La Bienal de Flamenco 2014 - A Preview

This autumn, flamenco fans shouldn't miss a major event taking place in Seville: the Bienal.

Every second year, the finest performers and companies - singers, musicians, dancers - bring their shows to the city for three weeks of mesmerising performances of this striking art form, with its raw emotion, intricate rhythms, and astonishing footwork.

This year in 2014, some of the star attractions showing between 12 September and 5 October include:

12 September: The opening night gala at Teatro la Maestranza - a tribute to the great singer Enrique Morente, featuring his children, Estrella, Soleá and Jose Enrique; as well as Carmen Linares, El Pele, Arcángel, and dancer Israel Galván.
15 September: Farruquito in his brand new show Pinacenda at Teatro La Maestranza. The unfeasibly attractive dancer is always accompanied by his family entourage of singers, musicians and other performers.
19 September: Tomatito at the Alcazar - the guitarist is always one of the Bienal's most popular performers.
20 September: El Baile de la Frontera at Hotel Triana. A group of performers from Moron de la Frontera, renowned for the excellence of its flamenco talent. The line-up includes Pepe Torres, Jairo Barrull, Carmen Lozano (invited artist), David el Galli, Juan José Amador; guitarists Dani de Morón, Eugenio Iglesias
and Paco Iglesias, with the special collaboration of Diego de Morón and Antonio Ruiz “el Carpintero”.
21 September: Manuela Carrasco with Naturaleza Gitana: Gitana Morena, a homage to Lorca, at La Maestranza.
28 September: Patricia Guerrero at the Teatro Central with her new show Latidos de Agua, which recalls the Polinario, a legendary place in the Alhambra.
29 September: Ariadna Castellanos plays at the Espacio Santa Clara - the young pianist won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music in London, and has played with Paco de Lucia.
1 October: Jeromo Segura at the Espacio Santa Clara. This up-and-coming star, who won the coveted Lampara Minera award in 2013, will sing in this intimate space.

5 October: This year's flashmob will take place on the final day of the festival at 12 midday in plaza Nueva. Pastora Galvan has prepared the choreography of bulerias trianeras for this 3.5 minute group performance, which anyone is welcome to participate in. If you want to be in this flashmob, get your dancing shoes on now and start practising!


If you can't wait till then to see some top-class flamenco, then go to the Alcazar on 30 August, to see Jeromo Segura sing as part of the outdoor summer concert season. Hearing any music at night in the gardens of this palace is an unforgettable experience, but the passion and spine-tingling emotion of flamenco adds an extra dimension.

Blog published on 18 August 2014