Name: Carmen
City, Country: London, UK
Question: What are your projects now?
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Javier Barón: We’re immersed in a really nice project which is to revive my show ‘Dime’, the show with the most prizes at Seville’s Bienal de Flamenco in the year 2002. It’s a show dealing with the great poet Federico García Lorca from a different viewpoint. From the Huerta de San Vicente, where he used to spend his most fun moments with his friends and guests. This show means a lot to me. It’s given me a great deal of satisfaction and a great deal of joy, which are reflected in each character performing in the show. Thanks to the Town Hall of my hometown, Alcalá de Guadaíra, we’ll hold a re-premiere on July 12th within the Festival Riberas del Guadaíra (Seville). I hope you can come and see it.

Name: Carlos
City, Country: Gerona, Spain
Question: Which style do you like to perform most and why? Which do you identify most with? Regards, I’m a guitarist.
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Javier Barón: Hi Carlos,
I identify with each style I do. I don’t have any favorite one in particular. I feel fulfilled with each style I perform. I really like flamenco.

Name: Reyes
City, Country: Seville, Spain
Question: Which prize has been more important to you: the Giraldillo del Baile or the National Dance Prize?
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Javier Barón: Both of them. One for giving me another chance to return to Seville, my native land, to introduce myself as a bailaor. And the other, twenty years after the first one, for the recognition of an entire lifetime devoted to baile. And what I have left …

Name: Kandela
City, Country: Seville, Spain
Question: : In 'Dos voces para un baile' you reflect on the simplicity flamenco used to be made with in your early days. Do you think there are currently unnecessary things in flamenco? Are there too many tricks? Is it due to public demand, the organizers or artists’ restlessness?
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Javier Barón: Sometimes other types of dance are abused which they try to join to flamenco. The responsibility sometimes belongs to the organizers, who often ask for things without knowledge. There are more politicians than technicians, and they’re only interested in volume and filling the stage, not the value of the artist’s proposal.

Name: Silvia Antonini
City, Country: Milano, Italy
Question: A special hello to my friend and maestro Javier Barón.
I want to know what your main aims are after having won the 2008 National Dance Prize.
Thank you very much
Silvia Antonini
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Javier Barón: To keep on working and dancing as I’ve always done. Best wishes

Name: Adriana
City, Country: Rovereto Italy
Question: I don’t have any questions, I just wanted to give you my very best wishes!
Adriana
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Javier Barón: And best wishes to you. I hope you all haven’t been affected by the earthquake. It was a really big tragedy. If I had the chance, I’d like to contribute my art to help the earthquake victims. Best wishes

Name: Juan Gómez
City, Country: Cádiz (Spain)
Question: Hi Javier, my name’s Juan and I’m from Cádiz. We saw each other at least 300 times at the festival, ha ha. Well, congratulations again for the prize; you deserve it. I’ll take advantage to ask you where in the deepest part of your soul do you get your art and your baile from and how do you get it across?
Thanks for teaching me so much and I hope to always keep on learning from you and my Patino. Best wishes and so long, genius.
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Javier Barón: Hi Juan, I was really glad to see you. You’re a great person. Thank you very much for your congratulations and your praise. That comforts me because I know they’re sincere. My baile comes from what fills me living flamenco day by day. And you get that across on stage. Best wishes

Name: Mamen
City, Country: Spain
Question: More than a question, I’d like to make an acknowledgement; thank you for shaking us up with your baile. I had the pleasure of seeing your show at Festival de Jerez, and it was the best thing there was in the first week of my stay there. That’s why I advise flamenco enthusiasts not to miss it.
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Javier Barón: Thank you very much. I felt really at ease in Jerez at all times. The city and the Teatro Villamarta were the two great incentives to triumph with my show ‘Dos voces para un baile’ at a festival so important worldwide, and in front of such a special audience. For those who didn’t see it, I await you beginning tomorrow, Thursday, April 30th at the Teatro de Madrid. We’ll be there until Sunday, May 3rd. Thank you very much for speaking so well of my work.

