Yes, you read it right. José Almarcha, guitarist and Lucía Ruibal, dancer return to the UK at the end of September with a number of shows where Demi García Sabat percussionist will accompany them. They will also have a number of workshops – guitar and dance! Yay!
If you don’t know the artists, I invite you to either read my previous post about them, link here or simply keep on reading. It is important you know we are talking about world class flamenco here!
José is from a Spanish town called Tomelloso in Castilla La Mancha, the land of Don Quijote. He started playing guitar at a very young age and then went on to study flamenco at the Cordoba Conservatory of Music with great flamenco guitar masters such as Paco Serrano and Niño de Pura. He participated in many guitar competitions and in 2007 won the II. International Flamenco Guitar Competition “Niño Ricardo”. He often works with renowned flamenco artists like Olga Pericet and Marco Flores and travelled the world accompanying flamenco stars like Antonio Canales. “Alejandra” is his second solo album; his debut album “Vejézate” was published in 2015 and had excellent reception. Have a look at his website for a more detailed biography and to listen to excerpts of his published albums.
Lucía was born in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, where I, personally left my heart in Spain. In the UK, I always explain Cádiz as the place between Gibraltar and Portugal, references people know in the UK. It’s in the south of Spain, in Andalusia, where you can meet -if you are lucky- some of the kindest and warmest people; their heart is huge, their soul is profound, they came about flamenco to express love, joy, death and sorrow. Lucía is one these people. She found her passion for dance at a very young age. Surely, her father, singer-songwriter Javier Ruibal and her brother, drummer-percussionist Javi Ruibal had an influence on her artistic awakening. She started with classical ballet but moved onto flamenco in her teenage years and trained with such incredible flamenco dancers as La Lupi and Mercedes Ruíz. She studied flamenco dance at the Conservatory of Málaga, then moved to Madrid where she performs regularly at tablaos, with major flamenco groups such as those of Rafael Amargo or Juan de Juan, with her father Javier Ruibal or most recently with Miguel Ríos and Amaral. For more information, pictures and videos, visit her website.
Demi is originally from Barcelona but is London based since 1999. He studied at the London College of Music and the Barcelona Conservatory of Music. He is a versatile percussionist who performs with flamenco, jazz, Latin and Arabic groups around the UK and Europe. More details on his website.
The UK tour starts on 29 September in London and ends on 8 October also in London, visiting Birmingham, Cambridge and Brighton in between. I share below the dates, venues and links to buy tickets. Some of the events are shows only, some are workshop & show, so if you fancy practising your compás and flamenco moves, you can sign up to both the concert and the dance workshop beforehand. There will also be a masterclass of dance and a masterclass of guitar in the London Dance Attic studio, so the arrangements are really flexible. To sign up for the Dance Attic masterclasses, you need to sign up directly with José and Lucía via their website. Links are provided below. The Battersea Spanish shows are also very flexible. You can get tickets to the show only, to the workshop only or to both! The venue is relatively new in South London, providing Spanish classes, flamenco courses, Hispanic film evenings and they also have a lovely bar where I highly recommend having a bite. Authentic Spanish food, great wines and drinks with a cool vibe!
Here is the list of José’s and Lucía’s upcoming events, hope you’ll enjoy!
Concerts
29 September – La Isla Flamenco Club (London)
Tickets available here: https://www.rulezero.co.uk/product/isla-flamenco-club-29-09-22/
30 September – Amantia Events (Birmingham)
Tickets available here:: https://www.flamenconights.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR1fZAA_helD8JxJm0FaQUU_DtyHdo6yoXB6hPll3eHBQF1fiNMI1L2GPnI&fs=e&s=cl
01 October – Show Only Wesley Methodist Church (Cambridge)
Tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/live-flamenco-cambridge-tickets-403730868897
06 October – The Rose Hill (Brighton)
Tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/live-flamenco-brighton-tickets-385810879727
07 October – Show in Battersea Spanish (London)
Tickets available here: https://batterseaspanish.com/events/dialogos-flamenco-show/
08 October – Show in Battersea Spanish (London)
Tickets available here: https://batterseaspanish.com/events/dialogos-flamenco-show-day-2/
Workshops
03-04 October – Masterclass of Flamenco Dance at DanceAttic Studios (London)
Tickets available either via luciaruibal90@gmail.com or on https://luciaruibal.com/contacto-lucia-ruibal/
03-04 October – Masterclass of Flamenco Guitar at DanceAttic Studios (London)
Tickets available here: https://josealmarcha.com/contacto
07 October – Workshop in Battersea Spanish (London)
Tickets available here: https://batterseaspanish.com/events/dialogos-flamenco-show/
08 October – Workshop in Battersea Spanish (London)
Tickets available here: https://batterseaspanish.com/events/dialogos-flamenco-show-day-2/
Show & Workshop
01 October – Workshop & Show Wesley Methodist Church (Cambridge)
Tickets available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/flamenco-workshop-and-show-in-cambridge-tickets-404464763997
07 October – Workshop & Show in Battersea Spanish (London)
Tickets available here: https://batterseaspanish.com/events/dialogos-flamenco-show/
08 October – Workshop & Show in Battersea Spanish (London)
Tickets available here: https://batterseaspanish.com/events/dialogos-flamenco-show-day-2/
Fascinating Flamenco 