XXIV Flamenco Biennial

Idea and direction: Isabel Bayon

musical direction: Jesus Torres

Guest singers: Antonio Campos, David Lagos, Miguel Ortega and Inma Rivero

Guest guitarists: Jesus Torres, Juan Antonio Suarez “Canito” and Paco Irriaga

Song Counter: José Luis Ortíz Nuevo

Special collaboration to the dance: Isabel Bayon

sound technician: Manu Meñaca

lighting technician: Antonio Valiente

Production Management: El Mandaito Producciones S.L.

 

First it was a silence waiting to be broken by a voice.

A man of ancient words - a Song Teller and Storyteller- guard a secret: the singing is not heard; occurs. And when it happens, sometimes, decides to become meat. With insignificant objects (a pebble, a mother-of-pearl button, or the echo of a forgotten man), unfolds microstories that are roots of the cry: anecdotes of potters who molded laments, of winds that learned compass in the

cane fields, of erased names that still echo on the walls. These narratives do not introduce numbers: They are the grooves where the song will sow its definitive form.

And then, occurs:

An old song - perhaps born from one of those stories- decides to transcend the voice. need a body. Provides the opportunity for a body to inhabit it and dance. In this ritual, the priestess emerges, the one who summons to fulfill the original desire: to be the body that the singer dreams of…

But the dance was when the singing first touched. He is not your interpreter; It is the territory that song chooses to exist in three dimensions. Movement is not choreography; It is the visible breathing of a tona, the projected shadow of a soleá, the mineral light of a taranta. She doesn't dance to the song; is danced by him. The guitar does not accompany: is he

bridge between the sung word and the inhabited body.

The Accountant is the weaver of thresholds:

Before the tango became a whirlwind in their hips, He told of the ship that arrived overseas with a sound of sensual waves.

Before a soleá became a suspended curve, whispers the shadow of an ancient wind that came from Alcalá.

Were their stories the ones that invoked the songs? Or were it the songs that demanded to be told?

Space is a resonant void: an empty chair, a circle of light, the Accountant as an oracle-witness. The Dancer does not act; is acted. His footwork does not set a rhythm; It is the ephemeral writing of the cate on the ground. His arms do not draw ornament; they translate the tremor of a note between two worlds.

And in the end...

There remains a question floating over the reconquered silence:

Was she the one who danced the song?

Or was it the singing - already made into a dance - who, out of eagerness, became a body?

“Epilogue to a song that became a dance” is a ritual of. Elegant possession and

poetic reversibility. Narration that explores a mystery: What happens when the song leaves the throat to inhabit the space? It is a show that does not end on stage, but in the ambiguous perception of those who have experienced it: Did you see a woman dancing songs... or did you see the songs dancing a woman??

ISABEL BAYON

National Dance Award 2013

Isabel Bayon (Sevilla. 1969) start dancing at 5 years at the Matilde Coral school and obtained the Spanish Dance title at 16 at the Conservatories of Córdoba and Seville. In his learning process there are teachers like Manolo Marín, Raphael the Black, Manolete, Antonio Canales, Milagros Mengíbar or Merche Esmeralda, among others.

The night that Antonio Ruiz Soler presented it at the Lope de Vega Theater in Seville is recorded in his artistic and sentimental memory., at the beginning of his career. In 1992 was part of the cast of Jet, the now legendary show that with Manolo Marín at the helm premiered at the Expo 92. Later he joined the Andalusian Dance Company under the direction of Mario Maya..

Throughout his career he has participated in numerous national and international festivals., sharing the stage with renowned flamenco artists such as Antonio Mairena, Chano Lobato, Mario Maya, The Pele, Israel Galván or Miguel Poveda, among others. He belongs to the small and exclusive group of artists who have collected more than one Giraldillo, in your case four.

In it 2001 form your own company, since then creating shows like, Of the Soul; The Woman and the Romper, The open door (Giraldillo Award for best show), Tortola Valencia (Giraldillo Award for Magical Moment), In the shape of his shoes, (Giraldillo Award for dancing), Whims of Time (Jerez Festival Critics Award), Two-Two (Directed by Israel Galván and premiered at the Biennial 2016), The essential, and I am (Giraldillo Special Jury Award). He is currently on tour with his latest three productions and combines his artistic activity with teaching at the María de Ávila Superior Conservatory of the Community of Madrid.

As a choreographer, among other companies, has been requested by the National Ballet of Spain, under the direction of Aída Gómez, and the Andalusian Dance Company, under the direction of José Antonio Ruiz. Throughout his career, in addition to the four Giraldillos, He has received recognitions such as the National Dance Award 2013 or the Clavel Award from the Seville Press Association.

Mars 15 September 2026 – Central Theater: 22:30 hours