CULTURAL COMPASS
FLAMENCO FESTIVAL MIAMI
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts presents the 14th annual FLAMENCO FESTIVAL MIAMI, March 16–19, 2023.
Flamenco is a Spanish art form typically from Andalucía, southern Spain, consisting of three parts: cante, singing, baile, dancing, and toque, music playing. Traditionally, the dance and music of gitanos, gypsies, flamenco remains connected to the gypsy culture, but payos, non-gypsies, have contributed to expand it in Spain and internationally.
One word to define flamenco has to be intimate, just voice, guitar and the body of a dancer moving elegantly. Gypsy diva La Yerbabuena observed: The mother of flamenco is singing, although the most difficult task is the guitarist who makes the dancer and the singer feel satisfied.
Popular wisdom has it that flamenco is a state of mind, an art form that interprets the deepest emotions, from melancholy to joy.
UNESCO lists flamenco as a cultural heritage of humanity.
FLAMENCO FESTIVAL MIAMI
Superstar Sara Baras returns with new bolero-infused work Alma. Flamenco guitar maestro Rafael Riqueni makes Miami debut under the stars. Malaga-born dancer Irene Lozano showcases the new generation of flamenco in intimate performances. March 16–19, 2023.
Spanish superstar Sara Baras (@sarabaras) returns to the Arsht Center with three performances of her soulful, new genre-bending show, Alma. March 17–19. Malaga-born dancer Irene Lozano (@irenelozanolachiqui) who has been flourishing on the international flamenco scene and now calls Miami home, opens the festival with a celebration of female power in the intimate Peacock Foundation Studio on March 16. And taking the festival to the Center’s outdoor Thomson Plaza for the first time, Rafael Riqueni (@rafaelriquenioficial), one of the most renowned flamenco guitarists in the world, closes the 2023 edition with a one-night-only concert on March 19.
IRENE LOZANO: “LAS MUJERES QUE HABITAN EN MI”
From renowned flamenco dancer Irene Lozano, known as “La Chiqui de Málaga,” comes the new show Las Mujeres Que Habitan en Mi, a stunning tribute to all of the women and the possibilities that have influenced her life and art. A native of Málaga, Spain, who has called Miami home since 2020, Irene Lozano is one of the greatest talents in the new generation of flamenco dance. She has performed all over the world with many of the most renowned artists and flamenco companies, including Javier LaTorre, Rubén Olmo, Antonio Canales, Rafael Estévez, Nani Paños, and Eva Yerbabuena. She also runs a dance school, Flamenco Dance Institute, which she established in Miami in 2020. In 2022, she was awarded the “Premio Desplante” at the Festival Internacional de Minas, one of the most prestigious flamenco awards in the world.
Thursday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. Peacock Foundation Studio. Tickets: $25
RAFAEL RIQUENI
Making his Miami debut in 2023, Rafael Riqueni del Canto is considered one of the greatest flamenco guitarists of our time. On his 2017 album Parque de María Luisa, considered a masterpiece among critics, Rafael Riqueni treaded ancient paths of solo flamenco guitar. He continues the journey on his most recent album, 2020’s Herencia, which showcases the influence earlier maestros have had on Riqueni’s music. Herencia was nominated for the 2021 Latin Grammy Award for best flamenco album. “This is music that reminds us that we are alive,” Spanish newspaper Diario de Sevilla said of Riqueni’s guitar-playing. Riqueni first took the art form by storm at age 14, winning two main national awards for flamenco guitar in Spain. Since then, Riqueni continued to earn critical acclaim over the course of several decades, adding award after award from the most prestigious flamenco music organizations in Spain, including Premio Andalucía de Cultura, Premio Nacional de la Crítica, Giraldillo a la Maestría de la XVIII Bienal de Flamenco and Premio AIE. In 2017, he was awarded with XXXI Compás del Cante, an award referred to by the Spanish media as the “Flamenco Nobel prize.” Riqueni’s performance marks a first for Flamenco Festival Miami as the experience goes outdoors with an evening under the stars on the Arsht Center’s Thomson Plaza for the Arts.
Sunday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. Thomson Plaza for the Arts. Tickets: $20, $40
Sara Baras ALMA
The internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer and superstar of the flamenco world Sara Baras returns to the Arsht Center with her newest show, Alma, as the centerpiece of Flamenco Festival Miami 2023. In Alma, flamenco embraces the bolero and, in turn, bolero sounds are embellished with flamenco moves. Baras pays respect to flamenco’s techniques while fusing it with her own modern touch, brilliant footwork, and captivating stage presence. With lavish costumes and live music performed onstage featuring flamenco rhythms, Baras will once again thrill Florida audiences in her first Miami performance since 2019.
“A woman who can dance up not just a flamenco storm, but a hurricane!” — The Guardian.
Friday, March 17 & Saturday, March 18, 2023, at 8 p.m. Sunday, March 19 at 2 p.m. Knight Concert Hall. Tickets: $35, $59, $75, $99, $135
About FLAMENCO FESTIVAL MIAMI
Flamenco Festival was founded in 2001 in New York City, and it is now the largest platform for flamenco on the international cultural scene. Founded by Miguel Marín, the festival has reached an audience of more than 1.6 million people and has presented more than 140 companies in 1,250 performances. It has showcased the leading names of today, from world-renowned artists and icons of traditional flamenco to the most innovative, emerging young stars of dance and music in this genre, such as Sara Baras, María Pagés, Carmen Linares, Eva Yerbabuena, Estrella Morente, Vicente Amigo, Miguel Poveda, Manuela Carrasco, Israel Galván, Rocío Molina, Manuel Liñán, Olga Pericet, Rocío Márquez, María Terremoto and Rosalía, as well as geniuses who have passed, such as the great masters Paco de Lucía or Enrique Morente.
TICKETS
Tickets for Flamenco Festival Miami will be available to Arsht Center Culturist members beginning December 16 at noon and to the general public on December 19 at noon. Tickets may be purchased at the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949–6722, or online at arshtcenter.org.
The Arsht Center
Set in the heart of downtown Miami, the stages of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Our are alive year-round with artists from around the world, innovative programming from our resident companies and local arts partners, free community events that reflect Miami’s unique identity and arts education experiences for thousands of Miami children each year.
The Arsht Center is home stage for three resident companies — Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and New World Symphony — and a launch pad for local artists to make their mark on the international stage. Our 300+ events each year include the Center’s Signature Series of classical, jazz, Broadway, local theater and much more. For more information, visit arshtcenter.org.
