The 30th Jerez Festival celebrates the flamenco and dance as territories of freedom
María José García-Pelayo emphasizes that the competition is “diverse and inclusive” just like the city where it takes place
The festival offers 48 shows, including 11 world premieres, and will take place between February 20 and March 7, 2026.
November 27th 2025. The mayor of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo, presented together with the director of the Andalusian Institute of FlamencoCristóbal Ortega, and the director of Fundarte, Carlos Granados, announced the 30th edition of the Jerez Festival, which will be held from February 20 to March 7, 2026. The event was also attended by other members of the municipal government team, representatives of collaborating entities and companies, and artists who are part of the program.
The 30th Jerez Festival will take over and transform the city into a grand stage where flamenco Art and dance will join hands in absolute freedom. Thirty years later, the veteran Festival presents itself to the world as a fertile and evolving space, capable of building bridges between what has been inherited and what is yet to come. Far from dwelling on the nostalgia of commemorative dates, this edition celebrates its journey as a driving force for renewal. flamenco and reaffirms its commitment to forging parallel paths of dialogue with other artistic disciplines, in a Festival that welcomes all who wish to participate and aspires to be more inclusive. The challenge is to continue contributing to the expansion of the creative universe of flamenco and Spanish dance.
After highlighting the quality of this artistic project, its international scope, and how it has become a platform for promoting the city, García-Pelayo pointed out that this strong connection between Jerez and its Festival creates a bond among citizens that transcends mere territorial affiliation, as it occurs through "the highest expression of our art." In this regard, he indicated that the new edition of the event offers enough attractions for "the people of Jerez to enjoy." According to García-Pelayo, between February 20th and March 7th, "the city streets will be filled with art and fine cuisine," given Jerez's nomination as the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy for next year.
In her speech, the mayor highlighted the fact that 2025 “has been a special year for the flamencoIn this regard, he recalled that the declaration of the Jerez and Arcos zambomba as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) is 10 years old; and that 15 years have passed since the Declaration of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of Flamenco by UNESCO, in addition to the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the Gypsy community in Spain and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Antonio Gallardo.
In mentioning these emblematic dates, he highlighted one in particular: 2031, the year Jerez aspires to be the European Capital of Culture. This project will demonstrate the capacity for "social transformation" of culture, and especially of [the arts/cultural arts]. flamenco.
“Our obligation is to continue protecting, supporting and promoting something that identifies us,” said Cristóbal Ortega, director of the Andalusian Institute of Flamencowho also commemorated the 15th anniversary of the UNESCO Declaration. Regarding the Jerez Festival, he asserted that it is “the world’s great dance festival” and that Jerez becomes “the world capital of dance” during its celebration. flamencoIn his opinion, a competition of this nature is "another incentive" for the city to become the European Capital of Culture in 2031.
For his part, Carlos Granados, director of the festival, explained that the 30th edition of the Jerez Festival focuses on the free expression of the body through dance and imagination, with no limitations other than physical ones. A freedom, in his opinion, that is innate to flamencoIn his opinion, “we are dealing with an art that is not a legacy to be kept in a display case, but rather one that should reflect the concerns and serve as a vehicle of expression for present and future society.”
The director of the competition has insisted that, in some way, freedom has always guided this unique art form. flamenco It belongs to everyone, to all who feel it as their own,” regardless of their origin. After 30 years since the first edition, the competition reflects “an evolving society” and an artistic discipline that is expanding powerfully into the future without losing its roots.
“Culture and the arts make us better when they include, not exclude,” commented Carlos Granados. “We are witnessing a free, courageous, diverse Festival that opens its doors, without racial prejudice, and where everyone has their place.”
An extensive program
48 shows, with a map of 15 premieres (11 absolute, 1 national and 3 in Andalusia), and two album presentations will be unfolded in spaces that are already part of the emotional geography of the Festival: from the nerve center of the Villamarta Theatre to the Sala Compañía, the Atalaya Museums and the Villavicencio Palace and the Blas Infante Social Centre with improvements to its infrastructure.
As a new initiative, and to facilitate public mobility and promote sustainability, the City Council will provide special shuttle buses. The newly opened Teatro La Gotera de Lazotea, located in the symbolic San Miguel neighborhood, will debut in 2026 as a venue for a short piano recital series. flamenco. The peñaFlamenco performances will once again be the setting for the traditional Cycle of Peñas, organized by the Federation of PeñaFlamenco Dancers of Jerez. Ten proposals will open a privileged window onto that generation of young talents that fuels the future of flamenco. flamenco.
