Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana celebrates its 35th anniversary season with a program of new works featuring the New York premiere of Mujeres Valientes by internationally renowned flamenco artist Belén Maya and dances by two up-and-coming choreographers from Spain: José Maldonado and Guadalupe Torres. Performances are May 15–20, 2018 (Tuesday through Saturday evening at 7:30pm, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm), at BAM Fisher, 321 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, NY.

Acclaimed as one of the premier Spanish dance companies in the United States, Flamenco Vivo’s renowned cast of dancers and musicians has entranced audiences nationwide for its “spirited dancing and imaginative choreographic concepts” (The New York Times). For its anniversary season, Flamenco Vivo has commissioned flamenco legend Belén Maya to create a new work for the company. A work for six dancers, Mujeres Valientes explores the fundamental power and courage of individual Latin American women who, over the centuries, have challenged authorities and fought against ignorance, inequality, and injustice. With Maya’s bold, innovative approach to dance-making, the work draws on the stories of two trailblazing women, 17th-century Mexican poet and philosopher Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and 19th-century activist and revolutionary Manuela Sáenz. Mujeres Valientes is accompanied by an original score by Gaspar Rodríguez with five musicians.

The program will also feature new solos by José Maldonado and Guadalupe Torres giving the audience an opportunity to witness the kind of electrifying dancing that has won them prizes in Spain. Maldonado and Torres come to Flamenco Vivo through a partnership with Madrid's El Certamen de Coreografía de Danza Española y Flamenco, the famous competition for up-and-coming talent in Spain.