August 10-19, 2007

Three U.S. premieres
De Grana y Oro – Aug 10-12
A Fuego Lento – Aug 14-15
Las Cosas de Caí – Aug 17-19
Tickets: $33-$43

Please visit: www.thebarclay.org

The New World Flamenco Festival is pleased to announce three U.S. premieres for the 2007 edition of the festival that will take place at Irvine Barclay Theatre August 10-19, 2007.

The New World Flamenco Festival has fostered a trend that is being noticed around the world – flamenco has a stylistic variety and point of view as rich as anything found in contemporary dance. One of the hallmarks of this festival is its ability to convince established flamenco artists, stars of their generation, to create or bring new and exciting works to premiere at the festival.

Past festivals have paid homage to mainstream trendsetters, leaders, and quite simply, great flamenco artists. It is therefore natural that the 2007 edition devotes an entire festival dedicated to the truly promising, young talent on the horizon. This year the festival gives three of Spain’s rising stars the chance to make their mark in the U.S.

More than 6,000 people attend the New World Flamenco Festival every August from all over the Americas and Europe. Café Flamenco takes place on the plaza in front of the theatre before and after every performance. Festival-goers can come early, sample Spanish cuisine and meet new friends. After the performance the artists come and mingle with the festival crowd to the festive sounds of flamenco guitar.

The theme of this year’s festival, La Flor de la Vida [The Prime of Life], certainly describes the explosive talent and vitality of the artists of the 2007 edition. Each of these artists has paid their dues as a principal dancer in major companies; gone on to form highly regarded companies of their own and scored stunning successes in Spain’s major festival – two just this past winter at the Festival de Jerez.

De Grana y Oro (Scarlet and Gold)
Compañía Maria José Franco
August 10-12, 2007; Fri & Sat at 8pm; Sun at 6pm
Maria José Franco exemplifies her generation of flamencos. She combines great depth of feeling with a superb sense of showmanship, a return to a style learned from the masters. She began receiving honors and awards from the very beginning of her career. Her first company experience was with the celebrated Compañía Andaluza de Danza under the direction of the famed José Antonio. She then became a principal dancer with Antonio El Pipa with whom she shared the Irvine Barclay Theatre stage in 2005. Shortly thereafter, Compañía Maria José Franco was born: immediate success followed and, as recently as the 2007 Festival de Jerez, this current production of “De Grana y Oro” performed to much acclaim. The production features a cast of high-profile performers including Juan José Amador, Luis Moneo and Carmen Grilo.

A Fuego Lento (At a Slow Fire)
Compañía Andrés Peña y Pilar Ogalla
August 14-15, 2007; Tue & Wed at 8pm
First invited to present his company under the auspices of the Bienal de Sevilla, Andrés Peña was also given the honor of presenting his latest work at the 2007 Festival de Jerez. “A Fuego Lento,” featuring his partner Pilar Ogalla, is a production that begins, as its title suggests, as a simmering flame and proceeds to set the stage on fire. Paying homage to the smoldering tradition of the male and female duet, Andres and Pilar together build a performance climaxing in a crescendo typical of the Jerez style….truly exhilarating.

Las Cosas de Caí (Things from Cadiz)
Compañía Juan Ogalla
with guest artist Milagros Menjibar
August 17-19, 2007; Fri & Sat at 8pm; Sun at 6pm
Juan Ogalla views his 20 years of experience with flamenco’s most stalwart gatekeepers of tradition as a medal of honor. As an 11-year-old prodigy, he danced with Morao’s famous “Gypsy Passion,” and later with superstar Christina Hoyos. With masterful technique, a true Gypsy aesthetic, and matinee-idol looks, Juan is the perfect dancing partner to Manuela Rios – both personifying the qualities of the magical town of Cádiz. In addition to his company of outstanding musicians, singers and dancers, Juan brings one of flamenco’s great divas, guest artist Milagros Menjibar, Spain’s leading exponent of the bata de cola, the long gown. A night in Cádiz to remember.

Ticket prices
Weekdays: Tue, Wed & Fri - $33 & $38
Weekends: Sat & Sun - $38 & $43

Tickets are available at
Irvine Barclay Theatre 949.854.4646 www.thebarclay.org
Ticketmaster 714.740.7478 or 213.365.3500 or ticketmaster.com

The festival will again include classes and workshops taught by the artists appearing in the festival. The workshop schedule will be announced at a later date.

Major support of the festival is provided by:

The City of Irvine

Destination Irvine and the hoteliers of Irvine

Drs. Francisco and Hana Ayala