Duende: Flamenco Festival 2019

Role: Co-curation, creative production, administration, logistics and onsite-operations

The 5th annual flamenco festival at the Aga Khan Museum saw international and local performers presented in an array of formats, including the first-ever flamenco tablao performance in the Museum’s atrium. The project included the Canadian-debuts of flamenco superstars Isaac Tovar and Eduardo Guerrero. Guerrero presented his award-winning trio show, Desplante, while Tovar was commissioned to create a new project, titled Encuentro, which was inspired by the Museum’s mission as well as the history of Arabic influence and exchange in flamenco tradition.

Local artists featured included an hommage to local luminary, Esmerelda Enrique, as well as a cross-cultural commission by Carmeno Romero and Bageshree Vaze, featuring a melding of flamenco and kathak performance. In addition to the theatre performances, the festival included an offsite collaboration with the Festival of Arabic Music and Arts, presenting Iraqi-oud luminary Naseer Shamma and the Syrian-guitar quartet Orontes at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, private dance workshops led by Isaac Tovar and Eduardo Guerrero, and film screenings.