María Juncal turns on the heat at Helsinki Flamenco Festival.

The Helsinki Flamenco Festival brings a breath of warmth amongst the wintry chill.

A FLAMENCO festival is perhaps one of the last things one would expect to come across in the heart of Finnish winter, but this is exactly what takes place in Helsinki beginning of February.

According to Emilia Aho of Helsinki Flamenco Association, the festival is organised in the winter to embrace the contrast of the passionate art with the freezing weather. “The artists find it quite exotic to perform here in February, though this year we are hoping that the weather will ease or they might not be able to leave their hotel rooms!”

The Helsinki Flamenco Festival brings a breath of warmth amongst the wintry chill.

A FLAMENCO festival is perhaps one of the last things one would expect to come across in the heart of Finnish winter, but this is exactly what takes place in Helsinki beginning of February.

According to Emilia Aho of Helsinki Flamenco Association, the festival is organised in the winter to embrace the contrast of the passionate art with the freezing weather. “The artists find it quite exotic to perform here in February, though this year we are hoping that the weather will ease or they might not be able to leave their hotel rooms!”

Flamenco is surprisingly popular in Finland and the country produces many high quality dancers. In the beginning enthusiasts comprised mostly of adults, but nowadays there are many youth groups and children’s classes are also very popular, Aho explains. In fact, the festival begins with a weekend of children’s performances and workshops where the young ones can show off their skills.

The festival is entirely organised by volunteer workers, yet it is regarded as an important event within the flamenco world. Every year it features big names of the art and the main concerts are usually sold out.

The main concert this year is María Juncal’s Tercera Llamada. Juncal is an awarded flamenco dancer who is well known in Spain and gradually rising to the top the world over. In her performance, Juncal processes the emotions and rituals an artist undergoes before the curtain is pulled, during the performance and after it. Her style combines the sensitivity, strong interpretation and fiery energy of traditional flamenco with exceptional dance technique.

Raúl Mannola, a highly respected flamenco guitarist of Finnish origin, performs another concert. Mannola lives in Spain and has recently released a new album, which has proven flamenco to be a universal form of art. The album Guitarra Adentro has received recognition and praise as extremely high quality flamenco even within the Spanish critics. In the concert, Mannola introduces his new band from Madrid, guaranteed to impress with skill and elegance.

The festival ends with courses led by María Juncal herself. There is also a night of the aficionados, where Finnish flamenco enthusiasts present their skillful dance performances in a relaxed club atmosphere.

Petra Nyman - HT
Peter Buitelaar