FLAMENCO ON SCREEN is a project from the Spanish firm La Quinta Pared designed to create and present flamenco dance shows in 3-D cinemas in digital format. Antonio Canales, Rafael Amargo, Mercedes Ruíz and Amador Rojas are among those participating in this unique and exclusive experience..
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The person in charge of the project, Rafael Alver, who among other things was general director of the Federación de Cines de España (FECE) and vice-president of the UNIC (Unión Internacional de Cinemas) which comprises 25,000 cinemas throughout Europe, points out that the current moment for films is a mutation between the digital era and 3-D format which makes possible the showing of alternative content which is not always films, but also opera, classical ballet, dance, operetta, world music and of course flamenco.
“Flamenco On-screen” is very different from a live show: the big screen affords close-ups of the performers and technical details, the ability to see the show in any part of the world and the luxury of digital quality sound. One of the first agreements reached was with Antonio Canales who has become one of the most enthusiastic defenders of Flamenco On-screen, and for whom this project represents the universalizaton and potentialization of flamenco throughout the world. The dancer declared “thanks to this tool, we will at last manage to have flamenco recognized as part of the world heritage”. Other participating performers are initially Rafael Amargo, Mercedes Ruiz and Santiago Lara, dancer Amador Rojas and the group Vivancos. The first shows to be created are “La Casa de Benarda Alba” and “Gitano” of Antonio Canales, “Poeta en Nueva York” of Rafael Amargo and “Juncá” of Mercedes Ruiz. Eventually such shows as “La Difícil Sencillez” and “DQ” of Rafael Amargo, “Mandala” and “Kahlo Caló” of Amador Rojas, “Mi Último Secreto” and “Dibujos en el Aire” of Mercedes Ruíz will also be incorporated. More information: |
Already in this month of October the first pilot has been recorded to be ready in the spring of 2010 for distribution and exhibition of up to six shows at cinemas with 3-D capability in high definition digital format and stereoscopic technology.
Rafael Alvero talks about Flamenco On-screen as “a project with international aspirations, as well as a very attractive home-made product with the potential to travel and draw a great deal of attention, not only from flamenco fans, but also people who would never have had the opportunity to see flamenco at all”. In this sense says Alvero, “flamenco will be brought to individuals accustomed to going to the cinema, contributing to greater exposure of this art form”.
