Noche Flamenca Adds New Works to ENTRE TU Y YO

Noche Flamenca, the renowned company founded by Artistic Director Mart n Santangelo and dancer Soledad Barrio, continues, has added Refugiados ( Refugees ), created from poems by children in refugee camps, to Entre Tu y Yo (Between You and Me), the evening-length program of duets, solos, and ensemble works Noche Flamenca performs at New York City's Connelly Theater, March 8-31. To develop Refugiados first created 15 years ago, and further developed for the engagement at the Connelly Santangelo and the company took the children's poems, translated them to Spanish, and set them to song and dance.

Performances of Entre Tu y Yo take place March 8-31: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm; and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets, $20-50, can be purchased via Noche Flamenca's website or by calling 866.811.4111. The Connelly Theater is located at 220 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10009.

Twenty-five years into its existence, Noche Flamenca continues both to mine the fundamentals of the genre and to stretch beyond tradition into other canons and forms, as in the company's recent, internationally acclaimed Antigona, an adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone. With Entre Tu y Yo(Between You and Me), the company explores the constraints imposed and the possibilities afforded by human relationships.

In addition to Refugiados, the programincludes the latest iteration of La Ronde, a work inspired by Max Oph ls' 1950 film, and the dizzying carousel of romantic and sexual relationships it presents, that Noche Flamenca has been developing for three years. The purest form of flamenco includes a guitarist, a vocalist, and a solo dancer but true to Noche Flamenca's boundary-pushing and emotionally probing style, in La Ronde, Santangelo uses a series of duets to explore love, hate, jealousy, and death. The piece draws inspiration from Ingmar Bergman's Persona, the pianist James Booker, the story of Cain and Abel, Demeter & Persephone, and other sources, in addition to Oph ls.

Finally, Entre Tu y Yo includes Barrio's signature, Sole , which exemplifies the catharsis at the heart of flamenco. In it, she displays the singular artistry Tobi Tobias attributed to her in ArtsJournal, where she wrote, What woman could hold a candle to Soledad Barrio? In modern dance, Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham. In ballet, maybe Nora Kaye, in her Tudor roles. Certainly no one we can go and see today has Barrio's transformative power.

In Entre Tu y Yo, Barrio is joined by some of Spain's most celebrated flamenco artists, including dancers Antonio Rodriguez, Marina Elana, and Jasiel Nahim; musicians Eugenio Iglesias, Salva de Maria, and David Rodriguez; and singers Manuel Gago, Emilio Florido, and Carmina Cortes.

The intimate, intuitive nature of Santangelo and Barrio's partnership as husband and wife, and as longtime collaborators makes their work with duets in flamenco all the more organic. Santangelo says, Soledad and I have a wonderful way of communicating. I approach ideas from an associative and experimental perspective. When I'm in rehearsal, I'll try everything and anything to get to it. Soledad is intuitive and corporally brilliant. She takes an idea and realizes it physically. For our adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone, I researched and developed for three years to be able to fully express my vision, and in rehearsal, I tried many different approaches to each scene. Soledad read the play and right away said, 'I got it. I know who she is.' We have two different ways of working, and we understand each other deeply. I talk, and she listens; she dances, and I watch.

Mart n Santangelo (Artistic Director) founded Noche Flamenca in 1993. He studied with Ciro, Paco Romero, El Guito, Manolete and Alejandro Granados. He has performed throughout Spain, Japan and North and South America, appearing with Maria Benitez's Teatro Flamenco, the Lincoln Center Festival of the Arts and Paco Romero's Ballet Espanol. He also appeared in Julie Taymor's Juan Darien at Lincoln Center. He choreographed and performed in Eduardo Machado's Deep Song, directed by Lynne Taylor- Corbett. He choreographed a production of Romeo and Juliet at the Denver Theater Center. He has directed and choreographed Bodas de Sangre, The Lower Depths, La Celestina, A Streetcar Named Desire, amongst many other productions in Spain and Buenos Aires. He has collaborated with many, many artists, but his most fulfilling collaboration has been with his wife, Soledad Barrio and his two wild daughters, Gabriela and Stella.

Soledad Barrio (Choreographer & Dancer) was born in Madrid. She has appeared as soloist with Manuela Vargas, Blanca del Rey, Luisillo, El Guito, Manolete, Cristobal Reyes, and El Toleo, Ballet Espa ol de Paco Romero, Festival Flamenco and many other companies. She has performed throughout Europe, Japan and North and South America with such artists as Alejandro Granados, El Torombo, Isabel Bay n, Jesus Torres, Miguel Perez, Manolo Marin, Javier Bar n, Merce Esmeralda, Rafael Campallo, etc. She has won awards from over 15 different countries around the globe for her excellence in dance. She recently received a Bessie award for Outstanding Creative Achievement and a Dance Magazine Exceptional Artist award. She is a founding member of Noche Flamenca and is married to Mart n Santangelo. They have two beautiful daughters, Gabriela and Stella.

About Noche Flamenca

Under the direction of Mart n Santangelo, the award-winning Noche Flamenca has become one of the world's most successful touring companies. Formed in 1993 by Santangelo and his Bessie award-winning wife, Soledad Barrio, the company performs regularly in New York City and tours worldwide, including Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Egypt, and throughout Europe, North America, Australia, and Canada.

Hailed by critics everywhere for its transcendent and deeply emotional performances, Noche Flamenca is recognized as the most authentic flamenco touring company in the field today, expressing the rigorous, spell-binding aesthetic of flamenco that exceeds the highest artistic expectations. Santangelo has successfully brought to the stage the essence, purity, and integrity of one of the world's most complex and mysterious art forms. All aspects of flamenco dance, song, and music are interrelated and given equal weight creating a true communal spirit within the company: the very heart and soul of flamenco.

In support of its mission to educate and enlighten audiences about flamenco, in addition to its performance repertory, the company offers extensive residency programs that reach out to people of all ages.

Noche Flamenca's achievements have been recognized with awards from the National Dance Project, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Arts Council, the MAP Fund and the Lucille Lortel Award for Special Theatrical Experience, among others.

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