Busy tour schedule to begin 2022

The first engagement of the year will take us to the United Arab Emirates, where we will take part in Expo 2020 Dubai with the show Invocación, a program that offers a global vision of Spanish dance. Visitors to the first World Expo to be held in an Arab country will be able to enjoy flamenco full of life and strength on stage, a ballet of the purest stylized dance, and one of the few recent choreographies in the escuela bolera style.

The program consists of the choreographies created by Rubén Olmo, Invocación bolera and Jauleña, both with music by Manuel Busto; Eterna Iberia, by Antonio Najarro, with music by Manuel Moreno-Buendía; and a tribute to flamenco creator Mario Maya. To remember the artist who was the link between traditional and contemporary flamenco, and whose creativity and way of working inspired a generation of flamenco artists who are today at the very top of this art form, we are bringing his work De lo flamenco back to the stage. To this work, premiered in 1994, we have added two new choreographies by two artists close to the maestro, Isabel Bayón and Rafaela Carrasco.

This program will travel in March to Logroño and Torrejón de Ardoz, in Madrid, where it can be seen at the Teatro Bretón on the 19^th, and at the Teatro José María Rodero on the 25^th and 26^th, respectively. In April, we will perform it at the Palau de Les Arts in Valencia, from the 21^st to the 24^th.

Before that, on February 17^th and 18^th, we will open the 26^th edition of the Festival de Jerez with two performances of Centenary Antonio Ruiz Soler, the program we premiered in Seville in 2021 to mark the centenary of the birth of one of the most complete Spanish dance dancers and choreographers, and director of the Ballet Nacional de España between 1980 and 1983.

The choreographies by Antonio el Bailarín selected for the program are Sonatas, Zapateado, and Fantasía galaica. The three represent the height of his talent in three different styles: escuela bolera, the stylization of flamenco, and stylized folklore.

The overview of Antonio’s artistic career is completed by the solo Leyenda, a choreography created by Carlos Vilán for Isaac Albéniz’s composition Asturias, another essential piece in Antonio Ruiz Soler’s shows. There is also a nod to Antonio’s film career and to the years he lived between New York and Hollywood with his artistic partner Rosario. Rubén Olmo has recreated the pas de deux Vito de gracia, which Rosario and Antonio performed in the film Hollywood Canteen in 1944.

In addition, following the style and aesthetic of Antonio Ruiz Soler in the 1950s and 1960s, Rubén Olmo and Miguel Ángel Corbacho have created Estampas flamencas especially for this program: four new choreographies based on the flamenco forms that Antonio frequently performed with his company — Martinete, Zorongo, Taranto, and Caracoles.

Finally, the third of the programs premiered since 2019, La Bella Otero, can be seen at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville on May 26^th and 27^th. Premiered in July 2021 at Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela, this original choreography by Rubén Olmo, with dramaturgy by Gregor Acuña-Pohl, tells the story of one of the most famous Spanish artists of the 19^th century, who triumphed at the Folies Bergère in Paris and conquered the hearts of kings throughout Europe. Featuring guest artist Patricia Guerrero, winner of the 2021 National Dance Award, this ballet blends different genres, from Spanish dance — including Galician folklore and flamenco — to zarzuela, cancan, and contemporary dance.

We hope to be able to announce new dates and venues soon.