Name: Aline Cristina Pavia
City, Country: Campinas, Brasil
Question: What do you think is more important to a bailaor? To always seek perfect technique or to always seek something new and unprecedented? Why isn’t a good bailaor(a) necessarily a good maestro for classes and vice versa? How can a bailaor grow personally in order to get across his art and his technique to other people?
Thank you very much and a big hello from Brazil,
P.S. When can you come to Brazil to teach flamenco dancing classes? We await you very affectionately!
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Javier Barón: To always seek something new. If you’re looking for perfection, it’s better to go to a repair shop which always uses the same parts. Regarding the second question, everything comes in good time. Each thing has its stage and at certain times the bailaor only thinks about dancing and creating, and not about teaching. Experience, patience and age are what make you grow as an artist and as a maestro. Regarding your invitation to teach classes in Brazil, all you have to do is contact my office (www.dezza.es) and we’ll be in Rio de Janeiro! Thank you very much

Name: Muriell Garfias
City, Country: Vienna, Austria
Question: Hi Javi. When are you going to do a tour of Central Europe and come to Vienna? I remember your classes and performances in Vienna a lot. Every time you appear live you get through to the audience due to your spirit and professionalism. Best wishes from your friend Muriell
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Javier Barón: Hi Muriell, I’m really glad to say hello to you. I love Vienna and you’ve all always treated me really well there. I’d love to be able to return to your country. We have some things going on in Germany; we’ll see if we can go there. But it’s rather complicated nowadays. Let’s hope that for the sake of art and flamenco, this is worked out soon. Best wishes

Name: Jason Martínez
City, Country: Tucson, AZ USA
Question: Javier, we had the chance to see you in Albuquerque and were pleasantly surprised, as we had not heard much about you prior to that performance. Would you consider yourself a minimalist?
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Javier Barón: More than minimalism, I’d talk about simplicity. Both in the person and in the artist. I try to tell my truth in every show I do, without beating around the bush or any tricks. And above all, very flamenco.

Name: Mara
City, Country: USA
Question: Mr. Barón. Speak to us, please, about ‘duende’.
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Javier Barón: It’s something inexplicable. It appears and disappears. But when it’s there, it’s something magical. It’s hard to explain with words; you have to live it and feel it.

Name: Alejandro
City, Country: Albuquerque, USA
Question: Hello Javier, I’m Alejandro from Argentina but I’ve lived in Albuquerque for several years now: I just wanted to tell you that I loved the show you did in Albuquerque two years ago, with that violinist whose name I can’t remember right now, which was brilliant, well, it was really a great show. Will you come again to New Mexico, or to the United States this year? Or Argentina? (I’ll see if I can catch you when I’m there.)
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Javier Barón: Dear Alejandro, thank you very much for your words. The truth is that ‘Notas al pie’ is a great show, and we felt really good in Albuquerque. The violinist’s name is Alexis Lefèvre; he’s a great musician and a great person. I love working with him because he has very special musical sensitivity. We’re in the planning stage of doing more stuff together. We’ll see when we can go back to Albuquerque. It’s a great festival and it’s a shame that it’s been canceled for the time being. We have several dates pending in the U.S.; let’s hope we meet again soon.

Name: MARIELLA
City, Country: ITALY
Question: Javier, before doing your show, before going out on stage... what scares you the most and what gives you the most strength... the most confidence?
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Javier Barón: Hi Mariella, what scares me the most are the first few minutes of the show. The crowd gives me confidence. The response and warmth I get from them in every performance is fundamental.

Further information:

Javier Barón presents ‘Dos voces para un baile’ at Teatro Madrid from April 30th to May 3rd 2009
More information | Tickets sale

Flamenco bailaor Javier Barón, winner of the 2008 National Dance Prize

Bienal de Sevilla 2008. Javier Barón, ‘Dos voces para un baile’.
Review, photos, video

Digital encounter. Carmen Linares, cantaora (December 22nd, 2008)