Noche Flamenca to Premiere SEARCHING FOR GOYA in New York City

Noche Flamenca, the company founded and led by Artistic Director Martín Santangelo and dancer Soledad Barrio, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, performs the New York premiere of its new work, Searching for Goya, in two upcoming engagements: December 27 - January 16 at the Second Floor Theatre at 122CC (150 1st Avenue) and April 23-28 at The Joyce Theater (175 8th Avenue).

Watch the trailer below!

 

Choreographed by Santangelo and Barrio, Searching For Goya is Inspired by the transformative art of Francisco de Goya and the Metropolitan Museum exhibition Goya's Graphic Imagination, curated by Mark MacDonald, who serves as a consultant on Searching for Goya. The production explores the prolific Spanish artist's response to the political turmoil and injustices of 18th- and 19th-Century Spain. Searching for Goya has been in development since early 2022—at The Joyce Theatre, The 62' Center at Williams College, Plays and Players, and West Park Center, among other prestigious cultural institutions. The work made its world premiere in November 2023 at Seattle's Meany Center for the Performing Arts, where The Seattle Times called it “a dance performance you don't want to miss.”

 

Performing Searching for Goya are dancers Soledad Barrio, Pablo Fraile, Jesús Helmo, and Marina Elana; singers Manuel Gago and Emilio Florido; guitarists Eugenio Iglesias and  Salva de María; and percussionist David “Chupete” Rodriguez.

 

The creative team includes Martin Santangelo (artistic direction, choreography, and musical composition), Soledad Barrio (choreography), Emilio Florido (vocal composition), Manuel Gago (vocal composition), Eugenio Iglesias (musical composition), Salva de María (musical composition), David “Chupete” Rodriguez (musical composition), Mark McDonald (artistic consultation), and Mark London (lighting design).

 

The Boston Globe has said of Noche Flamenca, "Internationally recognized as one of Spain's most respected troupes, this is flamenco in its purest essence." Searching for Goya is a perfect showcase of what the company has become, three decades after it formed as a constellation around Barrio as star: a seamlessly integrated group of collaborators in which every dancer and musician is a master of their craft. As Brian Seibert wrote for The New York Times in 2019, Barrio is now a “first among equals.”

 

The performances at the black-box 122CC Second Floor Theatre are a return to Noche Flamenca's roots in New York. The company got its start performing at nearby downtown venues including Theatre 80 and the Lucille Lortel Theatre. The run is an opportunity to experience Noche Flamenca at close range, with the intimacy that characterizes flamenco in its purest form. The show will develop further for its performances at the Joyce, where a bigger stage will allow the creative team to more fully realize their vision for the work.

 

The upcoming New York City premiere of Searching for Goya is part of a North American tour that has included engagements this fall at the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Pittsburgh, PA; Field Arts and Events Hall in Port Angeles, WA; and the Meany Center in Seattle, WA. Following the performances at 122CC, Searching for Goya travels to Théâtre Maisonneuve in Montreal, CAN, where it will be presented by Nuits d'Afrique (January 18, 2024); the Lucas Theatre in Savannah, GA, as part of the Savannah Music Festival (April 13, 2024); and the Irvine Barclay Theater in Irvine, CA (April 18, 2024), before returning to New York City for the performances at The Joyce Theater.

 

NYC Performance Schedules and Tickets

 

Noche Flamenca performs Searching for Goya December 27, 2023, through January 16, 2024, at 122CC Second Floor Theatre. Tickets start at $40 and can be purchased here. 122CC is located at 150 First Avenue (between East 9th and East 10th Streets) in Manhattan.

 

The Joyce Theater presents Searching for Goya April 23-28, 2024. Tickets start at [insert price] and can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling Joyce Charge at 212.242.0800. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue (at West 19th Street) in Manhattan.

 

About the Artists

 

Soledad Barrio (Choreographer & Principal Dancer). Born in Madrid, Soledad Barrio has appeared as a soloist with Manuela Vargas, Blanca del Rey, Luisillo, El Güito, Manolete, Cristóbal Reyes, and El Toleo, and with Ballet Español de Paco Romero, Festival Flamenco, and many other companies. She has performed throughout Europe, Japan, and North and South America with such artists as Alejandro Granados, El Torombo, Isabel Bayón, Jesús Torres, Miguel Pérez, Belén Fernández, Manolo Marín, Javier Barón, and Merche Esmeralda. Barrio co-founded Noche Flamenca with her husband, Martín Santangelo, and has performed worldwide since the mid-1990s as the company's principal dancer, including in the title role of the critically acclaimed Antigona. Barrio is a resident teaching artist at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Drama. She has won awards in over 15 countries for her excellence in dance, including Bessie Awards for Outstanding Creative Achievement and Outstanding Performer; a 2015 Dance Magazine Exceptional Artist Award; and the 2022 Vilcek Prize in Dance.

 

Martín Santangelo (Artistic Director, Choreographer, and Composer). A native New Yorker, Santangelo spent 18 years in Spain studying with flamenco greats Ciro, Paco Romero, El Güito, and Manolete, and performing throughout Europe, Japan, the Americas, and Australia. In the 1990s he appeared in Julie Taymor's Juan Darien at Lincoln Center, choreographed Romeo and Juliet at the Denver Theater Center, and, with Soledad Barrio, founded Noche Flamenca. Under Santangelo's direction, the company has performed annually in multiple venues in New York City and toured throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, and Australia. His critically acclaimed 2014 production of Antígona, with Barrio in the title role, toured globally for five years and was nominated for Bessie and Drama Desk awards. He is currently working on an evening-length show based on the works of the great Spanish artist Francisco Goya. Santangelo has worked with Lee Breuer, Luis Valdez, and Jerzy Grotowski. His most fulfilling collaboration has been with his Soledad Barrio and his two daughters, Gabriela and Stella.

 

About Noche Flamenca

 

Under the direction of Martín Santangelo, the award-winning Noche Flamenca is one of the world's most successful touring companies. Formed in 1993 by Santangelo and his award-winning wife, Soledad Barrio, the company performs regularly in New York City and tours worldwide, including Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Egypt, and throughout Europe, North America, Australia, and Canada.

 

Hailed by critics everywhere for its transcendent and deeply emotional performances, Noche Flamenca is recognized as the most authentic flamenco touring company in the field today, expressing the rigorous, spell-binding aesthetic of flamenco that exceeds the highest artistic expectations. Santangelo has successfully brought to the stage the essence, purity, and integrity of one of the world's most complex and mysterious art forms. All aspects of flamenco—dance, song, and music—are interrelated and given equal weight creating a true communal spirit within the company: the very heart and soul of flamenco. In support of its mission to educate and enlighten audiences about flamenco, in addition to its performance repertory, the company offers residency programs for people of all ages.

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