Under the name Suite Española, the Antonio Gades Foundation has put together a series of works that were in included in the repertoire of the Alicante-born dancer and choreographer. Before choreographing Bodas de Sangre, Gades' shows were divided in a first part with piece from this Suite Española, and a second part with the Suite de Flamenco.
Antonio Gades would take a huge leap forward for Spanish dance in 1974 with the creation of his ballet Bodas de Sangre, based on the play by Federico García Lorca, who in turn was inspired by the news of an incident that took place in Níjar in 1928. It was adapted for ballet by Alfredo Mañas, who had already collaborated with Antonio ten years before on Don Juan.
Antonio Gades's relationship with Manuel de Falla’s El Amor Brujo dates back to his years in Italy, where he was choreographer in the early sixties and first principal dancer at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. On that occasion he played the role of the Ghost. He would return to this classic by the Cadiz-born composer years later in Chicago with this choreography.
Antonio Gades would take the dances he performed to launch his solo career in around 1963 to shape what would become the Suite de Flamenco five years later, eight pieces of traditional flamenco dance interpreted through Gades' singular angle.
The theater version of Carmen began to take shape almost at the same time as the filming of the movie by Carlos Saura. The movie's success, which took even the creators of the miracle by surprise, undoubtedly encouraged Antonio Gades to stage the theatrical version, a masterpiece of Spanish dance that he subsequently added to his repertoire, which already included two massively significant works, Bodas de Sangre and Suite de Flamenco.
Gades's last show is based again on a literary work; this time the choreographer was inspired by one of the monuments of the Spanish Baroque theater, Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega. “With Fuenteovejuna I was particularly interested in the act of solidarity of the losers. Solidarity in the face of power. In these moments of fierce individualism, I believe that Fuenteovejuna is or should be relevant today”, said Antonio.
It's really very simple: what I want is to make uncomplicated and straightforward theater, like bread and water; that is, like the anonymous balladeer.
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