The New York Flamenco Festival is renewed | Culture
"We have always opted for dance because, in principle, it is what most easily reaches the public, but this year, of the nine shows that we present only in one, Sara Baras, dance is the protagonist, "says Miguel Marín from New York, where everything is ready to begin, next Thursday, March 7, the Flamenco Festival. Marín, who also organizes this event in London, has completely renewed it, including six new interpreters, who will perform for the first time in New York.
"They are young, like the cantaora María Earthquake, who is only 19 years old, or Israel Fernández, a toledano that is inspired by the voices of the first half of the 20th century, like María. Both are nourished by root flamenco ", adds Marín.
The 16th festival will open with Cádiz-born bailaora Sara Baras, who will present her show Shades at the New York City Center, an emblematic space for dance that celebrates its 75th anniversary. The choreographer, who has played Mariana Pineda with music by Manolo Sanlúcar, will also offer four dance classes, one before each performance, which can be seen from 7 to 10 March. The Flamenco Festival, with nine shows and 26 performances, will be in New York until March 17 and then begin a tour of Miami, Chicago and Washington. The previous edition was attended by 45,000 spectators.
"This year the renewal is double, not only for the names, among which are the flutist Sergio de Lope and the guitarist Antonio Rey, but also because we have taken a turn to give more importance to the instrumentalists, that's why the motto of this edition is The sounds of flamenco", explains the director of the festival, which is also organized in London, from 2 to 14 July.
Among the artists that premiere in New York are also the guitarist Miguel Ángel Cortés, who presents his own show, Sonantas in three movements, and the cantaor Ismael Fernández, from the Sevillian saga of Fernández, which will premiere Treatment. The Flamenco Festival of New York, with 12 performances in the city until the 17th of this month, also opens up to other flamenco instruments, such as the flute of Sergio de Lope, who in 2017 received the award for the best instrumentalist in the Mining Contest of the Union, or the piano of Chano Domínguez, a classic and expert in fusing flamenco with other music.
