From 16 to 19 April, Centro Danza Matadero - CDM will host the world première of the latest show by the flamenco dancer Rafaela Carrasco, under the name of Humo. This piece pays tribute to the cigarette factory workers, a historic group of humble women who went down in Spanish history.
Through Humo, the choreographer and flamenco dancer, Rafaela Carrasco, National Dance Prize 2023, pays tribute to the cigarette factory workers. Halfway between myth and reality, between literature and life, between popular song and newspaper chronicles, the figures of these women live on.
This show is directed and choreographed by Rafaela Carrasco, with dramaturgy and lyrics by Álvaro Tato, echoing characters, such as Mérimée and Bizet's Carmen, Emilia Pardo Bazán's Amparo from La Tribuna, La Colasa. Above all, the anonymous cigarette girls from folklore and flamenco stand out, the same women who supported their families, struggled to survive and left their mark on the symbols and memories of several generations. Every evening, when they left the factory, they were eagerly awaited by workers and onlookers.
Humo evokes their days in the workshop and the internal hierarchies, from apprentices to forewomen. It also evokes their parties, clandestine rituals and black market dealings. Their conflicts, joy and sorrow are shown in a multi-female flamenco show.
Born in Seville in 1972, Rafaela Carrasco is a flamenco dancer and director who trained under Matilde Coral and Mario Maya. She started out in the Mario Maya Company and went on to join the Andalusian Dance Company. Known for being one of the great innovators of flamenco dance, she has worked with Rafael Amargo, Antonio Canales, Farruquito, Duquende or Merche Esmeralda.
She set up her own company in 2002, winning the main awards at the 11th Spanish Dance and Flamenco Choreography Competition. She was also the director of the Andalusia Flamenco Ballet from 2013 to 2016 and she is a professor of Flamenco Dance at the María de Ávila Higher Dance Conservatory.
Her shows, Nacida Sombra and Nocturna, Arquitectura del Insomnio won the Critics Award for the Best Dance Show at the Jerez Festival in 2018 and 2023 respectively. The choreography of the latter was a finalist at the Max Awards 2023.
Artistic File:
- Director and Choreographer - Rafaela Carrasco
- Playwright and Lyrics - Álvaro Tato
- Dance - Rafaela Carrasco and dance troupe
- Musical Director and Composition - Pablo Martín Jones, Jesús Torres, Pablo Suárez and Antonio Campos
- Costume Design - Belén de la Quintana
- Lighting and Stage Design - Gloria Montesinos A.a.i
- Sound Design - Ángel Olalla
- Executive Producer - Alejandro Salade
- Distribution - Emilia Yagüe Producciones
- A co-production by Rafaela Carrasco, Centro Danza Matadero and Théâtre de Nîmes
Approximate Duration: 1 hour and 10 minutes
