The competition will be held between 23rd and 26th June 2005 at Madrid's Teatro Albéniz

Flamenco-world.com, May 2005

For the past fourteen years, the Certamen de Coreografía de Danza Española y Flamenco has sent out an invitation to the genre's new choreographers. The fourteenth edition will run from 23rd to 26th June 2005 at Madrid's Albéniz Theater. The enrolment period is open until 23rd May at www.certamenflamenco.com. At stake are generous prize monies and the prestige of an award that previously went to bailaores like Rafaela Carrasco, Fernando Romero, Ángel Rojas and Carlos Rodríguez, Adrián Galia and Manuel Liñán, among others.

Rafaela Carrasco (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

The 14th Spanish and Flamenco Dance Choreography Contest will award the first, second and third place choreographers with ten thousand, five thousand and two thousand five hundred euros respectively. In addition, a new award of two thousand dollars will be added this year for solo choreography, and the AISGE Foundation award for outstanding ballet dancer will see stiffer competition for its raised bounty of three thousand euros. The list of awards is rounded off with a prize of two thousand five hundred euros for an original musical composition for dance.

To compete for any of these awards, participants should sign up before 23rd May 2005, following the rules posted on the event's official website. There are plans for an expense account to help the choreographers selected, providing up to eight hundred fifty euros to cover production and travel costs.

Competition

Manuel Liñán (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

The competition will be held in several stages at Madrid's Teatro Albéniz. On Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th June between five and eight choreographed pieces will be presented each day. The announcement of the finalists chosen from these two eliminatory rounds will be announced after the second day's events. On Saturday 25th the final will take place, after which the jury panel of professional dancers will present the awards to the winning finalists. The event is scheduled to finish on Sunday 26th June, with a chance to watch the winning choreographed pieces and performances by guest artists who won awards at previous editions of the contest.

According to the rules, “the aim is to encourage experimentation, innovation, the use of different forms of composition and imaginative mise en scène, whilst always utilizing the rich base of Spanish dance as the starting block. There will also be consideration for those who recuperate and give continuity to traditional styles such as the bolera school, classical Spanish dance, regional dances and pure flamenco.” The event “was set up in 1992 with the goal of offering incentives to an up-and-coming movement of new creators, within the genre of new Spanish dance.” Another of the underlying philosophies of this competition - one that's sponsored by Madrid City Council's Arts Department, Madrid Regional Council, The Spanish Ministry of Culture, the AISGE Foundation and the Asociación Cultural por la Danza de Madrid - is to “promote joint ventures between songwriters and choreographers”.

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