Experience the heat, energy, and passion of flamenco without leaving New York State at the Hudson Valley Flamenco Festival. Now in its eighth year, the festival brings world-class dancers and musicians to the area for a celebration of this living art form.
The festival was founded by co-producer and creative director Anna Librada Georges, with Eric Salas joining as co-producer in 2022. In an interview with Librada, she says, “Flamenco as an art form is improvisational in nature. The dancer responds to the singer, the guitarist, and the percussionist in real time. Every foot stomp, every hand flourish, every chord is completely new and of the moment. It’s how we communicate our humanity.” The dialogue between dancers and musicians and their exchange of energy with the audience ignites the performance, keeping it unpredictable and alive. Each performance is unique, and, as Librada suggests, a journey.
Flamenco communicates the full spectrum of human emotion - joy, sorrow, love, struggle, and celebration. Librada stresses, “If you’re not sharing your internal experience, your vulnerability, and connection, then it’s not flamenco. The musicians have to anticipate the dancer, improvise, and support them - that’s one of the most advanced technical skills in music.”
The festival opens Friday, October 3, at 7 p.m. in Gardiner, New York, with Tablao: Full Circle, a ticketed evening of dance and live music. Librada joins dancer Xianix Barrera, a Bessie-nominated choreographer whose work highlights female empowerment, queer themes, and social justice, and dancer Elisabet Torras Aguilera from Barcelona, who trained with La Chana and Belén Maya. Sharing the stage are Israeli-born Yolit Yospe-Kachlon, founder of Alma Flamenca, and dancer Ania “La Candela” Bartelmus, internationally recognized for flamenco fusion performances across the U.S. and Europe. They perform alongside singer Alfonso Cid, known for his powerful voice and deep knowledge of flamenco tradition; guitarist Ricardo Sanchez, whose playing sustains an intimate dialogue with the dancers; and percussionist Luis Ossa, whose cajón rhythms drive the heartbeat of the performance.
Librada observes, “Watching the audience experience this art for the first time—that’s the ultimate euphoria for me.”
Flamenco’s origins in southern Spain reflect a rich blend of Romani, Moorish, Jewish, and Andalusian traditions. Librada emphasizes that while the festival honors these roots, it also embraces innovation. Dancers and musicians balance respect for flamenco’s technical and emotional vocabulary with personal expression, ensuring every performance reflects both heritage and individuality.
The festival continues beyond Friday’s show with the Peña Project, modeled on Spain’s intimate peñas - small clubs where audiences eat, socialize, and experience live flamenco. These gatherings bring performances into community spaces and provide a place for emerging artists to grow.
On Saturday, October 4, at 4 p.m., the festival moves outdoors to the Millbrook Bandshell for Viento, or Wind. This free, family-friendly program features New Bojaira Jazz Flamenco with Aguilera as headlining dancer, featuring United Flamenco’s rising talents in a relaxed, open-air setting.
As Librada underscores, “Flamenco is about connection. The dancer, the singer, the guitarist, and the percussionist—they all speak to each other in the moment. You can’t feel that energy from a recording. You have to be there.”
She adds, “How I can connect with the rest of the musicians, how we help each other, how we support each other, the experience we create together through our connection, our inspiration, our emotions are challenges in that moment in time. In this way, flamenco is the metaphor for life.”
Catherine Tharin is a choreographer, writer, curator, and educator. Her writing on dance has appeared in The Dance Enthusiast, Interlocutor, Side of Culture, and the Boston Globe. Tharin currently curates The Dance Series at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, NY, and dance film at The Moviehouse in Millerton, NY. Throughout her career, she has championed both innovative and legacy choreography, supported the work of artists across the field, and brought critical attention to the art form. Her latest dance, In the Wake of Yes, was noted as "powerfully animated, positively fizzy, full of droll wit" (Fjord), “The piece blended dance, art, and language into a layered meditation on love and emotional vulnerability." (Eye on Dance).
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