Review: Gala Flamenca, the most anticipated event of Flamenco Festival London
Jonathan Gray sees the Gala Flamenca in London and is reminded, once again, just how utterly thrilling an art form Flamenco can be.
| Title | Gala Flamenca |
| Company | Flamenco Festival London 2026 |
| Venue | Sadler’s Wells, London |
| Date | 19 June 2026 |
| Reviewer | Jonathan Gray |
The most anticipated event in every edition of Flamenco Festival London is the Gala Flamenca that brings, year after year, an array of Flamenco stars to Sadler’s Wells in a magnificent showcase of music and dance. The gala devised for 2026, under the artistic direction of Manuel Liñán, was one of the very best I have attended, and it was exciting to see such outstanding dancers such as Eva Yerbabuena, El Farru, Juan Tomás de la Molía and Liñán appearing alongside musicians and singers of the calibre of Mara Rey, Paco Jarana (Yerbabuena’s husband) and Francisco Vinuesa. Right from the opening number, which introduced the audience to the four stars in a brief, yet enticing ensemble routine, it was clear it was going to be a memorable evening.
Each dancer performed a long solo, which was then interspersed with music and singing, and the musicians were also given extensive opportunity to captivate the audience.
First on was Juan Tomás de la Molía, just 26 years old, who danced up a storm with his snappy zapateado and awesome technique. Tugging at his jacket, pulling it off his shoulder, and then dusting down his shoes, he delighted the audience with his impish, boyish, cocky charm, as well as his wildly enthusiastic danced “conversations” with the male singers, Juan de la María, Manuel de Ginés and Sebastían del Puerto. If ever there was such a thing as danced banter, then this was probably it.
Molía’s solo was followed by a brief duet for Yerbabuena and Liñán to the impassioned singing of Mara Rey, in which their stark, stylised movements suggested inspiration from Martha Graham and contemporary dance as much as Flamenco. Bringing the first half to a close was Antonio Fernández Montoya “El Farru”, a member of the Farruco Flamenco dynasty, whose brooding stage presence brought considerable power to his extraordinary solo with a cane, in which he deployed not only syncopated footwork that sounded as if it emanated from a pneumatic drill, but an emphatic use of his strong torso. His mood lightened later in his dance, with his hand tapping at his heart, and his face breaking into smiles. At the end, he took up a guitar to play briefly, but thrillingly, before the curtain came down.
The second half opened with Manuel Liñán in one of his now celebrated bata de cola solos, his energy and exuberance bringing sheer joy to the stage. Liñán is a refined dancer, with an immaculate technique and glorious hand and arm movements, and he banished all thoughts of the incongruity of performing a dance that has, until fairly recently, only been associated with women. What panache! And like Molía, Liñán has immense charm, shrugging his shoulder at the climax of the dance as if to say, “It’s nothing!”
This light-hearted moment in the gala was followed by the singing and dancing of Mara Rey. Dressed all in red, her powerful voice and dramatic gestures (especially her hands, with their long, red fingernails) brought high theatricality to the performance of a song that sounded uncannily like “My Way”, although it probably wasn’t.
The most thrilling part of the evening, however, came with Eva Yerbabuena’s solo. A mature, tiny figure dressed all in black, she entered slowly, like a diva in the true sense of the word, turning her body as she processed across the front of the stage and eloquently raising her arms out wide. The ease, clarity and musicality of her coloratura-like footwork, along with the poised beauty of her hands and arms, were breathtaking. The strength of her personality and the authority of her gestures were such that you couldn’t tear your eyes away from her whilst she was dancing. A great performance from a great artist.
A glorious finale, in which the entire cast returned to the stage for one last flourish, brought the audience to their feet for a standing ovation. Thank you, Manuel Liñán, for bringing such artists to London and reminding us, once again, just how utterly thrilling an art form Flamenco can be.
Jonathan Gray was editor of Dancing Times from 2008 to 2022.
He studied at The Royal Ballet School, Leicester Polytechnic, and Wimbledon School of Art where he graduated with a BA Hons in Theatre Design. He was on the Curatorial Staff of the Theatre Museum, London, from 1989 to 2005, assisting on a number of dance-related exhibitions, and helping with the recreation of original designs for a number of The Royal Ballet’s productions including Danses concertantes, Daphnis and Chloë, and The Sleeping Beauty.
Jonathan Gray has also contributed to the Financial Times and The Guardian, written programme articles for The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet, and is co-author of the book Unleashing Britain: Theatre gets real 1955-64, published in 2005. He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
