Can you say, olé?
Flamenco returns to Miami in full force from Feb. 25 to March 1 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts with the return of the 17th edition of Flamenco Festival Miami, starring Spanish superstar and Olivier Award winner Sara Baras.
Baras is known for her lightning-fast footwork, intricate hand, arm, and body movements, as well as her stage presence and choreography, bringing both passion and elegance to her performances.
(Photo: Sofia Wittert)
"Vuela" honors flamenco guitar legend Paco de Lucia./
She has performed 17 different shows in five continents, visiting more than 40 countries around the world.
“We’re excited to welcome back the Flamenco Festival to the Adrienne Arsht Center and to have the opportunity to host Sara Baras and her fearless footwork,” says Suzette Espinoza Fuentes, vice president of communications for the Adrienne Arsht Center.
Calling Baras’ dancing no less than “magnificent,” Fuentes said. "We're honored to present Sara's production for its debut in the U.S."
Created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her dance company, Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, “Vuela” unfolds over 15 unique pieces throughout four thematic acts (Wood, Sea, Death, and Fly), featuring 13 dancers and musicians.
(Photo: Sofia Wittert)
"Vuela" consists of 15 thematic dance pieces exploring wood, sea, death, and flight.
The new production is an homage to legendary Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía, one of the first flamenco guitarists to branch out into jazz and classical genres. Known for his trademark picados (finger style), de Lucia was a master of contrast, juxtaposing picados and rasgueados (strumming) with more sensitive playing. Although he died in 2014, he is still revered as Spain’s premier flamenco guitarist and for making flamenco known internationally.
In “Vuelas,” Baras integrates her technical brilliance and emotional depth to honor de Lucía’s legacy. The two were very close and the production will feature a number of his musical pieces.
Miguel Marin, founder of the Flamenco Festival, which brings flamenco to major cities around the world, and has worked with all of the major flamenco artists said, “Sara Baras is the most important artist in Spain.”
(Photo: Sofia Wittert)
Flamenco dancer Sara Baras is considered a living legend.
Calling flamenco “a living language of emotion,” he said she has transformed the art form and made it more accessible for all audiences.
“Her concept is more modern,” Marin said, “and her virtuosity and talent are unique.”
Marin started the first Flamenco Festival in 2001 in New York City where he was earning a master’s degree in performing arts and arts administration at NYU. His groups have played Carnegie Hall, New York City Center, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. He brought the show to Miami four years later at the Jackie Gleason Theater and then moved to the Arsht Center when it was built in 2006.
Today, Flamenco Festival is the largest international platform dedicated to this art form, with more than 1,400 performances by 170 companies in 101 cities.
“I wanted to create a platform that could showcase the richness and diversity of flamenco to international audiences,” Marin said by phone from Málaga, Spain.
Marin calls Baras “a living legend.”
(Photo: Sofia Wittert)
"Vuela" features 13 dancers and musicians
“It isn’t just her technique,” he said. “It’s her charisma, the sense that she’s been touched by something divine. What audiences respond to is her soul, her generosity, the way she gives herself completely every time she steps onstage.”
He has worked with her for 20 years in New York, Miami, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan and he still watches every show.
She gives it her all, every time, Marin said.
“Tonight is the only night,” is the philosophy she lives by, he said.
He says that gratitude and knowing the audience might only see you once drives her to give 100 percent of herself, never holding back. Marin said Baras conveys that energy to everyone around her.
“I never saw anybody else having this attitude or philosophy,” said Marin, who has worked with more than 100 other flamenco dance companies.
“Her commitment makes the energy of each performance feel singular, almost sacred,” he said. “You know you’re watching something historic.”
Marin said he feels fortunate to work with someone of Baras’ caliber.
Marin’s own path to flamenco was unexpected. Although he grew up in Spain, he discovered and fell in love with flamenco in the U.S. after seeing a performance by Raquel Heredia Reyes, known as “La Repompa,” also from Málaga, and the daughter of Rafaela Reyes, also known as “La Repompa.”
Taking flamenco for granted in his home country, it wasn’t until he saw it performed in New York City, that he changed his focus from modern dance administration to flamenco.
“Watching ‘La Repompa’ changed everything,” he says. From that moment, he began working in flamenco and eventually started bringing companies from Spain to the U.S.
As part of the events at the Arsht, the Latin jazz fusion band, Son Gitano, will kick off the festival as part of the Live on the Plaza series. Known for their fusion of salsa, boleros and flamenco, the ensemble evokes the spirit of Latin heritage and music.
(Courtesy Artist Management)
Latin jazz fusion band Son Gitano will kick off the festival as part of the Live on the Plaza series.
“It’s our first time playing the Flamenco Festival and we’re very excited to be part of the festivities,” said Michel Gonzalez, bandleader and guitarist for Son Gitano, who studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Born in Venezuela, Gonzalez has family roots in Spain. He said the band is bringing original arrangements and rhythms to their performance.
“Our sound is a mix of Cuban, Spanish, and other Latin music adapted for our diverse Miami audience,” said Gonzalez. “The music is for everyone, not just for purists.
Additionally, for two hours prior to each performance, the public is invited to experience a free performance of dance, music, and interactive workshops, part of the Flamenco Festival Miami Fiesta, an Arsht Plus engagement, taking place outside on the Thomson Plaza for the Arts.
(Photo: Sofia Wittert)
Baras created "Vuela" to celebrates the 25th anniversary of her company.
Marin says Baras is excited to debut “Vuelas” in Miami. He describes the experience as one you will remember forever, “a mystical, even spiritual experience,” he said. “It’s not just entertainment. You know you are in front of a legend.
“Sara has an amazing respect for, and connection with, her audiences,” Marin added. “There’s an incredible synergy between her and the crowd in Miami — they shout, they clap, they become part of the show. They feel right at home.”
Olé!
IF YOU GO
Flamenco Festival Miami XVII
Sara Baras: “Vuela”
Feb. 25 - March 2
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Knight Concert Hall, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami