NOCHE FLAMENCA

Formed in 1993 by Martín Santangelo and Bessie Award-winning dancer Soledad Barrio, Noche Flamenca has been hailed by critics for its transcendent, deeply emotional performances. The company is devoted to presenting flamenco in its purest form — without tricks or gimmicks — treating dance, song, and music as equal, interwoven elements that create a true communal spirit on stage.

Noche Flamenca performs regularly in New York City at Lincoln Center, the Joyce Theater, and Joe's Pub, with a home base at West Park Presbyterian Church, and tours extensively across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Argentina, and Australia. The company also runs residency and education programs that bring flamenco to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Honors include awards from the National Dance Project, the MAP Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts; the Lucille Lortel Award for Special Theatrical Experience; and, for Soledad Barrio, an Exceptional Artist Award from Dance Magazine, the 2022 Vilcek Prize in Dance, and a Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer at the Joyce Theater.

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Education & Community Engagement

Noche Flamenca offers residency programs and classes tailored to presenting partners, reaching students and audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels — from in-school workshops to master classes led by company artists.

Repertoire for Presenters

Searching for Goya — The company's newest full-length work, with 3 distinct works, is a reimagining the paintings of Francisco de Goya through flamenco dance, live music, and mask design by Mary Frank, with Metropolitan Museum curator Mark McDonald as artistic consultant.
Antigona — A flamenco adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone, retelling the Greek tragedy through dance and music.
Puro — An evening-length program of our traditional flamenco show.
Company engagements & residencies — Beyond full productions, Noche Flamenca is available for shorter residencies, lecture-demonstrations, and classes tailored to a presenter's community and venue.

The artistic leadership

Martín Santangelo

Founder, Artistic Director, and Producer

A native New Yorker, Martín Santangelo studied dance and theater at NYU and trained in jazz with Luigi and in tap before moving to Madrid, where he spent 18 years immersed in flamenco. There he studied under masters including Ciro, Paco Romero, El Güito, Manolete, and Alejandro Granados. In 1993, he founded Noche Flamenca with his wife, dancer and choreographer Soledad Barrio.

As a performer, Santangelo appeared throughout Spain, Japan, and North and South America with María Benítez's Teatro Flamenco, the Lincoln Center Festival of the Arts, and Paco Romero's Ballet Español, and danced in Julie Taymor and Elliot Goldenthal's Juan Darien on Broadway. He choreographed and performed in Eduardo Machado's Deep Song, directed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett, choreographed Romeo and Juliet at the Denver Theatre Center, and co-directed and choreographed Bodas de Sangre with Larry Kornfeld at SUNY Purchase.

As Noche Flamenca's artistic director, Santangelo has directed and choreographed a body of work that includes The Lower Depths, La Celestina, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Antígona — his flamenco adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone, created with consulting director Lee Breuer, which toured internationally for five years and earned Bessie and Drama Desk Award nominations. His other works for the company include Entre Tú y Yo, Searching for Goya — created with Metropolitan Museum curator Mark McDonald as artistic consultant — and ni bien ni mal, todo lo contrario, marking the company's 30th anniversary season.

Santangelo has collaborated with artists including Lee Breuer, Luis Valdez, and Jerzy Grotowski, and has been nominated for the Outstanding Choreographer award from the Lucille Lortel Awards and CalArts' Alpert Award in the Arts. He lives with Barrio and their two daughters, Gabriela and Stella.

Soledad Barrio

Founding Member, Dancer & Choreographer

Born in Madrid in 1964, Soledad Barrio began her training at the legendary Amor de Dios studio at the Centro Nacional de Arte Flamenco, saving money by dancing at hotels to continue her studies. There she trained under flamenco masters including Paco Romero, Manolete, El Güito, and María Magdalena.

Barrio appeared as a soloist with Manuela Vargas, Blanca del Rey, Luisillo, Cristobal Reyes, and El Toleo, and worked with Ballet Español de Paco Romero and Festival Flamenco, among other companies. She has performed throughout Europe, Japan, and North and South America alongside artists including Alejandro Granados, El Torombo, Isabel Bayón, Jesús Torres, Miguel Pérez, Belén Maya, Manolo Marín, Javier Barón, Merche Esmeralda, and Rafael Campallo.

In 1993, Barrio co-founded Noche Flamenca with her husband, Martín Santangelo, and has served as the company's principal dancer and choreographer for over 30 years. She originated the title role in Antígona, Santangelo's flamenco adaptation of Antigone, which toured internationally for five years. The New York Times has called her performances the work of a "once-in-a-lifetime performer," and Dance Magazine has named her flamenco's "crown jewel."

Barrio has won awards in more than 15 countries for her artistry, including a Bessie Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement, the 2015 Dance Magazine Exceptional Artist Award, the 2022 Vilcek Prize in Dance, and a 2022 Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer. She is a resident teaching artist at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a guest teacher at The Juilliard School of Dance.