Rome has its buses and metro stations plastered with images of Sergio Bernal, the Spanish dance star, who will be appearing in the Italian capital for two performances of Las Estrellas with Spanish colleagues.
Las Estrellas – on 3 and 4 January at Renzo Piano’s sprawling Auditorium Parco della Musica – will feature a rarely seen Boléro, set to Ravel’s music with choreography by Rafael Aguilar that was created in 1987 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ravel’s death. The producer Daniele Cipriani, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, asked Sergio Bernal to restage the ballet for a Boléro-Ravel production in Bologna in October last year. It has since been seen at Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa’s opera house, and now arrives in Rome.
Aguilar’s Boléro is a stylised Spanish dance piece combining elements of classical ballet with traditional Iberian dance, something that mirrors Bernal’s talent, which sees him moving from flamenco to Balanchine.
Las Estrellas will also feature some of today’s most influential flamenco dancers, often accompanied by their own musicians – guitarists, percussionists, and tocaores. One of today’s leading flamenco performers, Eva Yerbabuena, is part of the lineup, an innovator known for her ‘intellectual’ approach, which has been inspired by Federico García Lorca and Pablo Neruda, as well as Plato and Schopenhauer, and she has collaborated with artists such as Joaquín Cortés, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Pina Bausch.
Two male virtuosos, both known for a style of flamenco that blends tradition and modernity, are José Maya, a bailaor born into a gypsy family with a long artistic tradition who began his career at the age of just 9, and Jesús Carmona, a dancer with a personal style of movement, who returns to Rome after his success at the first edition of Las Estrellas in 2024.
The well-known singer Sandra Carrasco, together with guitarist David de Arahal, is a leading figure on the Spanish music scene with a powerful voice, capable of interpreting both ‘cante jondo’ and contemporary pop and jazz songs. She is particularly appreciated for her versatility, mixing traditional flamenco with contemporary sounds, and is one of the great innovators of flamenco.
The rustling of the bata de cola (the dress worn by flamenco dancers), the taconeo and zapateo (the rhythmic tapping of heels and shoes on the floor), the clicking of castanets, the arpeggios of guitars and the piercing gypsy songs will bring the scorching sun of the Andalusian summer to Italy in midwinter.
I asked Sergio Bernal what is special about this gala/concert:
This edition of Las Estrellas is extraordinary because, while respecting the strong and elegant tradition in which we were all born and trained, we share a contemporary vision of Iberian dance. Each of us has our own voice, our own absolutely personal style, but this vision unites us. The gala we are presenting will be a revelation for the audience because we will show that the flamenco of the future is already here!
Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, Rome
Sala Santa Cecilia
3 January (9 pm) and 4 January (6 pm)
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.