Large-scale shows and medium and small-format productions with names at the forefront such as Manuela Carpio, Olga Pericet, Nino de los Reyes, Andrés Marín and Ana Morales, Salomé Ramírez, Farru or the companies of Belén López and Julio Ruiz together with the Ballet Flamenco From Andalusia, the Compañía de Jesús Carmona or the Nuevo Ballet Español coexist naturally in a profoundly multidisciplinary program that draws in some productions from painting, sculpture or audiovisual media.
At the cante And the musical touch: Mayte Martín, Arcángel, Lela Soto, Yerai Cortés, Santiago Lara, or Ezequiel Benítez. The backbone of the 30th Jerez Festival, the firm conviction that the flamenco “From its own freedom, it permeates and enriches everything it touches, allowing for an infinite universe of freedom and creation.” Thus, over two weeks, contemporary dance, the bolero school, baroque dance, visual arts, theater, spoken word, and piano will dance as they do in Jerez: in rhythm. True to the mixed and eclectic nature of flamencoThe programming is fueled by exchange and artistic transhumance.
This spirit also inspires the poster for this year's edition, conceived by illustrator and graphic designer Daniel Diosdado as a visual synthesis of everything the Festival offers. With this image, with which Diosdado brings to a close a decade of fruitful collaboration, the event presents itself to the world with an aesthetic that breathes the same freedom of expression, the same creative mix and impulse that underpins its programming. Streets, peñaTheaters, museums and theatres will once again beat to the rhythm of an art that was born from the weariness of a people who found in it a refuge in which to be free and that today is a collective heritage.
In 2026, the Jerez Festival renews its commitment to the values that underpin European culture: the celebration of diversity and inclusion, the encounter between generations, intercultural coexistence, creative freedom, and the idea of a living heritage that transforms without losing its roots. These principles naturally align with Jerez's bid to become European Capital of Culture 2031, positioning the flamenco as a bridge between memory and future and as a language that unites territories and sensibilities in the same shared horizon.
The heart in which everything beats, the Villamarta Theatre
Two shows will leave their mark on the Villamarta Theatre: on February 20, Manuela Carpio will bring to the Jerez stage the world premiere of Roots of the soul. This essential figure of Jerez dance inaugurates the highly anticipated edition with a work that celebrates lineage, memory, and transmission, featuring the collaboration of dancers Saray García, Miguel Lavi, and Manuel de Tañé, the guitars of José Gálvez and Juan Requena, and guest artists such as Tomasa 'La Macanita', José Valencia, and Angelita Montoya. On February 28, Mercedes Ruiz, Leonor Leal, and Salomé Ramírez will star in another world premiere. Jerez, with a woman's name, conceived as a special anniversary gala in which three creators discuss the present of dance, new narratives and corporeality.
On the 21st, the New Spanish Ballet will take over with Fronteras in the air, With artistic direction and choreography by Ángel Rojas and the special collaboration of dancer Helena Martín and Alana Sinkëy on vocals. On Sunday the 22nd, Olga Pericet arrives with her most intimate work: The matterA game of challenges and complementarities woven together with Daniel Abreu, the second chapter of the trilogy begun with La leona and that will culminate with The Invincible and which is inspired by the guitars of the legendary 19th-century luthier Antonio de Torres. On Tuesday, February 24, Estévez/Paños Compañía presents the city with another world premiere: Maidens (permanent revelry), A choreographic and theatrical fantasy with music by Ramón Montoya, presented as an ode to fun and revelry, showcasing the musical work of the man who was the father of the modern style. The following day it will be the turn of by Sara Calero, a leading figure in the renewal of Spanish dance, with The Rebirth, that moves between bolero school, neoclassical and flamenco.
On February 26, the focus will shift to two national dance award winners united in a double bill exploring extreme physicality, improvisation, and the breaking of conventions: Andrés Marín & Ana Morales. Rooted in sacred and popular practices drawn from the cultural history of Andalusia, dance and cante flamencothat both artists weave in Matarife/Paradise will take the audience to the heart of his obsessions. On Friday the 27th, the Sergio Bernal Dance Company will invite us to look at ourselves in Rodin and in three of his key sculptures as an inspiring source for this ballet: Torso d'homme Louis XIV (physical beauty), The Kiss (love) y The thinker (the importance of thought).
