The 21st Bienal de Flamenco will feature online streaming as a broadcasting option for seven of its shows. As Antonio Zoido, director of the festival, already mentioned on the day of the Bienal’s program presentation, this festival “relies on a significant foreign public who travels every two years to attend the shows and activities in person. France, USA, Japan, Germany, and Italy, among other countries, contribute about 30% of all spectators”. Having in mind all those flamenco lovers who are unable to travel to Seville due to the ongoing health crisis, shows of cante, baile and toque have been selected to be broadcasted live, open and free on the day of their premiere and will also be available for later viewing, so that this video experience will permit showcasing both the Bienal and Seville, a city proud of its heritage and the quintessential flamenco capital.

The choice of venues has been made taking in account their architectonic value. They are: the Real Alcázar, the San Luis de los Franceses Church, the Andalusian Center of Contemporary Art (Cartuja Monastery), the Central Theater and the Lope de Vega Theater. Likewise, the shows to be streamed online have been carefully selected with the sole purpose of satisfying the musical tastes of flamenco lovers, featuring cante, baile and toque.

The festival begins on September 4^th at Seville’s Alcázar. The presentation of the general program and the flashmob will be broadcasted globally. Guitarist Rafael Riqueni composed some sevillanas which were premiered in the award ceremony of the Giraldillos in the previous edition of the Bienal. Flamenco verses will be danced with the mastery of Antonio Canales and María Moreno, who have been tutoring flamenco lovers all over the world for months, so they can dance them wherever they are.

«Having in mind all those flamenco lovers who are unable to travel to Seville due to the ongoing health crisis, shows of cante, baile and toque have been selected to showcase the quintessential flamenco capital»

On September 6^th, at the Central Theater in Seville’s Cartuja Island, Rocío Molina will be joined by other great artists, performing a show made of two very distinct parts: Inicio (Uno). Extracto de Trilogía sobre la guitarra, featuring Rafael Riqueni, and Al Fondo Riela (Lo otro de Uno). Extracto de Trilogía sobre la guitarra, featuring guitarists Eduardo Trassierra and Yerai Cortés. Both parts are the result of a single research about the essential elements of the flamenco trilogy. This process fulfills the objective of completing a series offering a careful study of the guitar, showcasing its expressive range from simple to complex. The show will be performed at 1 PM and 9 PM.

Ten days later, on September 16^th, the San Luis de los Franceses Church will host the premiere of Paraíso Perdido by the renowned player of viola da gamba Fahmi Alqhai — who is also in charge of the musical arrangements — and bailaora Patricia Guerrero, who does the choreography. Fahmi and Patricia will start with the refined chaconnes, passacaglias and sarabandas of Bach, Biber and Marais, moving later to a baroque Seville. The scenic director will be Juan Dolores Caballero. This show will take place at 9 PM.

Two shows will be streamed from the Real Alcázar: The first one, Universo Lorca by Andrés Barrios, will take place on September 24^th and celebrates the poet’s 122^nd birthday, presenting an open and wide vision of Spain’s popular music before its civil war, gathering music genres from all over the world and assembling them together in a synthesis of harmonies and new rhythms which will add another fresh, complex and different perspective. This show will feature the cante of Ángeles Toledano, the bass of Santi Greco and the percussion of Michael Olivera.

On September 26^th, guitarist Joselito Acedo will perform compositions from his album Triana D. F. (Distrito Flamenco), where he gathers different ways of conceiving the flamenco heritage of the Triana district. Three generations of artists will join the guitar of Joselito, who will explores palos from bulerías to soleás with vibrant harmonies. Both performances will take place at the Alcázar at 10 PM.

On September 29^th at 8:30 PM, the Lope de Vega theater will host a concert by La Tremendita. Her show Tremenda is built on a structure of several pieces/sketches featuring very different images and tones. It is an experimental discourse with a very traditional root, both things essential for this artist. Each piece/sketch indicates the causes of global inequality (gender, social, economic, territorial…) through the writings of the artist herself and those of her collaborator of late, Laurent Berger. Rancapino and Andres Marin will perform in this show as invited artists.

The following day, September 30^th, pianist Dorantes will premier his latest work, which he has titled Identidad, where he seeks to become aware of the ways he is, feels and acts. Dorantes’ performance will be the last one to be hosted at the San Luis Church in this edition of the Bienal.

The last show to be streamed online will be the one scheduled at the Andalusian Center of Contemporary Art (Cartuja Monastery). On October 3^rd at 9 PM Andrés Marín will have completed the last of the micropieces that he would have developed and recorded through that day. Those creations will be summarized in his show, titled La Vigilia Perfecta, a danced liturgy that takes place throughout the day, from dawn to dusk, as distributed and sequenced fragments performed at different locations in the Monastery.

All these shows will be available at the Bienal de Flamenco YouTube channel, streamed live and also a few days after their live performance. More information about the program and ticket sales at www.labienal.com.