English
Between the 18th-21st May, Barcelona will host the new edition of the Ciutat Vella Flamenco Festival, organised by dance school Taller de Musics. Now in its 18th year, this time round the festival has expanded, incorporating new spaces, including the Mercat de les Flores, and the theatre at CCCB. The various new creative strands to the event all come together under the title “Omega,” – the last letter of the Greek alphabet, signalling the end but also the hope for new starts, innovations and cycles. This is the ethos which ties the festival together, as it seeks to also involve the public in new ways.
Flamenco, which is the beating heart of the four days of fiesta, is a genre of music and dance which originated in the Andalusia region in the middle of the 18th century, predominantly amongst the gypsy communities. Though, the music and dance of flamenco has evolved considerably since then, and the goal of the Ciutat Vella festival is to present new frontiers, with a varied, multi-disciplinary line up which incorporates theatre and performance, music and other forms of artistic exploration. All of the works demonstrate then new and progressive routes into the arts, and new hybrids of familiar ground – with a special attention to the techniques of improvisation in flamenco.
In this respect, highly relevant is Flamenco Empírico, a cycle of dance hosted by Mercat de les Flors, and commissioned by Juan Carlos Lérida and Belén Maya which brings together over 50 artists in order to define, and identify the developments and new references of contemporary flamenco. The festival will be opened by group Gospel Messengers Taller de Músics along with a screening of a new film from Belén Maya (a veteran of the “new wave” of flamenco), called “Tr3s” which promises to be a journey into the heart of flamenco. “Tr3s” makes reference to the three artists comprising the work – Jesús Méndez, singer, Rafael Rodríguez, guitar and Belén Maya dancing, along with accompaniment from Felipe Mato.
The festival kicks of at the Hall of the CCCB, where in parallel, will be the fourth edition of the Ciutat Vella Audiovisual Flamenco Festival “P´Alucine,” in collaboration with other collectives. Tickets are available now at the CCCB ticket desk, at Caixa Catalunya, with further information available at the official website www.flamencociutatvella.com
menschauser
If you love flamenco, and you want to be a part of one of the most exciting events dedicated to the art form, we suggest you find an apartments in Barcelona and come and spent some lovely music and dance-filled days in the city.
Translated by: Poppy
