FUEGO FLAMENCO XIII Innovative! Fiery! Mesmerizing!

Featured FUEGO FLAMENCO XIII  Innovative! Fiery! Mesmerizing!

Nov 3 – 12, 2017 Washington, D.C. – GALA Hispanic Theatre continues its 42st season with the thirteenth international Fuego Flamenco Festival that brings leading flamenco artists from Spain and the United States to Washington audiences. Recognized for the presentation of stellar artists in an intimate tablao setting, the festival will run from November 3 through November 12 at the GALA Theatre, 3333 14th Street, NW, one block from the Columbia Heights metro station on the Green/Yellow lines. Parking is available behind the theater at the Giant Food garage for a rate of $4 with validation at GALA.

Fuego Flamenco XIII, with Honorary Producers Lynne and Joseph Horning, is an exploration of traditional flamenco and its breadth and diversity through contemporary expressions. This year’s program includes the world premiere of Flamenco Extranjero/Foreign Flamenco by Edwin Aparicio and Aleksey Kulikov featuring the Flamenco Aparicio Dance Company and several international guest artists, and the United States premiere of Binomio choreographed by Francisco Hidalgo and performed by his company in collaboration with the Fundación Conservatorio Flamenco Casa Patas of Madrid.

The festival program will also include Flamenco en Familia, free interactive demonstrations of various aspects of flamenco for children and families, led by members of the Spanish Dance Society on November 11 at 11 am and 1:30 pm; and a special presentation for students, conceived by Edwin Aparicio, of Colores de Flamenco by the Flamenco Aparicio Dance Company. The student performances will be on October 31, November 1, and November 2 at 10:30 am. For more information about the student matinees, call 202-234-7174.

Press Night and Artist Reception for Flamenco Aparicio Dance Company is Friday, November 3. Press Night and Artist Reception for Francisco Hidalgo & Company is Friday, November 10.

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The festival is made possible with generous support from Lynne and Joseph Horning, the Horning Family Fund of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C., SPAIN arts & culture, and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

FLAMENCO APARICIO DANCE COMPANY

Fuego Flamenco XIII opens with Flamenco Extranjero / Foreign Flamenco, choreographed and directed by Edwin Aparicio (El Salvador/USA), curator of the festival and founder of the Flamenco Aparicio Dance Company, and Aleksey Kulikov (Ukraine/USA), with special solo choreography by Fanny Ara (France/USA) and Carola Zertuche (Mexico/USA).

Mr. Aparicio leads his talented troupe of international artists in this dazzling new work. For centuries dancer and musicians from around the world have studied and performed flamenco, while the art form has continued to evolve, borrowing from and mixing with this foreign influence. Through his innovative choreography, Aparicio delivers a passionate homage to those artists, and to flamenco and its universal appeal.

Performances are on Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4 at 8 pm and Sunday, November 5 at 2 pm.

Flamenco Extranjero features Aparicio and special guest bailaoras Fanny Ara and Carola Zertuche and singers Isabel Soto and Amparo Heredia “La Repompilla” (Spain). Other artists appearing are dancers Alexa Minton (France/USA), Norberto Chamizo (Germany/Spain), Kyoto Terada (Japan/USA) and Mariana Gatto-Durán, (Bulgaria/USA); and musicians Gonzalo Grau (Venezuela/USA), Ricardo Marlow (USA), and Behzad Habibzai (USA). Mr. Grau is Musical Director.

Edwin Aparicio (Choreographer, Co-Director, Dancer) is one of the most sought-after flamenco performers, instructors and choreographers in the United States and Latin America. Described by critics as “the most amazing dancer seen in years,” having “hellfire footwork” and choreographies with “beautiful, evocative imagery”, he trained with world renowned flamenco artists Tomás de Madrid and La Tati and debuted at the legendary Casa Patas in Madrid in 2001.

Mr. Aparicio also performed with The Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center in El Gato Montés (1997) and in Don Giovanni (2003) under the direction of Plácido Domingo, and in Carmen (2015); and performed with the Washington Ballet in Hemmingway’s The Sun Also Rises (2013). He has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States with ensembles such as the José Greco Spanish Dance Company; and shared the stage with such internationally celebrated artists as Elena Andújar, Carmela Greco, Pastora Galván, La Tati, Ana Martinez, and José Luis Rodríguez.

Mr. Aparicio is the artistic director and choreographer of twelve acclaimed productions, including Íntimo with Carmela Greco, which was presented in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Portland, OR; Entresueño, which marked his New York City debut as a company director; and Flamenco Flamenca, which was also presented at the Instituto Cervantes in Chicago. He is a co-founder and a featured performer of GALA’s Fuego Flamenco Festival, and is on the faculty

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of the Washington School of Ballet. Mr. Aparicio was named one of “25 Dancers to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2009; received a 2012 Protagonista Award from GALA for his artistic achievements and contributions to the Latino community; and the Cross of the Order of Civil Merit, bestowed by the King Felipe VI of Spain in 2015.