The Belén López Company will premiere in Andalusia on March 1st. Heartbeats. This virtuoso creator -winner of the Desplante Award at the Festival of Flamenco Belén López, winner of the Las Minas Festival in 2016, among other accolades, combines technical elegance with contemporary drive. In this production, she confronts our deepest fears, an internal conflict embodied by four flamenco dancers: Belén López herself, Dani Caballero, Nerea Domínguez, and Rapico.
The Ballet Flamenco Andalusia will engage in dialogue on March 3rd with roots, ritual and modernity through Blessed Land, which travels through the most picturesque and unique corners of this part of the world. It is a journey through the canteand most representative dances of the flamencoThis is a suite brimming with tradition and modernity, with the old and the new, with 18th-century aesthetics and 21st-century aesthetics, from the Phrygian to the Mixolydian modes, with ancestral laments and others that evoke them today.
Jesus Carmona and Tentative title They will take over the symbolic theater on the night of March 4th for their Andalusian premiere. The virtuosity and physical dramaturgy of the 2020 National Dance Prize winner will come together in a new experience born from within to be lived from without. Can a gesture contain centuries of history? Can a body dance in multiple times at once? These questions underpin Carmona's new project, which is permeated by concepts such as quantum superposition and neuroplasticity.
María Moreno and Magnificat Taking as their starting point on Thursday, March 5th, the scene of the Visitation, extensively represented throughout the centuries in Catholic iconography and culture, María Moreno, who weaves a celebration of life, speaks in flamencoThat is his mother tongue and the vehicle through which he carries out his poetic and theatrical research.
On March 6th, he will be followed by another great artist, José Maya, and Unnamed color, Also premiering in Andalusia. Inspired by the paintings of Mark Rothko, in this work the artist from Cádiz experiments with dance, the Swiss artist's brushstrokes, and digital arts, which merge into fascinating imaginary worlds.
The Flamenco Company La Lupi will lower the curtain at the Villamarta Theatre on March 7th with The UnpublishedWith stage direction and dramaturgy by Alberto Velasco, this is a journey of self-discovery that presents a new theatrical manifesto structured in scenes. The expressive power and renewed classicism of the Malaga-born master will be on full display.
Blas Infante Social Center, expansion of the boundaries
The Blas Infante Social Center is consolidating its position in its second consecutive year as a cutting-edge platform and laboratory, and it will do so by right. The trip around the sun by Nino de los Reyes (February 21), one of the most unique figures in contemporary dance, with artistic direction shared with Jesús Carmona.
The program includes pieces that capture the most authentic pulse of flamenco and their contemporary offshoots. This is the case of Concha Vargas and Inés Bacán, who with Lebrisah (February 23) offer a meeting of great emotional purity between two gypsy icons from Lebrija, with dance and cante of lineage. The Julio Ruiz Company (February 25) deploys in The a choreographic tale where dance, words, performance and flamenco They explore family dynamics.
For her part, the Jerez-born flamenco dancer Carmen Herrera presents Gherrera On Thursday the 26th, as a world premiere, a work that encapsulates the elegance and power of one of the essential figures of the local school, who is at the peak of his personal and artistic maturity. With music by Manuel Valencia, cante by Pepe de Pura, José Mijita and Manuel de la Nina, palmas and rhythm by Carlos Grilo and percussion by Carlos Merino.
Dog meatOn February 28th, Helena Martín's company will explore this dark forest from the perspective of a dog's shattered body, clinging to a saving beauty that consists of accompanying, sharing, and supporting the pain of another's body, becoming guardian dogs that ease the path. On stage: Helena Martín and Pablo Peña.
Also in its world premiere, the public will be reunited with David Coria on Monday, March 2nd. Babel. Work in progress It is an open process where Spanish dance and the flamenco and physical theatre. The rigorous rhythm of José Manuel Ramos 'El Oruco' sustains Boss (World premiere on Wednesday, March 4), a piece co-directed by Eva Yerbabuena and Rocío Molina, with the latter as a guest artist. The piece presents the palm tree as the conduit through which art is recognized. flamenco, the accomplice companion of cante, the dance and the guitar, possessor of knowledge, tireless player of time, the one who provides meaning and strength to its diverse manifestations.
