The flamenco dancing
courses at Festival de Jerez 2008 are already filled to
over half capacity
Ángel Muñoz, Isabel Bayón
and Mercedes Ruiz have hung up the ‘full’
sign
Flamenco-world.com, September 2007
Since registration opened on
September 3rd, the courses of Festival de Jerez 2008 have
already filled up to over half capacity. Of the 36 flamenco
dancing courses which will be taught from February 22nd
to March 8th next year, a third have filled up, among
them, that of tangos by Ángel
Muñoz, rondeña by Rafaela Carrasco,
guajira by Mercedes Ruiz and tientos by Isabel Bayón.
So far, there are over 500 students from some thirty countries
who have formally registered, which confirms the expectation
raised every year by this prestigious ‘school’
throughout the world.
Festival de Jerez
Courses (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
Over five hundred students have formally
registered for the dance courses of the twelfth edition
of Festival de Jerez, which will be held from February
22nd to March 8th, 2008. Registration for the 36 courses
of the festival’s training section opened on September
3rd, and in just one week, 55 percent of a total of 900
places were filled.
There are already eleven courses which
have hung up the ‘full’ sign, among them,
that of tangos by Ángel Muñoz, alegrías
by Javier
Latorre, rondeña by Rafaela Carrasco, guajira
with a fan by Mercedes Ruiz, bulería by Manuel
Liñán and tientos by Isabel
Bayón. Another two courses have just a few
places remaining: that of bulerías de Jerez by
Soraya Clavijo and that of seguiriyas by Ángel
Muñoz. There are still places available for all
of the other courses, with a varied list of prestigious
maestros of the likes of Belén
Maya, Manolete, Antonio el Pipa, María del
Mar Moreno, Merche Esmeralda and Matilde Coral, among
many others.
The students who have already confirmed
their participation in the training section of the Jerez
festival come from some thirty countries. Standing out
with a strong presence are Japan, Germany, Taiwan –
with a big increase in this edition - and Canada. To a
lesser extent, there are registrations coming from the
rest of Europe, as well as such faraway countries as Brazil,
Australia, South Africa and Venezuela.
Three shifts and four levels
The courses will be held parallel to
the show schedule of Festival de Jerez 2008 in two blocks.
The first one runs from February 23rd to 29th. And the
second, from March 2nd to 8th. Each of them offers three
shifts: morning, lunchtime and afternoon. There are also
four levels to choose from. Those of initiation and elementary
level last a total of twelve hours, while those of intermediate
and advanced level have a duration of fifteen hours. As
an incentive, included in every student’s registration
– whose price runs anywhere from 285 to 325 euros
depending on the level - is a ticket to the shows at the
Teatro Villamarta. Registration is still open.
