Who: Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca
Presented by: White Bird
When: Thursday-Saturday January 12-14, 2012
Where: Newmark Theatre, 7:30pm
Sponsor: The Oregonian
Tickets: From $26-$60.  Available at www.whitebird.org and PCPA Box Office (zero ticket fees).  Also available at 1-800-380-3516 (additional ticket fees will apply).
Visit www.whitebird.org for the latest information.

“Soledad Barrio is a gift from heaven to flamenco on earth.”  -El Diario (Argentina)

White Bird is delighted to present the Portland debut of Spain’s internationally acclaimed Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca on January 12-14 at the Newmark Theatre in downtown Portland.  Celebrated by critics everywhere for its transcendent and deeply emotional performances, Noche Flamenca is recognized as the most authentic flamenco touring company in the world today.  Soledad Barrio has been hailed by Alastair Macaulay in The New York Times as “one of today’s great dancers of any genre.”  Gia Kourlas, also in The New York Times, has stated, “No matter how many times you’ve seen Ms. Barrio dance, the experience is strangely intimate; there’s something voyeuristic and cathartic about watching a woman pry open her soul, scatter it on the floor and put it back together again.”
Under the artistic direction of Martin Santangelo, Noche Flamenca’s company is composed of his Bessie award-winning wife, Soledad Barrio and seven outstanding performers: dancers Alejandro Granados and Antonio Jiménez, singers Manuel Gago and José Jiménez, and guitarists Eugenio Iglesias and Salva de María. 

A Noche Flamenca performance captures 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 in the presentations of Noche Flamenca, creating a true communal spirit within the company - the very heart and soul of flamenco. 

The White Bird program begins with Amanecer (The Awakening), a lively group piece using theme of an impromptu party, incorporating syncopated clapping and stopping.  Barrio’s upper and lower body is juxtaposed in a dance of fluidity and precision, while the singers and dancers turn to encourage the guitarists as the music builds.  A single guitar takes the spotlight for Solo de Guitarra, embodying the beautiful and heartrending music that defines this art form. In Caminando, dancer Antonio Jiminéz seems almost possessed for this haunting solo that showcases both the crispness and elegance of his movement.  Jiminéz joins Barrio for the poignant duet Oda al Amor, a dance of love and loss with the hooded figure of death lurking nearby.  Alejandro Granados brings humor and panache to the program in El Patuka before the evening concludes with a self-titled solo by Soledad, an existential piece referencing the many meanings of her first name - “solitude”, “loneliness”, “grief” and “remoteness.”

Hailed as the “Baryshnikov of flamenco,” Soledad Barrio was born in Madrid. Her father was a shepherd in the province of Segovia. After the war, he moved to Madrid, where he drove a cab to support his family. Her mother grew up without parents – Soledad’s grandmother died quite young and her grandfather was imprisoned by Franco’s regime - leaving Soledad’s mother to raise her eight younger brothers, along with Sole and her three sisters in Madrid.  Soledad Barrio danced her way through her childhood, performing at fiestas and celebrations. It was after seeing Antonio Gades perform that she was inspired to begin her formal dance training at the age of 18 at Amor de Dios in Madrid. Her primary and most influential teachers were Maria Magdalena, El Guito, and Manolete.  Soledad made her professional debut as a dancer with El Ballet de Paco Romero in 1981 in “El Amor Brujo.”  She has appeared as soloist with Manuela Vargas, Blanca del Rey, Luisillo, El Guito, Manolete, Cristobal Reyes, and El Toleo, 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, Jesus Torres, Miguel Perez, Belen Maya, Manolo Marin, Javier Barón, Merce Esmeralda, Rafael Campallo, and Belen Maya.

In 1993, Soledad Barrio founded Noche Flamenca with her husband, Martin Santangelo (Artistic Director). The company has proven to be an exceptional vehicle for Soledad to develop as an artist. With Noche, she has performed for audiences around the globe, including performances in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Canada, Mexico, and extensively throughout the United States. In 2001, she was awarded a BESSIE (The New York Dance and Performance Awards) for Outstanding Creative Achievement – the first to be awarded to a flamenco dancer.  Noche Flamenca's artistic integrity has been recognized with awards from the National Dance Project (2006 & 2009), the National Endowment for the Arts (annually since 2007), and the Lucille Lortel Award for Special Theatrical Experience (2003), among others.  Soledad Barrio lives in Madrid with her husband Santangelo and their two daughters, Gabriela and Stella. She performs regularly throughout the globe with Noche Flamenca.

Artistic Director Martín Santangelo studied flamenco with Ciro, Paco Romero, El Guito, Manolete and Alejandro Granados.  He has performed throughout Spain, Japan and North and South America, appearing with Maria Benitez’s Teatro Flamenco, the Lincoln Center Festival of the Arts and Paco Romero’s Ballet Espanol.  He also appeared in Julie Taymor’s Juan Darien at Lincoln Center. He choreographed and performed in Eduardo Machado’s Deep Song, directed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett. He choreographed a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Denver Theater Center. He has directed and choreographed Bodas de Sangre, The Lower Depths, La Celestina, A Streetcar Named Desire, amongst many other productions in Spain and Buenos Aires.

White Bird’s 14th season (2011-2012) is supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council and Work for Art, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust,  James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation,  Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, The Collins Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, The Jaffe Foundation,  Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), Starseed Foundation, and Lloyd and Marlene Ankeny Foundation.