Ballet Nacional de España and Juan March Foundation offer a panoramic view of Spanish dance in a new educational project

From this October until April 2024, Ballet Nacional de España and Juan March Foundation will develop a new joint educational project: Danza española: folclore, flamenco y sentimiento.

Across ten performances for students in Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, both institutions will strengthen their commitment to promoting Spain’s artistic and choreographic heritage.

In the Juan March Foundation Auditorium, the BNE dancers will offer a panoramic view of Spanish dance through the four disciplines that make it up: folklore, escuela bolera, flamenco and stylized dance. These are the four styles in which dance of exclusively Spanish origin is developed.

This educational project will include four choreographies featuring a total of 14 dancers, cantaor Gabriel de la Tomasa, guitarists Víctor Tomate and Enrique Bermúdez, percussionist Roberto Vozmediano and double bassist Pablo Martín Caminero.

The aims are to help students identify the stylistic features of each discipline, establish connections with scenography and music, learn about the dancer’s daily work and understand the cultural roles associated with Spanish dance.

The first choreography, Miniaturas boleras, starts in the 18^th century and explores the different styles of this school. The jota, the muñeira and the seguidilla form the essence of Alegoría folclórica, which gives way to El flamenco en la escena, three numbers that summarize the evolution of flamenco over the last century. This journey through Spanish dance culminates with a fourth choreography, Cuadro estilizado, which brings together the disciplines that gave rise to a more concentrated and essential type of dance in the 1920s.

Rubén Olmo, director of the Ballet Nacional de España, has designed these performances dedicated to disseminating Spain’s choreographic heritage among new audiences. Danza española: folclore, flamenco y sentimiento forms part of the educational program that the Juan March Foundation has been developing since 1975, designed to stimulate teenagers’ aesthetic and musical experience.

In addition, the performances will be accompanied by an educational guide to direct students’ listening towards specific aspects of the choreography and music. This guide, designed by Elna Matamoros and Patricia Bonnin Arias, includes a list of the works programmed, a full video of the concert, an interactive video for students and an itinerary designed for classroom preparation beforehand.

Danza española: folclore, flamenco y sentimiento will have ten performances for students from schools that have requested attendance. On Saturday, June 1^st, at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., two sessions of this educational project will be offered to the general public as part of the Juan March Foundation’s “Family Concerts” format.

The performers

The Ballet Nacional de España, directed by Rubén Olmo since September 2019, has been the public benchmark company for Spanish dance since it was founded in 1978 with Antonio Gades as its first director. Its purpose is to preserve, disseminate and transmit Spain’s rich choreographic heritage.

For this new educational project, created by the Ballet Nacional de España and the Juan March Foundation, the participation of Olga García and Pablo Martín Caminero was sought.

Specialized in dance lighting, Olga García, AAI, has worked with the Compañía Nacional de Danza, the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, the Ballet Nacional de España and productions by Antonio Ruz, Daniel Doña and María Pagés.

Musician, composer and producer Pablo Martín Caminero moves across a wide variety of musical styles, which has led him to collaborate with Ultra High Flamenco, Abe Rábade, Jorge Pardo, Hippocampus, Chano Domínguez, Rocío Molina and the Spanish National Ballet.

Program:

Danza española: folclore, flamenco y sentimiento
Miniaturas boleras
Alegoría folclórica
El flamenco en la escena
Cuadro estilizado

Irene Tena and Estela Alonso, soloists

Irene Correa, Noelia Ruiz, Laura Vargas, Cristina Aguilera, Sou Jung

Youn, María Martín, Álvaro Gordillo, Manuel del Río, Diego Aguilar,

Axel Galán, Juan Berlanga and Javier Polonio, corps de ballet
Gabriel de la Tomasa, cantaor
Víctor Tomate and Enrique Bermúdez, guitars
Roberto Vozmediano, percussion
Olga García, AAE, lighting
Pablo Martín Caminero, double bass and musical direction, guest musician
Antonio Canales, texts

October 24^th and 31^st, 2023
January 23^rd, April 30^th and May 7^th, 2024
Two sessions each day: 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Juan March Foundation Auditorium