Flamenco born in Malaga now sold out in London

In a little white house on a hill in Torrox, with countryside on one side and the sea on the other, a new kind of flamenco was being conceived. No noise, no rush. From the same place came an album by Rocío Márquez and Bronquio that revolutionised cante jondo (a vocal style in flamenco song) just a year ago. And from there, a secluded corner in the Axarquía, the fruits of this trio's labours have reached London this week.

The London Flamenco Festival (5-15 July) has provided several stages to show the latest projects by Manuel Liñán (winner of the 2017 National Dance Award), Maui de Utrera and Julio Ruiz, among others, which were created at this residence in Torrox, known as In Progress.

"It's not just a rehearsal space," stated Miguel Marín, artistic director of In Progress, a residence promoted and supported by the Flamenco Festival, the Concienciarte Foundation and Torrox town council, in collaboration with the department for Tourism and Planning on the Costa del Sol at the Diputación de Málaga (Malaga's provincial authority).

In Progress accompanies artists during the creative process with experts to help them delve into the concepts they have in mind.

"In a leisurely way, without all the pressure that exists when you have a premiere deadline. We are not so driven by the result, more by the process," said Marín. And that, in the flamenco world, is a novelty.

"The space has given me absolute disconnection and concentration, and also a very positive energy," said Manuel Liñán. The dancer and choreographer laid the foundations for Amor, Amado, Amén in Torrox, a project that he continues to develop while in London with the collaboration of English artists.

The first preview of this search for love, in the broadest sense of the word, was shown as a work in progress at the Lilian Baylis Studio in the British capital on 12 July. On 19 July he will do the same at the Pompidou in Malaga.

Amor, Amado, Amén will not be performed in its entirety until June 2024 but, until then, Liñán will be returning to the artistic refuge in Torrox from time to time. This is because In Progress is not limited to helping an artist in their initial phase of creating. In its commitment to giving comprehensive support to the artist, the residency opens the doors of Torrox's theatre for them to design the entire technical part of the show too. The result is then previewed there. This is how Maui de Utrera accomplished her very personal, new show called Puerto Alegría (Happiness Harbour), giving a sold-out performance last Thursday at the Cervantes Theatre in London. A montage, she assured us, that would not have happened if it weren't for the "tranquillity" of building art away from noise and on a real stage at Torrox. "I have felt embraced," said the niece of the legendary El Bambino (flamenco artist).

Tocar a un Hombre (To Touch a Man) is the new work by Julio Ruiz, a work that was created in Torrox, premiered at the Flamenco Biennial in Malaga organised by the Diputación and then performed on 14 July at the Lilian Baylis Studio in London. An "incredible" process that Julio Ruiz recalls with emotion but, above all, with gratitude.

"It is very difficult for people who have not yet made a name for themselves, for young people, to make a niche. That we have to keep digging so that we gain a voice, a place and an opportunity, is the wonderful thing about this experience," said the dancer, who mixes flamenco and dance in an emotional story to reaffirm one's identity, by living in the skin of another.

The creative process, in a house far away from the daily hustle and bustle, makes the whole crew part of the project. But not everything happens behind closed doors. The artists add to the life in the town, they stroll through its streets and eat in its bars. And they return part of what they receive by talking with the students of the college about creativity and artistic professions, or by chatting with the public after that first performance. Such experiences that will be repeated in September with names like the Estévez Paños company, Alfonso Losa, Laboratoria, Carmen Muñoz, Antonio Lizana, Rosario Toledo and Sara Jiménez, the new 'neighbours' landing in Torrox.

But this is not the last of Malaga talent at the Flamenco Festival in London: Manuel Liñán will close the festival this Saturday with his show that opened Malaga's Biennial Flamenco, with special guest, the dance maestro Carrete, that should bring the audience at Sadler's Wells Theatre to its feet.