Spain's Manuel Liñán Company headlines as Vancouver International Flamenco Festival unveils programming

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      The 2019 Vancouver International Flamenco Festival has announced it will be bringing in one of the key figures behind the renewal of the art form in Spain when it happens September 13 to 29.

      In what will be a Canadian premiere, Manuel Liñán Company brings Baile De Autor (Dance of the Author) to the Vancouver Playhouse on September 14.

      The young, Granada-born choreographer and performer, who has worked at companies such as the Ballet Nacional de España, Nuevo Ballet Español, Rafaela Carrasco, and Belen Maya, is both choreographer and dancer in a show that plays out like a sort of artist's dream, complete with light, sound, song, and guitar.

      The solo star is celebrated as one of the top new figures in flamenco in Spain, perhaps best known for staging a work where he wore a traditional female bata de cola--causing an uproar amid traditionalists.

      The rest of the fest's performances take place at the more intimate Waterfront Theatre, where Montreal's La Otra Orilla presents a world premiere for four performers: a dancer, a singer, a pianist and a percussionist, on September 26. Called MAGNETIKAE – a personal journey, it makes an unexpected blend of fiery flamenco with the motif of ice flows, creating a vivid visual environment and soundscape. 

      The next night, Vancouverite Deborah “La Caramelita” Dawson, whose cultural background is Indian and Malaysian, travels three continents in her world premiere NRITYA, exploring the bonds between flamenco and India with her company performers.

      September 28,  fest artistic director and choreographer Rosario Ancer, with musical director Victor Kolstee and Sevillian guest dancer/choreographer Gabriel Aragu, will be presenting a set of new choreographies in a show called Nuevo II.

      Elsewhere, guitarist Kolstee's La Musica del Flamenco, featuring Manuel Liñán Company artists at the Hall at St. James Community Square, opens the fest on September 13.

      Tickets are going on sale today for the 29th annual fest, one of only a handful of its kind in North America, 

       

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