The Festival de Jerez is the foremost Flamenco and Spanish Dance Festival in the world. In 2021, it celebrates its landmark 25th edition, making it one of the longest-running festivals of its kind, but this year, the Festival de Jerez faces a new, unprecedented challenge.
With the COVID-19 global pandemic still looming large, rather than cancelling this year’s edition, the festival administration made the brave decision to reduce the number of productions it normally presents and move this year’s edition from its usual dates in February and March to May. Even so, to keep artists, festival staff and audience members safe, festival performances will be sold only to 50% theatre capacity. Plus, the large international contingent that normally floods the Spanish city of Jerez de la Frontera to attend the festival’s dance courses and performances will sadly be missing due to travel restrictions.
However, if flamenco and Spanish dance students and fans can’t come to the historic Villamarta Theatre, Third Row will bring the performances at the Villamarta to a global audience through a collection of festival live streams. Because of the pandemic, many of the performances that have been selected for streaming likely will not be able to tour as widely as they deserve, but this collaboration between the Festival de Jerez and Third Row presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of Spain’s finest and most lauded performers and their newest masterworks from the comfort and safety of home, no matter where on Earth that home is located.