David Lagos and Leonor Leal, for their part, present I gave my body Martinicos, a work permeated by literature, rhythm and dialogue between cante of roots and contemporary dance that will be performed on Friday the 6th, in the prelude to the closing of the XXX Festival.
The Blas Infante Social Center's Beatriz Morales program closes on Saturday, March 7th, with raw emotion. Art (world premiere), one of the most restless young looks in current dance, which reaffirms the emerging strength of a generation called to forge new paths.
Sala Compañía, risk and premieres of young talents
The Spanish premiere of Natural Farru will kick off the program of performances at Sala Compañía, a haven for young talent and daring artists. This intimate return of the Sevillian flamenco dancer is scheduled for Sunday, February 22. Alongside José Gálvez, Ezequiel Montoya, Lolo Fernández, and guest Rafael de Utrera, Farru creates a space of connection with the audience: a place where the natural, the improvised, and the profound intertwine.
From here, four world premieres follow. On February 24, the winners of the 2025 Madrid Choreographic Competition, Diego Aguilar & Hugo Aguilar from Valladolid, choose Jerez de la Frontera for the premiere of It's just a matter of time. The performance explores family legacy, the weight and light of tradition, the intimate imprint of childhood, and the courage to forge one's own path. The work thus speaks of time as a teacher, a boundary, and a space of encounter.
On Friday the 27th, the Sala Compañía will host the first performance of Landscape flamenco Andalusian with depth by Irene Olivares, Federation Award PeñaFlamencas de Jerez 2025. Deep subtlety and contemporary sensitivity cross this work signed by Santiago Moreno, with which he honors all the Andalusians - men and women - who sang of their miseries so as not to end up turned into animals without name or future.
On the first Sunday of the Festival, March 1st, Jerez will witness a unique meeting: that of Sandra Carrasco, Andrés Barrios, David de Arahal and El Yiyo. The magnificent It is a unique encounter with the greatness of flamenco More contemporary, under the artistic vision of Ángel Rojas, one of the leading figures in the current flamenco theater scene. Four exceptional young artists come together in a show where the cante, the dance, the guitar and the piano are elevated to the highest level.
On March 3, Salomé Ramírez will add Palo cutIt's not just a wine, but a twisted destiny that, far from being a failure, ends up revealing a unique and wonderful discovery. That metaphor inspires this show by the Jerez native, whose talent and career were recognized this year with the prestigious Desplante Award.
And on the 5th it's the turn of José Montoya 'Berenjeno' and Manuel Heredia and the presentation of Loyalty. What was once a game and an everyday way of expressing themselves has now become their profession and the point of convergence for this new album.
Villavicencio, the intimacy of cante Nighttime at the Alcázar of Jerez
At the Alcázar of Jerez, the Villavicencio Palace, the program delves into an intimate territory, fostering close listening and revealing the essence of flamenco without artifice. In this intimate and historic setting, the young flamenco singer from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Alba Bazán—winner of more than thirty national awards—will offer a recital on the evening of Thursday, March 5th. jondo that claims the purity, depth, and truth of cante Traditional.
The following day, Miguel Lavi from Jerez will take over. And he will do so with a cante brave, contemporary and deeply linked to the gypsy tradition thanks to a voice that dialogues with the present without losing the frank and clean memory of his lineage.
Watchtower Museums, the night, the cante and the guitar
Programming cante And the Atalaya Museums' guitar project brings together some of the most influential voices and hands on the current scene. Two essential guitarists of today. flamenco They will gather in Jerez de la Frontera: Santiago Lara, who is celebrating his 25-year career with Guitar solo (February 21), a world premiere where he appears naked, intimate and sincere, and in which he will travel through different palosRevisiting classic repertoires and displaying the melodic clarity and musical personality that have made him a benchmark, Yerai Cortés, from Alicante, arrives at the most decisive moment of his career, following the international success achieved with The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés and a self-titled debut album that has established him as one of the most influential voices in contemporary flamenco. His live performances... Choral GuitarWith sold-out shows at venues like Sónar, Montreux, and Arles, he confirms the reach of a musical language capable of expanding flamenco guitar into new territories without losing its roots. The performance will take place on Monday, March 2nd.
