PIACERE AND BALLET ACCADEMIA FLAMENCO Rehearsals for 'Origin. The Seed of Time' begin in Andalusia, a performance that evokes cultural fusion through music and dance.
Produced in co-production with the Teatro de la Maestranza, it has the collaboration of the Granada International Music and Dance Festival, the Córdoba Guitar Festival, and the Castell de Peralada Festival (Girona).
With musical direction by Fahmi Alqhai and artistic and choreographic direction by Patricia Guerrero, its world premiere will take place on May 18 at the Teatro de la Maestranza
Seville, Monday, April 14, 2025.
The formation of early music Piacere and Ballet Academy Flamenco Andalusia rehearsals have begun for their first co-production, the show 'Origin. The Seed of Time'; a production co-produced with the Teatro de la Maestranza, which also includes the collaboration of Granada International Music and Dance Festival, the Córdoba Guitar Festival and the Castell de Peralada Festival (Girona) and which will have its absolute premiere next May 18 at the aforementioned Maestranza Theater. With Musical direction by Fahmi Alqhai and artistic and choreographic direction by Patricia Guerrero, two references of contemporary creation, 'Origin. The seed 'of the times' evokes cultural fusion by exploring a common past and present through music and dance.
The firm commitment to the evolution of Andalusian traditions in music and dance of both artists is the axis on which this proposal is based, which has the Dramaturgy by Juan Dolores Caballero, who is also in charge of stage direction with Patricia Guerrero. Thus, in 'Origin. The Seed of Time' they take this mission to the limit, exploring the roots of the Golden Age and its mark on the flamenco current. The scenic force of Ballet Flamenco from Andalusia and the fusion of sounds from Accademia del Piacere come together in a rhapsody in seven acts to travel through time on a round trip between past and present in which jácaras, pasacalles, marionettes and zarabandas reveal the irrefutable connection between baroque music and the beats and strums of the flamenco.
In the words of Fahmi Alqhai, “this show does not seek to reconstruct a historical sound, but rather to reimagine it from a contemporary perspective. The music dialogues with the flamenco to create a new language that transcends its original elements and gives life to a new expression for dance and dramatic representation." Thus, as Patricia Guerrero points out regarding the choreography, it is "a work rooted in musical knowledge and the rhythmic complexity of flamenco, but with a gaze that transcends time, connecting past and present through the body in motion.”
On this common path between the flamenco and the historical tradition of Spanish music, Accademia del Piacere, the Ballet Flamenco of Andalusia and the Maestranza Theatre join forces and bring together some of the most prominent figures in historical music and flamenco avant-garde. Thus, the cast composed of the early music group and the members of the ballet are joined by the voices of the soprano Quiteria Muñoz and the singer Amparo Lagares, and the guitarist Dani de Morón, also author of the flamenco musical adaptations.
After its world premiere at the Teatro de la Maestranza, 'Origin. The Seed of Time' will also be shown at collaborating events: the Granada International Music and Dance Festival (June 25), the Córdoba Guitar Festival (July 8) and the Castell de Peralada Festival (Girona) (July 10).
FAHMI ALQHAI AND ACCADEMIA DEL PIACERE
Born in Seville in 1976 to a Syrian father and a Palestinian mother, Fahmi Alqhai has made the viola da gamba “the perfect vehicle for his musical craft” (Carolina Gill, GRAMOPHONE). Giraldillo of the Seville Biennial Flamenco From 2012 to 2016, he is internationally regarded as "one of the greatest viola da gamba players of our time" (Pablo J. Vayón, Grupo Joly, Spain) and one of the greatest innovators in the interpretation of early music, thanks to his contemporary, daring, and personal approach to historical repertoires: "Early music seems newly created thanks to its inspiration and communicative power" (Javier Pérez Senz, EL PAÍS). Alqhai has been a member of numerous renowned early music groups, including Hesperion XXI (Jordi Savall), with whom he has toured worldwide for over 10 years.
Its life story is intertwined with that of the Accademia del Piacere, which has been celebrating more than two decades, marked by the courage of its innovative projects and the strong artistic personality of its director. Thanks to its conception of historical music as something alive and full of emotion, it is considered the avant-garde group of Spanish early music and one of the most influential on the European scene.
Accademia del Piacere has performed at the most prestigious venues in European and international classical music. These include the Konzerthaus in Berlin and Vienna, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Fundação Gulbenkian in Lisbon, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, and many others in the Netherlands, Mexico, Colombia, France, the USA, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain. Their concerts are regularly broadcast live by the European Broadcasting Union and its associated stations, and they have appeared on numerous television programs.
In his recordings for Alqhai & Alqhai and Glossa, the label he founded with his brother, the violagambist Rami Alqhai, Accademia del Piacere has revealed new nuances in fundamental repertoires of historical music such as the Italian Seicento, the Spanish music of the Renaissance (Rediscovering Spain) or the scenic of the Spanish Baroque (Song of Love, dedicated to Juan Hidalgo), and has received awards such as the Choc de Classica (France) and the Prelude Award (Netherlands). Accademia and Alqhai also surprise by visiting artistic territories outside of historicism, as in The comings and goings, along with the singer flamenco Arcángel, Giraldillo for Best Music at the Biennial of Flamenco from Seville 2012.
