Flamenco pervades the cultural agenda of Spain’s presidency
of the European Union
María Pagés dialogues with Tamara Rojo at
the inaugural gala • Estrella Morente and Niño
Josele take part in a musical laboratory • Miguel
Poveda sings with Mariza
S.C./ Flamenco-world.com, January 2010
Flamenco will be one of the featured
types of European music in 2010. The cultural program which
Spain has designed for the semester of its presidency of
the European Union has really taken the jondo genre into
account. Proof of it is the inaugural gala which is to be
held on January 8th, 2010 at the Teatro Real in Madrid before
the top authorities of the Spanish government and European
institutions. The stars are bailaora María Pagés
and dancer Tamara Rojo, authors of a new show in which the
Coro Nacional de España (National Choir of Spain)
will also perform. “Each of them performs a repertoire
loaded with symbolism and they end the show by dancing together
for the first time”, according to the official press
release.
Flamenco will be present in diverse cultural
activities scheduled during the semester. Spain’s
passing-on of the presidency to Hungary and Belgium in June
will be sealed with a three-way musical laboratory entitled
‘Europa en Vivo. Un viaje musical a través
de la diversidad cultural’ (‘Europe Live. A
musical journey through cultural diversity’). Over
forty young musicians from the three countries will gather
for three days to share their musical traditions at the
Real Sitio de San Ildefonso (Segovia). And they will capture
the encounter on June 26th in a joint show at the Solar
Decathlon, including the participation of Granada-born cantaora
Estrella
Morente and Almería-born guitarist Niño
Josele. Also revolving around the ‘Eutrío’
is the program of the Ellas Crean 2010 Series, which will
reach twenty cities all over the world in this sixth edition.
Flamenco will be present on this bill by the hand of cantaoras
Esperanza
Fernández and Mayte Martín.
May 9th is marked on the agenda as Europe
Day at the Spanish Pavilion in Shanghai, home of the 2010
Universal Exposition. And with this motif, flamenco dancing
and Spanish dance will be highlighted. In the Chinese city,
the Ballet Nacional de España (BNE) will perform
on May 12th and 13th. It will stage the shows ‘Dualia’,
choreographed in 2007 by Ángel Rojas and Carlos Rodríguez,
directors of the Nuevo Ballet Español; and ‘La
Leyenda’, a tribute to Carmen Amaya which the BNE’s
current director, dancer and choreographer José Antonio,
authored in 2002 for the Compañía Andaluza
de Danza and which is now a part of the state ballet’s
repertoire. More flamenco shows are scheduled to be held
at the Spanish Pavilion between May and October, among them,
the one starring the Antonio
Gades Company and the one starring bailaora Merche Esmeralda.
25 years in Europe: fado and flamenco
Also coinciding with this period is the
celebration on June 12th in Madrid of the twenty-fifth anniversary
of Spain and Portugal’s joining of the European Union.
And it will be commemorated with a special concert shared
between Miguel
Poveda and Portuguese fado singer Mariza which will
also include the participation of the Orquesta Nacional
de España (National Orchestra of Spain). Both artists
already shared their respective musical traditions in the
film ‘Fados’ (2007) by Carlos Saura.
| |
Miguel Poveda and Mariza (Frame
from 'Fados' by Carlos Saura) |
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