IMPRESSIONS: Manuel Liñán's Fiesta Flamenca Co-Produced by The 2026 Flamenco Festival and Baryshnikov Arts Center

Manuel Liñán designed this thrilling event, produced in collaboration with the 2026 Flamenco Festival (2026 FF) and Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC).  Although unannounced, word spread that the featured performer, Raquel Heredia, had to fly back to Spain with her father, so Liñán stepped in. What a privilege to be in such an intimate space with Mikhail Baryshnikov, their host, not only present, but also dancing along with the performers as they made their exuberant final exit.

Initially, the audience gathered around the six performers, who faced each other around a table, as if in a conference. Suddenly, the mood snapped from cool to hot, as one by one, the artists performed Bulerías, the festive solo dance, with their body percussion and gestures reaching to the heavens. Each segment performed thereafter took us to a different part of BAC’s 4th floor Howard Gilman studio, with its wall of glass displaying NYC's resplendent lights.

Alberto Sellés swirled a black cloth off a long table with a playful swagger, drummed his feet on a cajon (only slightly bigger than a dime), then continued his tangos on the table. Plopping down on the table with baby-faced dancer Juan Tomas de la Molia, he started a metronome ticking, hypnotizing us. With that, began an unforgettable duet for metronome and guitar by the young prodigy José Fermín Fernández, perched on the ballet barre, with his back to the NYC skyline. Playing with classical detachment, he mesmerized us with his grace and precision. Since these performers were rarely more than 15 feet from the audience, their intensity felt tangible.  

One cante jondo (deep song) by Mara Rey, a singer/dancer born in Madrid in 1979, darkened the tone of this otherwise festive evening. This striking woman, slumped dejectedly in a dark corner illuminated only by a spotlight Liñán carried, slowly rose and took center stage. With the flowers in her waist-long blonde hair flying off, her voluptuous body barely contained in her ruffled, polka-dot dress, and her searching eyes, she commanded our attention.  She vented her torment with such anguish that, later, her rippling shoulders and head-back glee were all the more touching. When she joined the three wiry men for Sevillanas, we sighed with relief. Seeing Sevillanas, a 200-year-old folk dance, included in this unusual program was a reminder that, while Liñán may experiment with spacing and cross-dressing, his priority is still to honor tradition.

Liñán, with his no-nonsense crew cut and unassuming air, certainly left us grinning with his manic mantón twirling and bata de cola swirling solo. He may have been channeling Loie Fuller as he whipped around his fabric, creating a fiery abstraction of red and black.  He, De la Molia, and Rey had just performed at City Center for the 2026 FF, as did Sellés with the company of Estévez/Paños. The young men are all at the top of their game, in tune with each other, and clearly, addicted to speed. Their camaraderie and gaiety are infectious.  

Manuel Liñán; Photo: Austin Ruffer