life is completed by dramaturg Roberto Fratini Serafide, audiovisual designer Marc Salicrú and lighting designer Bernat Jansà.

Afanador has established itself as a phenomenon on the Spanish performing arts scene, shining at every theatre it has visited, including the Teatro Real, Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid), Teatro MIRA (Pozuelo de Alarcón), Teatros del Canal (Madrid), Les Arts (Valencia), Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona), Palacio de Festivales (Santander) and Teatro Baluarte (Pamplona). Internationally, the production has also enjoyed great success at the Yelmaru Theatre (Yeosu, South Korea), GS Arts Center (Seoul, South Korea), Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Concertgebouw Brugge, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes (France), Maison de la Culture de Grenoble (France), Les Théâtres de Aix-en-Provence (France), Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris, France) and Forum am Schlosspark, Ludwigsburg (Germany).

Afanador has captivated audiences and critics alike since its debut, as reflected in the numerous accolades it has received: five Max Awards, two Talía Awards and the Catalan Critics’ Awards, among others.

Programme:

AFANADOR

Ballet Nacional de España

Auditorio de Tenerife, Canary Islands

Saturday, 5^th September 2026, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, 6^th September 2026, 6:00 p.m.

Last tickets for Tenerife:

https://www.auditoriodetenerife.com/es/evento/afanador/#tickets

Teatro Pérez Galdós, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)

Thursday, 10^th September 2026, 8:00 p.m.

Last tickets for Las Palmas:

https://teatroperezgaldos.janto.es/janto/main.php?Nivel=Evento&idEvento=AFNDR0926