Tel Aviv dance festival to host world premiere of flamenco romance

“I dance the song of awakening and of love, the song of the first goodbye, the song of solitude, yesterday’s song, fear’s song and heaven’s song,” she says.

MARIA JUNCAL  (photo credit: NICO KREMENCHUSKY)
MARIA JUNCAL
(photo credit: NICO KREMENCHUSKY)
Spanish flamenco star María Juncal has chosen to premiere her latest work, Life is Romance (La Vida es un Romance), on August 9 at the Suzanne Dellal Center as part of the Tel Aviv International Dance Festival.
Juncal is one of the most prestigious Spanish dancers today. She has deep instincts rooted in the DNA of her renowned flamenco family, the Borulls, and performs annually in Israel.
Life is a Romance is based on ruminations about self and the meaning of one’s roots. In Juncal’s case, these are soaked in flamenco. It is a personal journey that delves into memory and the future “as the dancers pass back and forth through imaginary portals.”
“We are tied to the past but we must learn to live with it and to walk with it,” says Juncal.
She dances to the sound of a single guitarist (Oscar Lago) and three singer-songwriters (Juan Trivino, Jesus Corbacho and Joni Jimenez Reyes), with direction by Angel Rojas.
“I dance the song of awakening and of love, the song of the first goodbye, the song of solitude, yesterday’s song, fear’s song and heaven’s song,” she says.
The choreography is Juncal’s own, combined with co-choreographers Jesus Carmona and Miguel Angel Berna.
With awards that include the coveted Antonio Gades prize for dance, and recent hit tours Destemplao (Feverish), Tercera Llamada (Third Call), The Confinement of Anne Frank, and Emociones (Emotions) in trail, Life is Romance promises first-class entertainment, and above all, art.
Life is a Romance premieres at the Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater on Friday, August 9 at 9 p.m., followed by an audience with the artist, and will be performed again on Saturday, August 10, at 2 p.m. Tickets are NIS 235 and NIS 285. Seniors, soldiers and students: NIS 215 and NIS 170. For more information: 03-510-5656 or suzannedellal.org.il.