Flamenco Arts International Blends Tradition and Innovation
- Encore Content
- Feb 27
- 7 min read
The new project from Isabel del Día and Marina Elana, coming soon to Orange County, puts a fresh twist on traditional dance.
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By Lauren Harvey for Flamenco Arts International
“Songs From a Sinking Ship” isn’t your typical flamenco show. The new production from Flamenco Arts International, which comes to the Irvine Barclay Theater March 13, opens with a mysterious siren call, setting off a chain of chaotic events on a ship veering off course.
“Our audience members are actually passengers to us, and we take them on this voyage where each of the flamenco artists is part of the crew of the ship,” said FAI co-founder Isabel del Día. “And we just watch things unfold, really looking at that question of what happens when the boat is sinking. How do people come together?”
Flamenco, a traditional style of music, dance and culture from the south of Spain, doesn’t usually feature a strong central narrative, nor does it incorporate immersive lighting and video projection. But FAI incorporates both these elements in its productions. By blending tradition with innovation, del Día and co-founder Marina Elana hope to reach new audiences while remaining true to the art form.
“We spent years upon years as dancers working for different companies, and we felt like we had our own stories that we wanted to tell,” del Día said. “Instead of reinventing the art form, we’re trying to look for ways to make it more accessible, to open it up more, and to highlight the very essence of flamenco that attracted us to the art form to begin with.”
Finding Home in San Francisco
FAI was founded in 2023 and has roots in New York and Spain, but its home base is in San Francisco. Elana discovered flamenco while growing up in the Bay Area and trained with some of the region’s greats, including Adela Clara, founder of Theatre Flamenco, and Yaelisa of Caminos Flamencos.
While attending Stanford University, where she majored in film and media studies, Elana studied abroad in Seville, where her passion for flamenco blossomed.
“I got all bad grades because all I did was go to dance class,” Elana said. “(My love for flamenco) kept on growing and growing, and I guess just never stopped.”
“I feel like once you get the flamenco bug, it just gets in you and you want more and more,” del Día added. “There’s so much communication, and you’re really expressing your deepest emotions to each other live on stage, and then the audience’s energy is coming into it. I think that is the magic part that really grabs both of us and that we wanted to make sure audiences have that same experience.”
Del Día first caught the bug while taking an elective at Bard College. Eventually, she met Elana while dancing with various companies in New York City, including the famed Noche Flamenca. The two women quickly developed a close friendship.
“(Del Día) is like my New York sister. When I met her I was like,’I love this woman,’” Elana recalled. “And she was the one who was like, ‘Let’s do this.’ I was scared, but I believed in her, and then believed in me, and then we just came together.”
Establishing FAI in the Bay Area was important to Elana, not only because that’s where she grew up, but because of flamenco’s rich history in the region. However, its presence has been declining in recent years due to the steep costs of living and rent, according to San Francisco Chronicle dance reporter Rachel Howard.
“Seeing this exodus of artists who can’t afford to live in the Bay Area anymore, seeing the arts not being supported in the way they used to be, it’s made us want to create something of our own, to bring other people in and lift other people up,” del Día said.
Undoubtedly, FAI enters an arts ecosystem struggling with funding challenges at all levels. Though the company wasn’t directly impacted by cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts last May, del Día and Elana have seen the effects on other dance companies.
“It is scary to start a company in this climate, and we do worry about what the future holds,” del Día said. “But at the same time, it feels like the arts are more necessary than ever, and there has to be beauty in life, and there has to be a way for people to come together, to feel connected to one another, and to feel like they’re able to express any hardships. And so that has been our driving force, even with everything that’s going on now.”
Nevertheless, FAI is already earning its bouquets in the Bay Area. This year, the company was nominated for three Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, or Izzies, for its work-in-progress production of “Songs From A Sinking Ship” at San Francisco’s Z Space last March.
Images from "Songs from a Sinking Ship." From left, PHOTO 1: Eugenio Iglesias and Reyes Martín; PHOTO 2: Eugenio Iglesias and Carlos Menchaca; PHOTO 3: Teresa Hernandez. Photos by Planet Froth Productions, FAI
Collaboration On and Off the Stage
While del Día has taken a step back from performing to focus more on her role as co-artistic director, Elana serves double duty as the company’s main dancer. This division has proven fruitful to their creative process.
“It’s essential to have her on the outside. For me, when I’m in it, I lose perspective. I’m worried about my character, I’m worried about my dancing,” Elana said. “Having outside eyes, for me, is essential.”
“I think the reverse is true too, because you might be on the outside and not realize this doesn’t actually work if you’re not the one to remember the steps or the lines, or figure out the logistics on stage,” del Día added. “So I feel like that is where we really complement one another. We have so much trust with each other, and we’re so honest with each other so that we’re able to think of solutions from both angles.”
To recruit other creatives to join their company, the women cold-emailed individuals they admired in the flamenco world. Their small team consists of people like Afro-Andalusian dancer Elena Andújar, Romani guitarist Eugenio Iglesias and living legends Juan José Amador and El Torombo. As they learn the ropes of the business, Elana and del Día appreciate the guidance from some of their more experienced collaborators.
“We’re both dreamers. We dream really big, and we’re really ambitious, and we’re learning what it costs to have all the things we want in life, what it means to logistically try to put on a big show like this,” Del Día said. “It’s figuring out how to make the dream work in a way that’s sustainable.”
“Songs From a Sinking Ship” is coming to the Irvine Barclay Theatre on March 13, and will have its official world premiere May 23 at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco. The co-founders are already receiving positive feedback from audiences during their work-in-progress performances.
“Flamenco already has a really strong universal appeal. It’s so exciting and expressive and dynamic, and so it pulls people in,” del Día said. “So adding this layer of immersion and adding this layer of a storyline, there’s just so many access points. There are so many ways for you to get hooked in. You really are a part of the voyage with us.”
Fun Facts about Flamenco Arts International
FAI’s current show, “Songs From A Sinking Ship” has been nominated for 3 Isadora Duncan awards. Known as the Izzies, this is the highest recognition of dance in the Bay Area.
Marina Elana is a disciple of Adela Clara, who carries forth a 75-year-old storied legacy of flamenco in the Bay Area.
FAI singer Juan Jose Amador hails from a renowned flamenco dynasty, La familia Amador, which includes revered artists such as Pata Negra. Juan José is considered one of the most prolific flamenco singers alive today and is a reference point for aficionados throughout the world.
FAI guitarist Eugenio Iglesias is a descendant of a long lineage of Romani artists who helped make flamenco what it is today. His great uncle, El Mechor de Marchena, played with La Niña de los Peines, Manuel Torre, Manolo Caracol and Antonio Mairena, and is considered one of the best accompanists in flamenco history.
Dancer El Torombo is a trailblazer, one of the first artists to bring flamenco into prisons in Spain. FAI is collaborating with Mount Tamalpais College to bring a flamenco workshop and lecture demonstration to San Quentin Rehabilitation Center this May.
An oral tradition, flamenco lyrics have not been systematically collected, organized and historicized. FAI is currently teaming up with Stanford University to digitize song lyrics in an effort to preserve the cultural heritage of flamenco.
Images from "Songs from a Sinking Ship." From left, PHOTO 1: Juan José Amador, Carlos Menchaca, Marina Elana and El Torombo. Photo by Fred Aube, FAI. PHOTO 2: Carlos Menchaca, Marina Elana and El Torombo. Photo by Planet Froth Productions, FAI
‘Songs From a Sinking Ship’
When: March 13, 2026
Where: Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Dr, Irvine
Cost: Tickets start at $39
Information: thebarclay.org
