“Flamenco is changing all the time”: Paco Peña on Solera at Sadler’s Wells

For over 50 years, Paco Peña has been bringing the art of Flamenco to British audiences. Paco moved from Córdoba to London in the 1960s, and by the early 70s, he had established the Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company, and Solera, their latest work. After premiering at Sadler’s Wells and enjoying a successful run in 2022 and 2024, Solera is back at Sadler’s Wells theatre from 2^nd to 4^th April. The Upcoming had a chat with the maestro himself to discover more about how the blending of intergenerational wisdom shaped this piece.

Did any moment or event spark the original idea for Solera, and why do you think the idea for the show came about when it did?

For a while, I had been aware of a short poem by Antonio Machado, which is beautiful but devastatingly tragic, too. It deals with acquired memories in the mind and the inability to remember them at some stage in your life, in other words, what happens to a person’s memories with the passage of time. I guess that idea got me thinking about the whole project of a person’s life and the myriad experiences in that time. On the other hand, “solera” is a lovely word which I’ve known all my life, associated with good wine, plus maturity and grace in a person.

What did you learn from the younger performers? How did they inspire you?

Flamenco has moved on a lot since I was their age! They have many more “tools” now, and they filled me with wonder seeing the speed with which they assimilate ideas and complexity, be it technical complexity or, more in context, to perceive and understand the emotional content that the show requires.

What stands out to you from the original rehearsals? Is there much overlap with the final show?

After the first half of the opening night, we were all emotionally moved by the way the audience had received it. They’d been so engaged…really great! We were very happy with the result. Nevertheless, I must admit I can’t help going back and looking at it every time, inevitably finding things to fine-tune.

If there is one piece of advice you could give to a young performer, what would it be?

Whatever goals you set for yourself, you must remain in contact with the universal feelings of this musical culture. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t innovate, but you should never stop looking back so as not to lose sight of the wealth of expression that is the backbone of flamenco.

And if there is one piece of advice you could give to an older performer, what would that be?

I think both young and mature artists should, in my opinion, be guided by the same principles I expressed above.

How (if at all) do you think flamenco is evolving as a style? Are there any key differences that stand out from today compared to the last few decades?

Flamenco is changing all the time. Young people want to emulate the artists they admire, and they also want, in due course, to do things in their own way. They learn from everybody. Last month marked the 12^th anniversary of the sad, untimely death of Paco de Lucía, a great guitar genius who brought a revolution to flamenco as a young man. Nothing stayed the same after his ideas hit the legion of aficionados and professionals all over, whether singers, dancers, or guitarists. Other young artists have come and will continue to come who will face the challenges that Paco created. And so it should be!

What memories stand out to you from rehearsal time?

Right from the beginning, we all became a kind of close family, and remain so. On a different note, I cannot forget the enormous satisfaction of having in the group Dani de Morón, a young guitarist with tremendous artistry that I am so proud to present in Solera.

Has the show changed at all since its first performance back in 2022?

We check the show every time we have to perform it, and, being undoubtedly the same show, there are nuanced ideas that continue to appear. We’re always trying to do better.

What do you hope audiences will take away from the show? What is the overarching message?

I was asked the same question recently and I thought the answer could perhaps be simply observing that someone of advanced age can perform flamenco of beauty, grace and energy, or pathos and joy; someone who, with a simple turn of hand, the arm, the head or the body, can produce a burst of emotion from deep within which touches and stirs any audience.

What do you feel Solera reveals about flamenco and, more broadly, how dance and other art forms are preserved?

Flamenco is a living art embedded in a tradition of song, dance, and music that goes back into the ancient past of its birthplace in Southern Spain, in Andalucía. The folklore in Andalucía, particularly colourful, gave birth to a form of singing, Cante Jondo, which used the most popular instrument in Spain, the guitar, as its historic companion. The dancers of Andalucia were famous 2000 years ago, and hired to perform in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire.

How do you feel that Solera adds to your already impressive legacy?

I thank you for your thought. I must say that I’ve always wanted to be on stage, telling the truth about the art that I received from my tradition and trying to project the essence of it. That hasn’t changed except that Solera is my latest attempt, and I hope, being 83 years old, the audience may discern that this is the show that I wanted to create at this time.