The Embassy of Spain in the Philippines and Instituto Cervantes de Manila present “Delicatessen”, a sophisticated and delicate Flamenco performance by the Compañía Anabel Veloso Flamenco Escénico on May 25, 8 p.m. at the San Ignacio Church in Intramuros, Manila.

The show, which is the first leg of their “Asian Tour 2018”, is arranged in partnership with the Intramuros Administration, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, De La Salle College of Saint Benilde Arts and Culture Cluster (Dance Program) and Rustan’s,  will also be graced by two introductory numbers of the Bayanihan Dance Company of the Philippines in an attempt to explore the common roots of flamenco and some of the Philippine traditional dances.

The Anabel Veloso Dance Company (www.anabelveloso.com) was set up in 2009. Anabel stands at the head of the Company with Alberto Ruiz, both previous dancers at the Andalusian Dance Company under the directorship of Cristina Hoyos, as well as doing stints with Maria Pages Company and Joaquin Cortes Company, among others. The year 2012 saw the national recognition of the Company as it garnered the “Almeria Joven” award given by the Andalusian Youth Institute in the category of best international promotion for their many international performances that took them to the Bunkamura Theatre in Tokyo or the Joyce Theatre in New York City. In 2013, the new show obtained 6 nominations at IV PAD Dance Awards, gaining national reputation for this production.

Bayanihan, the National Folk Dance Company of the Philippines, earned its name from an ancient Filipino tradition called “bayanihan” which means working together for a common good.  In 1958 it made its highly successful international debut at the Brussels world exposition, launching its international career. Backed up by research and innovative choreography, Bayanihan has earned many distinctions and in more than half a century it has covered 14 major world tours, more than 100 short tours in six continents and in more than 700 cities worldwide. Today, Bayanihan shines proudly as a 12-time World Dance Top Prize Winner.

Workshop

Anabel Veloso will also be holding a Flamenco workshop on May 24 at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s School of Design and Arts Theater. Participants will be introduced to the Flamenco language, its basic notations such as rhythm and “palo,” whilst experiencing the colorful Spanish  ulture. The workshop will also explore commonalities with Philippine indigenous dances with the Bayanihan Dance Company in an improvisational module. The goal of the workshop is to provide a fusion of both cultures exemplified in a dance collaboration to be performed at the “Delicatessen” show the following day at San Ignacio Church.

Admission to the show on May 25 is free upon previous registration. RSVP: emb.manila.ofc@maec.es. For more information, please check out www.facebook.com/DelicatessenPH2018/ and www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.