El cante It will unfold in Atalaya in multiple directions. Archangel and his Alphabet flamenco (February 22) embrace tradition and contemporary style. The artist from Huelva seeks new nuances in his artistic proposal, paying homage to the icons of flamenco music from its origins to the present day.
Lela Soto, one of the most powerful voices of her generation, arrives on the 27th with The fire that I carry insideReleased in early 2025, the album is already a phenomenon that has transcended the field flamencoAlthough born in Madrid, her cante He is eminently from Jerez, since he represents the youngest branch of one of the most important artistic dynasties of all time, the one that began with Paco La Luz and passed through El Gloria or La Pompi until it culminated in his grandfather Sordera, his father Vicente and his uncles Enrique; without losing sight of the influence of his mother, the dancer Luisa Heredia, sister of the legendary Ray Heredia.
Ezequiel Benítez shares on the 28th What nobody sees, the presentation of an album that delves into his particular way of understanding the cante jondoThis is a heartfelt cry from the depths of my soul, a testament to the fact that there is much more to art than meets the eye.
The serene rigor and extreme sensitivity of Mayte Martín, one of the most prestigious voices on the current scene, brings Flamenco Intimate Sunday, March 1st. The Catalan flamenco singer returns to that sacred language that defines her relationship with the flamenco, which pivots on interpretive excellence and a deep respect for the memory of the masters.
The magic of the piano flamenco and barefoot in the San Miguel neighborhood
Miriam Méndez, The Barefoot Princess - piano, voice and dance - will premiere the Festival's alliance with the La Gotera de Lazotea Theater on Monday, February 23rd with the show De Jerez to the sky, an intimate and symbolic work where they merge flamencoClassical music and dramaturgy. A classically trained pianist, an expert in the repertoire of Johann Sebastian Bach, with Flemish roots, and a pioneer in the intersection of both worlds, being the first woman to record a piano album. flamenco to Bach by Flamenco. Méndez has surprised the international scene by collaborating with figures such as Michel Camilo, Bob Belden, Jerry González, and Jorge Pardo. His work transforms the stage into an emotional journey that moves between spirituality and the profound depth of rhythm.
Finally, the young Mallorcan pianist Antón Cortés will arrive on Sunday, March 1st with his tribute. A Camarón and Paco de LucíaIn a dialogue between his own compositions and the themes of the masters, this self-taught artist has gone from being a promising talent to being recognized as a great figure of the piano. flamenco Currently a finalist in the 2021 International Competition of Cante De las Minas, in 2023 received the New Creators Award from the Gypsy Culture Institute and the Venecia Flamenca, the highest award of the Festival Flamenco of the Mistela.
Once again, and as part of the festival's human heartbeat, workshops, courses, and participants will play a leading role thanks to the 46 proposals organized around diverse techniques and styles of dance, guitar, and cante, including this year a course of flamenco Inclusive. More than 95% of the courses are already fully booked. Leading figures such as Antonio Najarro, Eduardo Guerrero, Olga Pericet, María del Mar Moreno, Marco Flores, and Mercedes de Córdoba will ensure that the educational component remains a central pillar of the festival, bringing together more than 1.100 participants from multiple countries and solidifying Jerez's position as an international learning capital. flamenco.
Ticket sales for all shows at the 30th Jerez Festival will begin on Thursday, December 4th. For the first time, the Festival is offering day passes with a 25% discount on the price of tickets for daily shows, thus expanding options for audiences attending for just a few days and also aiming to foster loyalty by providing an immersive Festival experience. These passes will be available both at the Villamarta Theatre physical box office as on the website www.festivaldejerez.es y www.tickentradas.com.
The 30th Jerez Festival is a FUNDARTE project promoted by the Jerez City Council, a candidate city for European Capital of Culture 2031; with the institutional collaboration of the Andalusian Agency of Cultural Institutions (Regional Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Andalusian Government), the INAEM (Ministry of Culture) and the Provincial Council of Cádiz; sponsorship from González-Byass, and the collaboration of the Kutxabank Foundation, Cajasol, the Jerez Regulatory Council, the Atalaya Museums, and the Federation of PeñaFlamencas de Jerez, Escuela de Artes Escénicas María Espejo, Coworking Cultura y Empresa Cámara, Diario de Jerez (Grupo Joly), Canal Sur Radio and Radio Jerez Cadena Ser.
