Welcome to la Bienal de Flamenco!

Welcome to the 20th Bienal!
Did you know that Seville is the birthplace of Flamenco? Because of this Seville hosts the largest Flamenco event worldwide, called “la Bienal de Flamenco”. This event takes place once every two years between September and October and lasts for one month. The Bienal first took place in 1980 and the tradition has carried on to the current day. This year we will be celebrating the 20th bienal. In previous years the event has hosted stars such as: Antonio El Pipa, Eva Yerbabuena, Tomatito, María Pagés Compañía and Jesús Méndez along with many other famous artists.


The history of Flamenco.

The “golden age” of flamenco is usually considered to be the period between roughly 1780 and 1845. During this time flamenco wasn’t really about the dancing but more the vocals. During the performance singers would perform a primitive cry or chant and only accompanied by the rhythm which would be beaten out by a wooden staff on the floor. Nowadays in a performance you would expect to see the 4 elements which are: cante- the chants and crys, baile- the dance, toque- the guitar and jaleo- the stomping, clapping and chants of encouragement.

 


What to expect

During the Bienal you can expect to see performances taking place in areas such as the bullring, Triana, Plaza Virgen de los Reyes, Puerta Jerez and Convento de Santa Clara, are just some of the main venues however there are plenty more events and venues where you will be able to watch the amazing performances.
If you wish to look further into where and when you can watch the performances here is a link you may find useful…http://www.labienal.com

Traditionally these festivals will be held in an open air theatre, this provides one of the most important aspects of flamenco… The atmosphere! Flamenco events offer an exciting, electrifying atmosphere,. The open air theatres allow you to soak up this atmosphere as well as enjoy the warm summer evenings. However not all events are open air, some maybe performed at a bar or a tavern. As well as the Bienal being the perfect place to feel the atmosphere of flamenco it also provides the perfect place to experience a taste of Spanish culture and meet people from all walks of life because people come from all over the world for the Bienal de Flamenco!

If you´re looking for a chance to experience true Sevillian lifestyle then we definitely reccomend spectating one of the performances in the Bienal de Flamenco. Better yet, why not try Flamenco for yourself in one of the many workshops available. Feel free to contact us here with any questions about the Flamenco or anything about Sevilla https://voyagerseville.com/en/contact/