Flamenco fest celebrates 25 years

Eva Encinias Sandoval remembers the first Festival Flamenco Internacional as if it were, well, yesterday. It was actually many yesterdays ago – 1987, in fact.

“The very first festival was three days of workshops and one evening of performance. It was like a long weekend,” said Encinias Sandoval, its founder and artistic director.

“From there it continued to grow until, for a while, we had two weeks of the festival with workshops and performances on both weekends. It kept evolving, morphing in various ways.”

	If you go WHAT: Festival Flamenco Internacional de Alburquerque WHEN: June 10-16 WHERE: Performances are at Rodey Theatre, Center for the Arts, UNM campus, and at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, 1701 Fourth SW. Workshops are in Carlisle Gym on the UNM campus. Visit www.ffi25.org HOW MUCH: $20 to $90. Ticket packages available. Tickets for UNM performances are available at www.unmtickets.com, by calling 925-5858 or at the door. Tickets for NHCC performances are available by calling 724-4771 or at the NHCC box office. To register for festival workshops contact the National Institute of Flamenco at 242-7600 or visit www.ffi25.org

The festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year – no festival was held in 2010 – with concerts and workshops from June 10 through June 16.

“When you think about all the particulars, you think, ‘Oh, my God. Yes, it has been (25).’ It’s a great thing,” Encinias Sandoval said.

And it is recognized internationally. It proudly presents itself as the largest exposition of flamenco dance and music in the United States.

Just as it has done in the past, this year’s festival is bringing in stellar flamenco artists from Spain.

Performances and workshops are being held at venues at the University of New Mexico and more performances at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

In a way, the festival is like a child to Encinias Sandoval: “I feel like we’ve been nurturing it for 25 years.”

If the performing artists are from Spain, the festival’s workshops draw students from many countries.

“So we’ve had a lot of different scheduling configurations,” Encinias Sandoval said. “Most of that has been simply to accommodate the requests of students.

“There were years when (students) would leave jobs, families for two weeks. The economy allowed that to happen. Then we started seeing a trend. People couldn’t do that. So they’d come for the first or the second week of the festival.

“We want people to enjoy the full spectrum,” she added.

9/11 impacted festival planning and artistic issues. Fewer students were traveling. It was tougher – more complicated and more expensive – for Spanish artists to enter the United States. So a two-week festival became a 10-day festival.

When the world economy began to nosedive in recent years, festival planners had to further streamline. Then it went on hiatus in 2010.

Encinias Sandoval said that was because “we knew if we wouldn’t get a good turnout it would really hurt us. We’ve got to hold back, reshape the festival and bring it back in a way that makes it even more feasible for people and still be able to maintain a level of expenses that was doable for our organization.”

Last year’s festival was five days in length, with concerts and workshops each day.

Because of the festival’s silver anniversary, she thinks that maybe the organization is “getting a little cocky again. We’re back to seven days. We’ve gotten tremendous response. People are registering early (for workshops). Ticket package (purchases) are way up,” Encinias Sandoval said.

“That speaks volumes. I think we’re doing the right thing, making wise choices in programming.”

She believes the festival has found a good balance in terms of the number of flamenco companies it brings and the number of students who are able to participate in workshops and performances.

Over the years, Encinias Sandoval said, the University of New Mexico has been a constant home of the festival and the school’s flamenco program has grown right along with it. She is a professor of dance in UNM’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

Here is a list of this year’s flamenco dancers:

♦ Pastora Galván. She was born in Sevilla and comes from a distinguished flamenco family. She has performed throughout the world, including at the Festival Flamenco Internacional. Earlier this year she performed at Spain’s Festival de Jerez.

♦ Adela and Rafael Campallo. The sister-and-brother duo are known from their avant-garde approaches to flamenco. The New York Times has described Adela Campallo as “an authoritative young flamenco dancer … with subtly complicitous looks and moves.” Like Galván, the Campallos also have performed at the festival.

♦ Olga Pericet. She is a rising flamenco star. She will perform “Rosa, Metal y Ceniza,” in which she displays her athleticism and artistry. Pericet has appeared in flamenco festivals throughout Spain. This is her first appearance in Albuquerque.

♦ Alfonso Losa. He has received two of the top awards in flamenco dancing – El Premio El Desplante at the 2008 Festival del Cante de las Minas and El Premio El Güito por Soleá at the Concurso de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba in 2007. Losa is known for his energetic and expressive style. As with Pericet, this is Losa’s first time on stage with the Festival Flamenco.

Dancers will be accompanied by singers, guitarists and cajon players.