The “Del Quivir” show was conceived as a tour of The Great Andalusian River and flamenco. It was el-Wadi al-Kabir to the Arabs and Betis to the Romans, it fathered  civilizations and is intrinsically tied to Andalusia’s territory and  history. The Guadalquivir’s water’s suggest ties to the Tartesian, Phoenecian, Roman, Arabic, Jewish and romani… They are echoes  of the peoples that once here lived and in doing so left memories of  their music and art in the midst of our rich and varied culture. 

In “Del Quivir” we let our flamenco guitars dream whilst floating through the different lands the Guadalquivir has bathed for centuries. The river carves out its unique identity thanks to the contribution of the different lands it bathes and its tributaries. Much  like the river, our flamenco show aims to sail through the different  Andalusian provinces that have carved the essence of this, our art. 

“Del Quivir” looks to be a metaphor of the passing of time, as well as the peoples and civilizations that make up our identity. At the same time, its objective is to celebrate life, nature and the richness of water in constant renewal and rebirth. 

Our objective is to make this metaphor extensive to the river as a global sum of its different facets, such as its water, currents and cultures through music, song and dance. The “mis-en-scene” of our show consists of new hybrid flamenco combinations like using tango and bulería simultaneously or the gua-guanco– style tanguillos in the “…Y Sevilla” act. 

Our  Flamenco Company endeavours to provide the necessary dynamism to  contribute to flamenco’s development, digging deep into its vast domains  and looking at them from diverse and constructive viewpoints. 

Source: Website of Maria Ángeles Gabaldón

More information: www.angeles-gabaldon.com

Ángeles Gabaldón was  born in Seville and began formally studying dance when she was ten  years old, eventually earning degrees in Spanish dance and classical  ballet from the Seville Dance Conservatory. In Seville and Madrid she  received instruction from the likes of masters such as Matilde  Coral, Manolo Marín, Ziro, El Mimbre, Milagros Mengíbar, Manolete,  Javier Latorre, Merche Esmeralda, Ana María Bueno, Eva Yerbabuena, Juana  Amaya, Javier Cruz, Alejandro Granados and Belén Maya.

She  has danced across five continents, participating in major national and  international programmes such as the Flamenco Bienal de Sevilla,  Festival Jerez, Mercat de las Flors (Barcelona), Bienale de la Danse de  Lyon or Tanzmesse nrw (Düsseldorf), besides performing at remarkable  places such as the Metropolitan of New York, Teatro Maestranza (Seville)  among others.

She  has a notable career as a teacher, in Spain where she was guest  professor at the Barcelona Theatre Institute in 2005, as well as abroad  at festivals and dance schools in Japan, Mexico, France, Germany,  Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Australia and Turkey.

During  her brilliant career as an artist she has won numerous awards,  including the Perla de Cádiz National First prize for Best Alegrías Choreography and  the El Desplante 2002 National First Prize of the Cante de las Minas  International Festival in La Unión. She has twice been the only woman  finalist at the Seville´s Bienal de Flamenco and with her first show,  “Inmigración”, was awarded the Flamenco Hoy Critics Choice Prize for  Best Show and Best Company.

In her dance Ángeles joins  flamenco’s most characteristic feelings and passion with the elegance  and subtlety of classical Spanish ballet in a simple and natural way,  combining strength and temperance with elements from other genres such  as contemporary dance, making her performances a true crucible of  artistic expression.

Source: Maria Ángeles Gabaldón

More information: www.angeles-gabaldon.com

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon