»Sound disturbance« – A destruction of clichés by returning to the essential. The Spanish dancer Israel Galván acts as a researcher within his world, seeking to discover the essence of flamenco and to make his presence visible and palpable. Galván’s approach is the deconstruction of the classical elements of flamenco. He turns it into abstract art and yet retains its soul by taking it back to its roots.

In »Solo«, he eschews musicians, singers and scenery, using only his own body. Through this reduction to the essential and his passionate, concentrated examination, Galván achieves a modern style which, at the same time, is deeply grounded in the origins of this art form.

Israel Galván, born in 1973 in Seville, Andalusia, grew up in the tradition of flamenco. He was taught as a child by his father, the dancer José Galván, and his mother Eugenia de los Reyes. In 1994, he danced in the Compañía Andaluza de Danza under the direction of Mario Maya. He founded his own company in 1998 and began his career as a risk-taking moderniser of flamenco. Since then, he has already won every prize awarded for this art form, including the Giradillo prize of the Flamenco Biennial in Seville and the Spanish Premio Nacional de Danza.

His productions include »La edad de oro« (»The golden age«, 2005) and »Tábula Rasa« (2006), with which he has been invited to perform around the world. Another highlight was the world premiere of his large-scale production »El final de este estado de cosas, redux« (»The end of this state of things, redux«) at the 2009 Festival d’Avignon with its exploration of themes such as war and death.

»He is seductive without trying to be, and if this is what new flamenco means, bring it on« (Gia Kourlas, The New York Times, 19.06.2008).