Dance the Night Away

Regarded as Spain's most successful touring company, Noche Flamenca was founded by Barrio in 1993 with her artistic director and husband Martin Santagelo. Prior to its Edinburgh run, the company completed a six week stint in New York, which was a critical and box-office smash. Hailed for its passionate and spellbinding brand of flamenco, the group performs for only one week so book tickets now to avoid disappointment.

In a world where traditional flamenco is often ignored in favour of the more gimmicky modern variety, the Noche Flamenca prides itself on delivering an unpretentious and emotional show that's sure to leave its audience spellbound. As artistic director Santangelo explains, “our goal, in all our productions, is to maintain the essence of a complex and mysterious artform.”

To the uneducated, flamenco might appear to be nothing more than an elaborate form of dance. It is however, much more than that. In Spain, it is viewed as way of expressing an individual's personality. There are three crucial elements that make up flamenco; song, guitar and dance. Each is of equal importance.

“Flamenco is our vehicle,” says Santangelo. “It is a primal scream, an essential cry to express the joy, sorrow, comedy and tragedy of individuals and groups who are socially, physically or spiritually repressed. In an attempt, through singing, playing and dancing, to free the soul from this oppression, we are impelled onto a tough but beautiful road full of miraculous human complexity.”

To Santangelo, flamenco is more than dance, more than music. It is a liberator. Fringe audiences will probably settle for simply being entertained, which is all but guaranteed.