A POWERFUL FUSION OF FLAMENCO AND FEMINIST DEFIANCE IN PINEDA AT SADLER’S WELLS

By Emma Carney | Bunny Pudding · Digital Coven · @bunnyscopes ⭐⭐⭐⭐  | Press Invite

It’s Flamenco Season over at Sadler’s Wells – which also happens to be my favourite dance season *so* I hopped, skipped and jumped my way over to the theatre to catch Pineda, another of the fantastic flamenco performances with a snazzy lil side of feminism promised. 

Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía’s Pineda: Romance popular en tres estampas is a stirring, visually arresting tribute to one of Spain’s most enduring heroines—Mariana de Pineda, the 19th-century Granadine martyr who became a symbol of resistance against tyranny*. Directed and choreographed by Patricia Guerrero, this flamenco-ballet hybrid breathes new life into Federico García Lorca’s poetic drama, blending fiery footwork, haunting vocals, and theatrical storytelling into a 90-minute whirlwind of passion and politics.

For the purpose of this review I didn’t do any pre research and went into the show blind and wasn’t disappointed. From the opening moments, the production establishes its emotional stakes. A lone flag emblazoned with the words Ley. Libertad. Igualdad (Law. Freedom. Equality) hangs as a silent witness, while the ensemble—dancers, singers, and musicians alike—invoke Pineda’s spirit through rhythmic handclaps (palmas) and percussive footwork ( zapateado).  Guerrero’s choreography is both narrative and abstract, weaving Pineda’s personal defiance –  her love for revolutionary Pedro de Sotomayor and her defiance of the villainous Pedrosa – with broader themes of oppression and sacrifice. The result is a show that feels contemporary, despite its historical roots. I certainly did leave the theatre with some deep, heavy thoughts about the world at present put it that way….that’s the power of good theatre for ya, folks! 

Guerrero herself is magnetic in the titular role, embodying Pineda’s contradictions—tenderness and steel, vulnerability and unshakable resolve. At first she appears with her back to us, stuck in history and antiquity but the show soon brings her to face the audience and tell her story. Her duets with Eduardo Leal (as Pedro) are charged with longing, their bodies arching and retreating in a push-pull of desire and duty. But it’s her confrontations with Alfonso Losa’s Pedrosa that truly electrify. Losa, a guest artist, delivers a performance of snarling intensity, his every step a threat. For sure, if this was a panto he’d be getting boo-ed. Their final duel is less a dance than a battle, a crescendo of stomping feet and defiant stares that leaves the audience on tender hooks. Guerrero being from Granada herself, where the story is set and the history was made which lives on in its people today also adds a level of emotion to the performance. 

The supporting ensemble is equally formidable. Truly fantastic dancing to behind and fantastic acting as well. Agustín Diassera’s original score, performed live by guitarists Jesús Rodríguez and José Luis Medina and percussionist David Chupete, shifts seamlessly from melancholic to militant, with singers Amparo Lagares and Manuel de Gines lending raw, visceral emotion to Lorca’s verses. The musicians are hidden off stage unfortunately but clearly this is to keep the audience focused on the show’s action. 

Visually, the production is a masterclass in minimalism. Pablo Árbol’s costumes—flowing skirts in Emerald green, blood-red and funeral black, military jackets —mirror the story’s stark moral contrasts. The set, a stone-like backdrop evoking Granada’s Albaicín quarter, transforms under Oscar Gómez de los Reyes’ lighting into a prison, a convent, and finally, a gallows. 

If there’s a flaw, it’s that the narrative occasionally assumes familiarity with Lorca’s play (a quick pre-show synopsis read is advised as mentioned above. I went in unprepared but I do have a limited understanding of Spanish history so I got the gist very quickly but may not). Yet this hardly dims the emotional impact. By the finale, as Pineda faces her final curtain the audience is left in appreciative awe. 

WEBSITE

⭐⭐⭐⭐ A triumph of flamenco as political art, Pineda proves Guerrero’s Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía is a force to be reckoned with.

Photo Credit: Marcos Medina

CREATIVES

Direction & Choreography: Patricia Guerrero
Music: Agustín Diassera, Dani de Morón, Sergio ‘El Colorao’
Costume Design: Pablo Árbol
Lighting Design: Oscar Gómez de los Reyes