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World-Class Flamenco Artists Direct from Spain
The Los Angeles International Flamenco Festival returns April 1st and 2^nd to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, continuing its mission to present unique programming and world-class flamenco music to Los Angeles with the most acclaimed and influential flamenco artists direct from Spain, many making their first U.S./Los Angeles appearances.

- InterAcción: Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 8 p.m., the Los Angeles International Flamenco Festival features Dorantes, the world-renowned flamenco visionary and Spanish Gypsy pianist who made a name for himself in the world of flamenco with an instrument that, in principle, is totally foreign to the tradition of this genre. A piano with intelligence, conviction, and authenticity with which Dorantes fuses the melodies and rhythms typical of flamenco, impressionist music, and jazz. Absolutely moving, complex and personal, Dorantes excels in a field where the guitar is king. Dorantes shares the stage with Pastora Galván, one of the most sought-after flamenco dancers in the world and 2002 winner of the “Premio Nacional Matilde Coral,” and percussionist Cheyén, for an incredibly unique and intense flamenco performance for all the senses.

A descendant from one of Spain's most prestigious Andalusian musical families, Dorantes was born with a passion for flamenco. A graduate of the Conservatorio Superior de Música in Seville, he has gone on to create new and unique music and is now regarded as one of the most creative and innovative flamenco pianists of our time. Drawing on a diversity of musical styles for his compositions and performances, he gracefully combines classical, jazz, Celtic and Brazilian ideas into his sound, and earned a myriad of accolades and awards.

- La Guitarra Canta: Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 8 p.m., the Los Angeles International Flamenco Festival features world-renowned flamenco director, dancer and choreographer Antonio Canales. Achieving worldwide fame, Canales has starred as a guest artist with some of the world's top dance companies. His show 'Torero' was nominated for an Emmy award in 1995 and was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts in 2020. Canales shares the stage with vocalists David el Galli and Manuel de la Tomasa, guitarist David de Arahal, and Cheyén on percussion.

Opening the performances on both nights is flamenco harpist Ana Crismán. The only known musician who plays and composes flamenco on harp, Crismán and her Arpa Jonda have played iconic venues such as the Teatro Villamarta, the Alhambra of Granada in the Festival de Música y Danza de Granada (Fex) and in international festivals such as the Sfinks Mixed Festival 2018 (Belgium), and the Festival Musicale del Mediterraneo (Italy).

In addition to the performances, the L.A. International Flamenco Festival will feature an art exhibition with works by Parsi painter and dancer Afroz André in the art gallery at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center prior to the show, starting at 6pm and during the post-show VIP Meet-and-Greet Reception. André studied figurative drawing and painting at The New York Academy of Art and The Art Students League in New York City and was a resident artist at the Cristina Hoyos Museum in Spain where she currently has permanent exhibitions. Her award-winning work has been featured in the media in the United States, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, China, and Turkey.

Festival attendees will have an opportunity to enter to win a vacation to Spain, sponsored by the Tourist Office of Spain, with a charitable donation to the Global Gift Foundation USA, a 501(c)3 charitable organization that raises funds to support causes and initiatives addressing poverty, health, education, social care and charitable alliances.

ABOUT FLAMENCO: 

In November 2010 flamenco was inscribed in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity