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Artist Bio
Maria Juncal
Juncal, born in the Canary Islands, moved to Spain to study with many of the preeminent flamenco masters such as El Gűito, Ciro, Cristobal Reyes, Paco Peña, Merche Esmeralda and La Tati. She soon became a member of some of the leading Spanish flamenco companies, performing throughout Europe, Asia and America. Early in her career she worked with the National Ballet of Cuba, and became a member of the company of El Gűito. She performed in the production, Campanas Flamencos, with Milagros Menjibar and La Tati. In Germany she presented her first show, La Gitana Blanca, and in the U.S. she made her debut as a soloist for the Jose Greco Company and also appeared as a soloist for a Joaquín Cortés production with performances in London, Madrid, Barcelona and Japan. She also performed as a soloist with the National Theatre of New York, with venues in Boston, Chicago, Kansas, New York and Minnesota. Despite all her accomplishments, Juncal claims she is still a pupil. She continues a daily, vigorous regimen of study, practice and is always ready to receive lessons from her master teachers and from life. |
Maria Juncal, winner of the Antonio Gades National Award of Flamenco Dance and voted the best flamenco dancer at the Festival Del Cante De Las Minas, will bring her company to Santa Barbara to present her latest production, Tercera Llamada – Moment of Enchantment, and will also participate in a series of workshops for children and adults.
She formed her own company in 2003 because she could no longer find any one she could honestly follow and work with and to pursue her own creative goals - a belief in an elegant, deeply felt, traditional flamenco (flamenco’s arte jondo) and the hard work, perseverance and discipline needed to develop and achieve that goal. The success of her initial production, performed in Mexico, led to numerous invitations to perform in many of the best venues in Mexico and Spain. With the release of her show Destemplao she embarked on a European tour that included performances in 20 cities in the Netherlands alone.
She developed Tercera Llamada in collaboration with the master Ciro Romero and the music director Juan Parrilla. It is a chant to life, love and death – to the before, during, and after of a life that always offers happiness. Juncal believes that it is in the body that humans find pain and love and it is on the stage that flamenco goes straight to the heart – to the soul – and touches people. Before making her stage entrance she bestows a tender touch with her hand on the floor and prays for that ultimate union of body and soul.