Afro flamenco

Flamenco is a diverse culture and artform geographically centered around Spain, more specifically the Southern region Andalucía. Through times artistic and cultural influences came from as far as India, Cuba, and North Africa. But for years Sub-Saharan Africa has been forgotten in the story about flamenco. Historically speaking Andalucía was a multi-cultured region, and due to the Transatlantic Trade many Africans ended up in Spain. As is visible in all of the Diaspora, the African influence on and development of local culture and art is great, and flamenco most certainly also benefitted from these meetings. Unfortunately the majority of this exchange and cultural reality has until recently been written out of history. But times are changing. Scholars and artists have simultaneously investigated this topic from different points of departure - Phyllis Akinyi happens to be one of them - and the unveiling of the African roots of flamenco has begun.

In 2017, while living in Madrid, Akinyi started investigating the African roots of flamenco from an anthro-dance perspective, focusing on both movement in body and movement as migration. To her, it was personal. As one of very few flamenco dancers with African roots, a weird juxtaposition had arisen; the feeling of not belonging due to looks contra the feeling of belonging culturally through movement and rhythm. Diving into the history made sense. Creating some sort of Afro-Flamenco hybrid made sense.

To learn more about the African roots of flamenco;

Watch ‘Gurumbe - canciones de tu memoria negra’ by Miguel Ángel Rosales (ES)

Read ‘Sonidos Negros: On the Blackness of Flamenco’ by K. Meira Goldberg (US)

Listen to The Hidden Blackness of Flamenco (podcast episode)

Compañía Afromenco

Akinyi started Companía Afromenco in 2017 as an artistic outlet for her findings on the abovementioned topic. To date four works have premiered.

2020: GASP

Afro-flamenco meets ancient Persian song and electronic loops. Created with a storyline for children, centering around ancestry, hyphenated identities, and remembering who you are. It also comes in a performance concert version for ‘grown-ups’. Performed on regular concert stages. Shown in Copenhagen (DK). 35min.

2019: Nyar kakan - i contain multitudes

Flamenco meets East-Africa and Scandinavia in a interdisciplinary performance of selfdiscovery. Performed in blackbox theatre, cafe theatre, and courtyard. Shown in Copenhagen, Évora (PT), and Oslo (NO). 30-50min depending on format.

2018: FlamencÁfrica

Traditional flamenco meets West-African Kora and Congolese Bass. Performed in traditional flamenco venues (Tablao). Shown in Madrid (ES). 50min.

2017: Sonar Siguiriya

Duet between African percussion and flamenco dance. Performed in tablaos, theatres, festivals, and outdoors. Shown in Copenhagen, Madrid, Boston (US), Frankfurt (DE). 15min.