Duende Flamenco Festival Returns to The Aga Khan Museum for Its Eighth Year With Seven Days of Workshops, Live Performances, and Films

From live flamenco performances featuring Isaac Tovar and Mercedes Ruiz, to masterful workshops led by industry greats such as Santiago Lara and Vicente Gelo, this year’s celebration will be the biggest one yet.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Aga Khan Museum’s annual Duende Flamenco Festival returns from November 13 to 20 with seven days of live performances, music and dance workshops led by award-winning artists, and films that showcase the vibrant culture and history of flamenco. Guest curated by Carmen Romero, the artistic director and principal dancer of Toronto's Compañía Carmen Romero, this year’s festival also includes performances and films co-presented by music initiative, FabCollab.

To celebrate the start of the week-long festival, audiences are invited to attend Duende: Ignite Your Passion which will feature the world premiere of Vida, a dance that combines the strength and elegance of ballet with the passion and fire of flamenco, performed by dancers in The National Ballet of Canada’s RBC Apprentice Program. Vida will be followed by a captivating guitar summit and an opportunity to network and mingle over refreshments and flamenco performances around the Museum.

Throughout the week, evening performances featuring an array of styles and techniques will place audiences in the heart of Seville. Highlights include:

• November 15 — Duende Flamenco Festival’s first off-site performance, Flamenco in the Six!, co-presented by FabCollab.
• November 16 — an exciting show featuring dynamic ensemble, Qairo and a performance of TelaFlamenca, choreographed by Carmen Romero.
• November 17 — Añejo, a showcase of the essence of flamenco using the cante, toque, percussion, and dance by one of Spain’s greatest contemporary dancers, Isaac Tovar.
• November 18 — Dual, an entrancing performance that combines different styles of flamenco by two of Spain’s most esteemed artists Mercedes Ruiz and Santiago Lara.
• November 20 — Festival Fiesta — a final celebration featuring 15 highly acclaimed artists, co-presented by FabCollab.

For the first time, the 2022 Duende Flamenco Festival will offer intermediate and advanced artists the opportunity to learn from some of the industry's most prolific artists through exciting workshops including:

• Masterclass dance workshops led by Mercedes Ruiz and Isaac Tovar.
• Guitar workshops led by Santiago Lara and Gaspar Rodriguez.
• A flamenco singing workshop led by world-renowned musician, Vicente Gelo. 

“I am honoured to have been invited by the Aga Khan Museum to collaborate as a guest curator for this year’s Duende Flamenco Festival,” says Carmen Romero, Guest Curator of the 2022 Duende Flamenco Festival. “Flamenco celebrates the amalgamation of many cultures and speaks to people from different places and walks of life. This festival has become an exciting space where flamenco artists and enthusiasts alike can come together to experience the power and emotion of this passionate art form.”

“Over the past eight years, the Duende Flamenco Festival has become an essential part of the Museum’s mission and mandate to promote pluralism through the arts,” says the Head of Performing Arts at the Aga Khan Museum, Amirali Alibhai. “The Aga Khan Museum is a reflection of the diversity in Canada that sparks energy, excitement, and inspiration through the intersection of over 200 cultures. In that spirit, the influences of Arab and Spanish culture on flamenco music and dance since its beginnings in the Gitano community over 150 years ago, exemplify the creative possibilities that come to light when traditions, people, and art forms intersect.”

About the Aga Khan Museum
The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada, has been established and developed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The Museum’s mission is to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the contribution that Muslim civilizations have made to world heritage while reflecting, through its permanent and temporary exhibitions, how cultures connect with one another. Designed by architect Fumihiko Maki, the Museum shares a 6.8-hectare site with Toronto’s Ismaili Centre, which was designed by architect Charles Correa. The surrounding landscaped park was designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic.