Returning to the UK for the first time since 2019, Flamenco innovator Israel Galván brings the UK Premiere of his latest show, La Consagración de la Primavera (The Rite of Spring) to Sadler’s Wells on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 November 2022.
Following in the footsteps of Vaslav Nijinski’s notorious performances, Galván weaves Flamenco with Igor Stravinsky’s imposing score, The Rite of Spring, subverting and reconstructing tradition, allowing us to challenge and re-evaluate the full possibilities of Flamenco without the constricts of convention and focus on the act of dancing.
Accompanied on stage by two pianists, Daria van den Bercken and Gerard Bouwhuis, Galván uses his body as a sound box, becoming consumed by Stravinsky’s score, where rhythm is the driving force. Alongside The Rite of Spring are two additional contrasting musical works, Sonata K87 by Domenico Scarlatti and Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues by Frederic Rzewski, both also performed live on piano and unified by Galván, who blends the three scores through his performance.
Born into a dancing family in Sevilla, Spain, Galván trained in classical Flamenco from a young age. His first creation, ¡Mira! / Los zapatos rojos, saw Galván pave a new way for Flamenco that has since seen him gradually transform into one of the world’s most innovative and unique dancers and choreographers. Reconstructing the physical language of Flamenco and challenging gender norms, he draws on a wide range of inspirations including bullfighting, football culture and activism. His many works include 2014’s acclaimed TOROBAKA, a collaboration with award-winning choreographer and dancer Akram Khan.
Throughout Galván’s career he has been honoured with many prestigious awards. In 2020 he featured in the Netflix docuseries, Move, exploring the dancers and choreographers shaping the art of movement around the world today. He is an associate artist at Le Théâtre de la Ville in Paris.
Of La Consagración de la Primavera, Israel Galván said; “Le Sacre du Printemps constitutes a meeting with a work that everyone knows. Dancing the Sacre means having to relate to a place where there is no freedom, as everyone knows it and has danced it. It is a huge challenge to follow the score as faithfully as possible and feeling that within this strictness you have something new to tell.”
