Mercedes Ruíz & Santiago Lara Live in Portland July 2024
July 20, 2024
8:00pm
The Old Church Concert Hall
1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97201
(Limited number of preferred reserved seats available.)
The box office is open for Dual!
DUAL: That which has or brings together two different characters or phenomena.
In this show, two of flamenco's greatest, Mercedes Ruíz and Santiago Lara Mercedes Ruiz and Santiago Lara unite their talents and their common vision of flamenco to create something very special. An intimate work, rich in expressiveness and styles.
Just Guitar and Dance.
Music and Choreography.
Award-winning artists on the flamenco scene, Mercedes Ruiz and Santiago Lara hold the most important accolades in the industry: National Flamenco Art of Córdoba, Giraldillo of the Seville Biennial and the Critics and Audience Award of the Jerez Festival.
“A grand blaze of Artistry”
Together the duo has created ten shows over the span of twenty years, leading them to perform in the most important theaters in the world: Theater de la Ville (Paris), Auditorio Parco de la Música (Rome), Teatro la Fennice (Venice) , International House of Music (Moscow), Sadlers Wells (London) and Teatro Gran Via (Madrid).
Mercedes has choreographed for the National Ballet of Spain and is in high demand as a teacher around the world including the countries of Japan, Taiwan, China, United States, Italy, Turkey, France, Holland and Hungary.
In addition to performing concerts internationally, Santiago has collaborated with Maestro Manolo Sanlúcar for many years and has released five solo albums: "El Sendero de lo imposible", "Sentimientos Nuevos", "Flamenco Tribute to Pat Metheny", "La Guitarra en el Tiempo" and "Tu Canción en mi Guitarra".
Get ready for a thrilling journey through different forms of the dance, where the evolution of tradition is the common denominator.
Reserve your tickets here
“We enter the room, Mercedes Ruiz is sitting playing the guitar. We discover a fragile and slender woman. We are far from imagining all the power she will display on stage. Once she starts dancing, she takes over the stage. It is impossible to take your eyes off of her… Taken separately, the two artists are among the best of their generation. Together, they offer a moving and forceful show where the exploration of flamenco will take you to a moment of grace. Time passes too quickly and we would like to stay two or three more hours to enjoy their talents.”
“Throughout the show, Mercedes Ruiz will play with her own incarnations of femininity. Sublime in the bata de cola, radiant in the shawl, she seems to have put his thought into each fringe that he swirls and spreads with precision. Here, without frills, everything has its place in a dance far from being superficial, where the stage is powerfully inhabited. Dual offers us the feeling of the beautiful, the strong...from the depths The link with the music and with the presence of Santiago Lara is the true red thread, from the very beginning to the shared chord that marks the end.”