Andrés Marín

Festival de Jerez is more and more the forum chosen by flamenco dancing and Spanish dance companies to reveal their new creations. In this edition, there are six premieres at the Teatro Villamarta:

• ‘Al compás del viento’, María José Franco. The Cádiz-born bailaora premieres with a show combining flamenco characteristic of Cádiz and Jerez.

• ‘La pasión según se mire’, Andrés Marín. An avant-garde look at the “passions” of Lole, José de la Tomasa and Concha Vargas.

• ‘Quiero tu cante’, María del Mar Moreno. The Jerez-born bailaora places baile’s most basic motivation in the foreground: cante.

Belén Maya

• ‘Bailes alegres para personas tristes’, Belén Maya. Side by side with Olga Pericet, the bailaora vindicates cooperation between baile creators.

• ‘Historia de un soldado’, Fernando Romero. Flamenco and Spanish for a version of Stravinsky’s work, with Manolo Marín and Isabel Bayón.

• ‘Reencuentro’, Fernando Belmonte. A show directed by Joaquín Grilo to pay tribute to the Jerez-born baile maestro.

Dospormedio & Cia.

• Of the premieres, the ones by Andrés Marín and Belén Maya.

• Of the large-scale shows, ‘Fedra’ starring Lola Greco.

• A ‘must’, ‘Sonata’ by Dospormedio & Cía, which returns to Jerez after winning the specialized critics’ 2008 Revelation Award.

• Male baile heavyweights: Antonio Canales, Rafael Campallo, Farruquito and Joaquín Grilo.

• Of traditional cante, the ménage à trois in ‘Mujerez’ and the final face-off between Fernando de la Morena and El Torta.

• Baile ‘Novísimos’. The series reveals up-and-coming talents. People are speaking well of María Canea and Mexican Karen Lugo’s foreign regard might be interesting.

• New voices up front. Jerez displays three main new voices. In the ‘Los Conciertos de Palacio’ Series, David Lagos, El Londro and Jesús Méndez present their respective début albums.

David Lagos (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

• Young experts. We’ll see the solo proposals of the Catalans Ana Morales, winner of La Unión’s Desplante 2009 Award; and Belén López, recently returning after her début in the United States.

• Alternative flamenco. And finally a series of more streetwise, rock, cross-border flamenco. Juan Diego with ‘Mixtolobo’, María Bermúdez with ‘Chicana Gipsy Project’ and the very young Soniquete are eye-catching on the bill.

For those who aren’t lucky enough to be on vacation on these dates, they can enjoy the festival in concentrated doses on the weekend. There are three in the program:

Rafael Campallo, 'Puente de Triana' (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

Tomasito (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

• First weekend: The festival is inaugurated with hits by the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía with a show based on Lorca, María José Franco’s premiere, ‘Fedra’ and the cante recital ‘Gaditanía’.

• Second weekend: Friday kicks off with ‘Vamos al tiroteo’ by Rafaela Carrasco, and covers an encounter with José Luis Balao in person, cante by the three ‘Mujerez’, María del Mar Moreno’s premiere and Grilo’s ‘Leyenda personal’, among other shows.

• Third weekend: Standing out in the last two days is ‘Puente de Triana’ by Rafael Campallo, the encounter between Tomasito and Los Delinqüentes, the tribute to Fernando Belmonte, Javier Latorre’s choreography workshop and the two-way cante recital by Fernando de la Morena and El Torta.

Festival de Jerez is a twenty-four-hour experience daily. The students of the training program, who now number a thousand, have classes from morning to afternoon. But there are also activities for those who go to the festival as spectators. Every day at 1 p.m. at La Bodega de San Ginés - headquarters of the Regulatory Council of the famous sherry wine - there’s a press conference with the artists to perform the following day and afterwards, round-tables or presentations of albums and books. Admission is free and, moreover, those attending are given a selection of wines for tasting.

Alcázar de Jerez

Guardería flamenca (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

This year the ‘Vivencias’ Series premieres, encounters with venerable maestros of flamenco art who will tell their stories first-hand. They will be at 5 p.m. at venues such as the Centro Andaluz de Flamenco, which deserves a separate visit for housing the largest flamenco documentary archives.

Even children have their place at the festival. Since the last edition it has had the Flamenco Nursery, open to the children of students, instructors, festival personnel and the general public. There, they take part in numerous activities through which they begin their first contact with flamenco.

Nor must it be forgotten that Jerez is a city of monuments and any stroll around the old quarter is well worthwhile. Visiting the Royal School of Equestrian Art or some winery are basic activities, as well as going for tapas at the many bars in areas such as around the Plaza del Caballo, the Mercado de Abastos, the streets Larga and Francos, squares such as Rafael Rivero y Plateros, and the very flamenco neighborhood of Santiago.

Peña la Bulería

Experiencing flamenco during Festival de Jerez includes late night… until dawn. Starting at 1 a.m., the city’s peñas offer special performances included in the program. And there’s also an unofficial off-festival at bars like El Arriate, Damajuana and El Colmao, where a party might spontaneously arise when you least expect it. The best thing is to keep an eye on where the crowd’s going and lose track of time.