2023 has proved a success for dancer Paula Comitre, with the sevillian being considered one of the great bastions of Flamenco. Dancer, choreographer and regular of the Biennial flamenco festival. Comitre has now been selected for the prestigious creative residency programme in Paris from the 3rd of February to the 27th of June 2023. The programme is in association with both the French council of beautiful art and international council of art with the Academy offering both professional and fiscal assistance during an artist’s residency. The  arts boards are currently committed to shaping a more rounded residency programme, with the prestigious cultural institution looking to promote and aid artists from different disciplines. 

“(Comitre) is one of the artists with the most potential and artistic qualities of the new generation of flamenco dancers. She has great qualities to opt in for the residency programme. She has been provided with a very important opportunity to amplify and enrich her craft thanks to her hardworking and restless attitude.” Explains Chema blanco, director of the Biennial Flamenco festival, one of the institutions that had previously promoted the dancer alongside the Andalusian Institute of Flamenco of the Government of Andalucia, the Jerez Festival, the Lope Vega Theatre in Seville, Flamenco Dance Study and the Professional Conservatory of Dance of Antonio Ruiz Soler. 

The French programme creates and promotes its own open space for artists of different disciplines to perform and create. Through it, artists are put in contact with one another during their five months in Paris. The residency allows artists to develop a common creative and artistic space. 

“I thought how marvellous it would be to be supported by an institution of this magnitude and also, to have a creative residency in a city like Paris, that is known for its art. I want to be able to see where I can bring flamenco and to what extent could I internalise it with other art disciplines.”

This is the first time that flamenco has its own leading figure in the programme and she will be, without a doubt, one of the stars of the dance scheme. It is the first time that the genre has been in consideration for the choreography programme and a female flamenco artist has been presented. In addition, only one artist per discipline has been chosen and Comitre is the one that has held that position since February 3, 2023. So this is a pretty big deal. 

“The day when an email came telling me they would call me and tell me the news that I got the position, I couldn’t believe it, it was an emotional experience”. Explains the dancer in an interview with Lavozdelsur.es “I needed to prepare the dossier that they provided. I completed it between tablao nights and events. I had to translate it into French and lay it all out myself. I thought that my selection would be practically impossible.” Paula Comitre continued.

“I thought how marvellous it would be to be supported by an institution of this magnitude and also, be a resident in a city like Paris, that is known for its art. I want to be able to see where I can bring flamenco and to what extent could I internalise it with other art disciplines.” 

she concluded.

Paula Comitre previously won the revelation artist award at the Giraldillo of the XXI Biennial Flamenco. With her previous show “Allegories (the limits and their maps)” gained critical acclaim and positive feedback from many of the audience saying  it was one of the most unforgettable nights of the festival in the Central Theatre. 

Translation: Eoin McLoughlin