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Israel Galván of Nuevo Flamenco: The Galván Legacy, the centerpiece of Pasión y Arte's 2014 Flamenco Festival, performing La Curva. Photo by Felix Vazquez.

Questions of Practice: Flamenco Master Israel Galván on Reinvigorating Tradition

Questions of Practice: Flamenco Master Israel Galván on Reinvigorating Tradition

Israel Galván, master flamenco artist. Filmed at The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage on March 12, 2014.

Flamenco purists may consider Israel Galván a rebel, though he doesn’t see it that way. The maverick choreographer and dancer, who grew up in a prominent flamenco family in Seville, has incorporated an eclectic blend of influences into his performances, blurring the lines of innovation and tradition.

We caught up with Galván in March, during the week of his Center-funded performances at Pasión y Arte’s Philadelphia Flamenco Festival. As he says in the following interview, “One has to be pure with yourself and impure with the history that already exists.”