Bienal de Flamenco in Seville 2014
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 between 12 September and 5 October included:
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, accompanied by his family entourage of singers, musicians and other performers.
19 September: Tomatito at the Alcazar – always one of the Bienal's most popular performers.
20 September: El Baile de la Frontera at Hotel Triana, with performers from Morón de la Frontera, renowned for its flamenco talent. The line-up included 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 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 Teatro Central with her new show Latidos de Agua, recalling the Polinario, a legendary place in the Alhambra.
29 September: Ariadna Castellanos at Espacio Santa Clara – the pianist has played with Paco de Lucía.
1 October: Jeromo Segura at Espacio Santa Clara. This award-winning singer performed in an intimate setting.
5 October: The Bienal flashmob took place on the final day of the festival at Plaza Nueva. Pastora Galván prepared the choreography of bulerías trianeras for this 3.5-minute group performance, open to everyone.
Here is a video of the Bienal:
If you couldn’t wait until then to see flamenco, there were also concerts at the Alcazar as part of the summer cultural highlights in Seville. One of them featured Jeromo Segura on 30 August, adding passion and emotion to the magical setting of the palace gardens.