Algarabía, an Arab-flamenco show that blends cultures, featuring Jesús Carmona alongside the University of Navarra Orchestra

"Algarabía," a newly created musical theater production resulting from a collaboration between the University of Navarra Museum and two of the United Arab Emirates’ leading arts institutions—the Khawla Art & Culture Foundation and the Abu Dhabi Music & Art Foundation—will premiere on March 27 and 28 in Pamplona and on April 26 at the Abu Dhabi Festival. 

Directed and adapted by Jihad Mikhael and Ignacio García, the production aims to serve as a bridge between the Arab world and flamenco, drawing on the musical, dance, and poetic traditions of both cultures. The music and dance characteristic of both traditions provide the backdrop for this production. 

The choreography, which aims to represent the union of both cultures and traditions, was created by Jesús Carmona:“Four Arab dancers will be performing, and we will work to incorporate the most traditional movements and elements of their culture into our own movements and culture, in an effort to create a style that emerges from the communion and communication between two dance traditions. “It will be a very broad-ranging show where you’ll be able to see a more traditional flamenco that engages in dialogue with other, more contemporary movements,” Carmona explains.

Likewise, music also reflects this cultural connection: The symphonic works of Manuel de Falla— a great 20th-century Spanish composer whose 150th anniversary is being celebrated this year—are interwoven with the music of Emirati composer Ihab Darwish through the arrangement by Josema García Hormigo, creating a new composition that draws parallels between Arabic and flamenco music. Alongside this, the poetry— —by Nizar Qabbani and Miguel Hernández, as well as the medieval poets Ibn Zamrak and San Juan de la Cruz, accompanied by traditional songs that fuse Arabic poetry with the Andalusian musical tradition, will be recited or sung in their original languages.

But Algarabía is also the result of work between industry professionals and students: Alongside professional Spanish and Emirati artists such as Jesús Carmona, Lucía Campillo, Cynthia Karam, and Rafic Ali Ahmad on stage, 59 members of the University of Navarra Symphony Orchestra, 8 singers from the Choir, and 4 students from the University’s theater groups, under the musical direction of Borja Quintas. Meanwhile, the art direction, position professor Liuba Cid, also involved a partnership students from the University of Navarra, who participated in design alongside Yaiza Pinillos’ studio, as well as with the lighting and audiovisual designers.

This educational partnership offers an opportunity for the exchange experiences and ideas, as well as shared learning among students and arts professionals, which is one of its key benefits. As Teresa Lasheras, artistic director of MUN, explains: “It is a project brings together the museum’s educational side—represented by students studying the arts—with a very important professional component. The project top-tier professionals, and for students around 20–22 years old who are studying at the University of Navarra to become lawyers, doctors, or economists, having the opportunity to be part of an project that connects them contact the art world is a vital learning experience that will leave a significant mark on them.” This perspective is also shared by the students themselves. This is how Ángela Lizarraga, a design student design participant in the set design for Algarabía,puts it: “It’s been a great opportunity for us; it’s a small glimpse into what the professional world is like. We’ve learned that design a linear process, that the visions of many people come into play, and that listening to them and combining them brings a project interesting project to fruition.” This is also highlighted by Paula Peralta, a stagehand: “It’s very enriching; it’s an opportunity like few others in life. In terms of training very enriching to see directors and people working in the arts industry because, in the end, it complements my programs of study.”

A collaborative effort that brings to life *Algarabía*, a show that goal unite cultures by telling the story of a young Arab botanist (Cynthya Karam) who embarks on a journey of finding the Alhambra in Granada, studying ancient botanical theories about flowers. In this work, she is accompanied by her Spanish colleague and friend Candela (Lucía Campillo). Her approach contrasts with the instinctive love that a Spanish florist (Jesús Carmona) has for flowers, their scents, and colors… The lead performers are joined on stage by a flamenco dance troupe as well as Arab dancers from the Sharjah Performing Arts Academy.