PATRICIA GUERRERO AND BALLET FLAMENCO OF ANDALUSIA
Artistic Director of the Ballet Flamenco From Andalusia, Patricia Guerrero (Granada, 1990) was awarded the National Dance Prize in 2021 "for the personality and strength of her art, and for having been able to incorporate from the flamenco more traditional new forms and aesthetics." Guerrero combines her deep flamenco roots with a creative originality that drives her to explore and experiment with the blending of these roots with other styles of music and dance.
Patricia Guerrero has performed in the most prestigious theaters and festivals around the world: the New York City Center, the Théâtre National Chaillot in Paris, the Teatros del Canal and the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, the Bozar Institute in Brussels, the Grand Theatre in Luxembourg, the Teatro de la Maestranza and the Teatro Central in Seville, and the House of Music in Moscow, to name a few. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside great artists such as Arcángel, Mayte Martín, Belén Maya, Dani de Morón, Agustín Diassera, Antonio Canales, Rosa Torres Pardo, and Fahmi Alqhai. Likewise, the Spanish National Ballet and its director, Rubén Olmo, regularly feature her as a principal guest dancer.
The Ballet Flamenco of Andalusia, a project of the Andalusian Institute of Flamenco of the Andalusian Agency of Cultural Institutions of the Andalusian Government, was born with the objective of contributing to the development of the interpretation, creation, production and dissemination of Andalusian dance, with special emphasis on languages flamencos.
Throughout its history, the Ballet Flamenco of Andalusia has won important awards, such as the National Choreography Award, several Max Awards and Giraldillos of the Biennial of Flamenco from Seville. It has also played a key role in attracting new audiences and disseminating Andalusian culture, serving as an artistic and professional springboard for prominent Andalusian artists such as Rubén Olmo, Israel Galván, Isabel Bayón, Rafael Campallo, Belén Maya, Mercedes Ruiz, María José Franco, Patricia Guerrero, and Rafaela Carrasco.
Juan Dolores Caballero
Renowned stage director, set designer and teacher with an outstanding career in the fields of theatre, contemporary dance, flamenco and opera. He trained at the Seville Theatre Institute and holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Seville. He was a director and professor at the now-defunct School of Direction and Stage Design at the CAT (Andalusian Theatre Center) and is currently an external professor for the Master's in Live Performing Arts (MAEV) at the University of Seville.
His work as a stage director is characterized by an integrative vision that combines different artistic languages, designing both the sets and costumes for his productions with the aim of constructing a unified narrative. He has directed more than fifty shows, including classical theater, works by established authors, and his own creations, which have been presented at prestigious venues and festivals (Teatro Central and the Lope de Vega Theater in Seville; the Abadía, the Teatro Pavón, and the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid; the Mérida Festival; the Almagro International Classical Theater Festival; the Don Quixote Festival in Paris; the Newcastle Theatre Festival; the Festival of Roman Theaters of Andalusia; and the Italica International Dance Festival).
Throughout his career, he has been a finalist at the Max Awards on two occasions (2017 and 2019) and has received numerous recognitions and awards, including those awarded by the Seville Stage Association, the Sala Russafa in Valencia, the Southern Theatre Fair, PAD and the Biennial of Flamenco of Sevilla.
QUITERIA MUÑOZ, AMPARO LAGARES AND DANI DE MORON
The cast of "Origin. The Seed of Time" also includes Valencian soprano Quiteria Muñoz, who, throughout her career, has sung in prestigious chamber ensembles such as Amystis Cor de Cambra, Harmonia del Parnàs, Capella de Ministrers, Victoria Musicae, and Abchordis Ensemble, among others; and under the tutelage of conductors such as Plácido Domingo, Fabio Luisi, Juan Luis Martínez, David Gálvez, Cristobal Soler, Leonardo García-Alarcón, and Eduardo López Banzo, among others.
For her part, Sevillian singer Amparo Lagares has received lessons from maestros such as Arcángel, Esperanza Fernández, and José de la Tomasa, among others, and has accompanied artists such as Carmen Linares, María Toledo, and Diego Carrasco in choirs. Rounding out the cast is guitarist Dani de Morón, also born in Seville and a regular collaborator with Accademia del Piacere on other projects.
Dani de Morón has accompanied great voices of the flamenco (Tomasa La Macanita, Guadiana, José Mercé, Arcángel…) and was second guitarist on the tour for the album 'Cositas buenas', alongside Paco de Lucía. He was awarded the Giraldillo del toque at the XVII Biennial of flamenco From Seville, throughout his career he has performed on important international stages and festivals such as the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid, the Central Theatre of Seville, the Jerez Festival, the National Theatre of Hanoi (Vietnam), the National Auditorium of Manila (Philippines) and the II Bangkok Guitar Festival, among others.
