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Ballet Nacional de España returns to the Flamenco Festival for the first time since 2018. As part of the festival, the Hispanic Society of America will host an event featuring Ballet Nacional de España as part of the closing ceremonies for the Sorolla Centennial.
Ballet Nacional de España begins its international tours of the year with a trip to the United States, with performances in Miami on March 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and in New York on March 8th, 9th, and 10th, for the 23rd Flamenco Festival in New York and Miami.
On this occasion, Ballet Nacional de España will present Invocación, a programme designed by Rubén Olmo, which showcases the dancers' versatility and technical mastery in three disciplines of Spanish dance: flamenco, stylised dance, and bolero. The production includes a tribute to the dancer and choreographer Mario Maya, one of the great maestros of Spanish dance.
In the words of Rubén Olmo, this is a very complete programme, "in which you can enjoy a flamenco full of life and power on stage, a ballet of the purest stylised dance, and one of the few recent choreographies of the bolero school."
The programme begins with Invocación Bolera, a piece written by Olmo himself, which brings the essence of the traditional bolero school into the modern day, paying homage to the great maestros who have set the standard in the Bolero school. This discipline is one of the most difficult in Spanish dance as it requires mastery of classical ballet, and is also one of the most spectacular due to the speed of its steps and leaps. The music is a contemporary composition, original for this piece, inspired by the young Seville-born composer and conductor Manuel Busto. The costumes, designed by Pedro Moreno, were recovered from the collections of Ballet Nacional de España and adapted for this work by the designer himself.
Next up is Jauleña, a choreography conceived by Rubén Olmo as a transitional solo, fusing stylised dance, bolero and flamenco, with special emphasis on granaína and zapateado. Again, the music is by Manuel Busto.
The first part of the programme culminates with Eterna Iberia, a choreography by Antonio Najarro, which combines the use of the castanet, the Spanish cape and the Cordoban hat, as well as the technique and interpretive power so characteristic of stylised Spanish dance. For this, the company will be dressed in tones of earth and sea, designed by Yaiza Pinillos.
The second part of the programme is dedicated to De Lo Flamenco. Homenaje a Mario Maya, with which Ballet Nacional de España honours the dancer and choreographer Mario Maya (1937-2008), a flamenco legend who until now had not figured in its repertoire.
Composed of seven movements, the piece is defined as a flamenco suite that reflects the innovative style of Mario Maya, founder of the Compañía Andaluza de Danza, now Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, in 1994.
To close the programme, and to join in the celebration of Paco de Lucía at this year's Festival, the piece will feature a performance of Almoraima, choreographed by Mario Maya and Rubén Olmo set to the music of Paco de Lucía.
Invocación premiered in 2020 at Teatro Villamarta in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz) and since then Ballet Nacional de España has performed it in cities such as Madrid, Valencia, Santander and Granada, among others, as well as internationally in St. Petersburg, Dubai, Athens, Mexico City and Tel Aviv, to name a few.
Spanish art and dance at the Hispanic Society of America
Spanish art and dance will come together at this year's Flamenco Festival in New York through a collaboration with the Hispanic Society of America. The gallery will house a series of 14 canvases, which comprise one of the most magnificent collections by Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida: Vision of Spain, also known as The Regions of Spain.
At this event, to be held on March 6th, Ballet Nacional de España director Rubén Olmo will dance alongside guitarist Rafael Riqueni, who will perform the composition Amarguras on his guitar in front of the painting entitled Seville. The Nazarenes. Meanwhile, Ballet Nacional de España soloist Estela Alonso will dance La Valenciana in front of another of the paintings in this collection: Valencia. The Grupas. This piece is choreographed by Juanjo Linares and Maribel Gallardo with music by Eliseo Parra.
With these performances, Ballet Nacional de España, in collaboration with the Flamenco Festival and the Hispanic Society of America, will participate in the closing ceremonies of the Sorolla Centennial, which have been held since last year.
INVOCACIÓN
Ballet Nacional de España
Programme:
Invocación bolera, by Rubén Olmo
Jauleña, by Rubén Olmo
Eterna Iberia, by Antonio Najarro
De lo flamenco. Homenaje a Mario Maya, by Mario Maya, Milagros Menjíbar, A. Rueda ‘Toná’, Manolo Marín, Isabel Bayón and Rafaela Carrasco
Almoraima, by Mario Maya and Rubén Olmo
USA
Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts (Miami)
Ziff Opera House
1st and 2nd March 2024, at 20:00
3rd March 2024, at 15:00
New York City Center (New York)
8th March 2024, at 19:30
9th March 2024, at 15:00 and 19:30 (double session)
10th March 2024, at 15:00
The Hispanic Society Museum (New York)
Amarguras, by Rubén Olmo
La Valenciana, by Juanjo Linares and Maribel Gallardo
6th March 2024, at 18:30