Aleksey Kulikov (Co-Director) began studying dance at the age of nine in Kiev, Ukraine. Trained in ballroom dance, he competed semi-professionally and performed with a children's ballroom dance theater until his emigration to the United States in 1996. Soon thereafter, he studied flamenco with Natalia Monteleon and traveled to Spain, where he studied in Granada with "La Presy" and in Seville with José Galván. He also studied with "La Tati", Carmela Greco, Manuel Liñán, Domingo Ortega, and Edwin Aparicio. Mr. Kulikov has performed flamenco at various venues in the D.C. area, including Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage and in Yerma and Edwin Aparicio’s Flamenco Deconstructed at GALA. Together with his husband Edwin Aparicio, he co-directed One Plus One (2013), Flamenco Men II (2015), and Salvador (2016).

FRANCISCO HIDALGO AND COMPANY

Fuego Flamenco XIII continues on November 9 at 8 pm with the US premiere of Binomio, presented in collaboration with Madrid’s Fundación Conservatorio Flamenco Casa Patas. This imaginative new flamenco piece is choreographed by Francisco Hidalgo, who returns after last year’s smashing hit with another riveting work that mesmerizes and showcases his virtuosity. Featured with Hidaldo are Anabel Moreno, a celebrated dancer and actress from Granada, Spain; singers Trini de la Isla and Ana Polanco; musical director and guitarist José Almarcha; and musician El Wafir S. Gabril. Performances continue on Friday, November 10 and Saturday, November 11 at 8 pm, and Sunday, November 12 at 2 pm.

Francisco Hidalgo (Choreographer, Director, Dancer) has been praised for his elegance and delicacy of movement, characteristics of the great masters of flamenco. Born in Algodonales, Cádiz (Spain), he began his professional career at age 17. He has performed in such distinguished tablaos as Casa Patas, El Cordobés, Los Gallos, and El Arenal, among others; has appeared in international festivals in Spain, England, Germany, France, Italy, Algeria Morocco, and the Czech Republic; has performed at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, the Lyric Theater in London, the National Theatre of Japan, various theaters in Paris, and Lincoln Center in New York for the premiere of the film Los Abrazos Rotos by Pedro Almodóvar; and toured throughout the United States. He has been a principal dancer with the renowned flamenco singer Miguel Poveda, has collaborated with Crístina Hoyos and Javier LaTorre, and appeared at the Madrid Jazz Festival with pianist Abdom Alcaraz and singer Tony Zenet. Among his awards are Second Prize at the 2010 International Cante Festival de Las Minas, and Special Mention at the 2002 National Competition of Flamenco Dance/Hospitalet in Barcelona and 2008 National Prize Aniya La Gitana in Ronda. He studied with such masters as Manolo Marín, Pilar Ortega, Alejandro Granados, Manuel Betanzos, Israel Galván, Antonio Canales, Isabel Bayón, and Rafaela Carrasco, among others.

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Anabel Moreno (Dancer) was born in Granada, Spain and began her flamenco studies with Mariquilla. She has also studied with Juan Andrés Maya, Cristóbal Reyes, Javier Barón, Manolete, and Belén Maya, and classical and contemporary dance with Maite Galán and Andrés Williams. She has appeared as a soloist and/or dancer with the companies of Mariquilla and Juan Andrés Maya; worked with choreographers and directors Rafael Aguilar and Manolo Marín; appeared at festivals such as the Bienal de Sevilla, the Corsica Festival, and the 15th Granada International Music and Dance Festival in Spain; and toured in Spain, Morocco, France, Germany, and Japan. Her recent appearances include the productions of Rew and Nómada created by Manuel Liñán and Daniel Doña. Moreno has also appeared on television programs in Italy, Holland, France, Germany, Brazil and Japan. When she is not touring she appears at such renowned tablaos as Casa Patas, Corral de la Moreria, and Villa Rosa.

Casas Patas is a world-renowned Madrid tablao, hosting some of the best and most authentic flamenco in Spain. Famous groups and new talent sometimes share the same stage to create memorable productions. The Fundación Conservatorio Flamenco Casa Patas grew out of this club and today sponsors workshops, seminars, and exhibitions promoting the art of flamenco around the world.

FLAMENCO EN FAMILIA

Flamenco en Familia, free family interactive demonstrations in flamenco zapateo, castanets, and fans, takes place on Saturday, November 11. Members of the Spanish Dance Society will lead two sessions: from 11 am to 12 pm and 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm at GALA Theatre.

TICKETS

Fuego Flamenco XIII is on stage at GALA Theatre, 3333 14th Street, NW. Regular tickets are $45; Senior Citizen, Military, Student, and 30 and Under tickets are $30. Noche de GALA tickets on November 3 and November 10 are $55 (single) and $95 (couple). A Discount Festival Ticket is $60, which includes one ticket to a performance of each of the presentations. For more information or to buy tickets, please call 202-234-7174 or visit www.galatheatre.org.

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Last modified onTuesday, 30 July 2019 13:41

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