Ballet Nacional de España returns to Tenerife after 16 years

The Auditorio de Tenerife has put tickets on sale for two performances by the Ballet Nacional de España (BNE) of its work Afanador. The show can be seen on 5 September at 19:30 and 6 September at 18:00 in the Sala Sinfónica, marking the start of the new season for the island’s cultural venue. Details were announced by the island’s Minister for Culture, José Carlos Acha, and the artistic director of the Auditorio de Tenerife, José Luis Rivero.

For Acha, “it is a pleasure to begin the 26-27 season with such a magnificent show, one with nine awards to its name, and which marks the return of the BNE to the Auditorio de Tenerife after 16 years, when it last performed, also in the Sala Sinfónica, with El café de las chinitas.” “We are going to have this wonderful production at the Auditorio de Tenerife at very affordable prices: €15 for a general admission ticket and €5 for under-30s,” highlighted José Carlos Acha.

“The show is inspired by two photographic catalogues by Ruven Afanador (Colombia, 1959), a passionate admirer of flamenco, so audiences can expect an ephemeral experience, as all dance is, and first-class visual artistry with 39 dancers on stage,” the minister explained.

A spectacular start to the new season

José Luis Rivero commented that “the Auditorio de Tenerife, since its creation, has always backed dance as a theatrical form, and we are opening the season with it, as we have done in recent years, in this case with a commitment to continuity with the current Mapas programme we are running.” “This is one of the most important choreographic pieces ever composed in Spain and the one with the greatest international projection of the Ballet Nacional,” said Rivero, who gave special thanks “to Rubén Olmo, director of the BNE, for making it possible for the piece to travel to the Canary Islands, because its technical complexity positions the Auditorio de Tenerife as a venue capable of hosting productions of this scale.” Indeed, Rivero highlighted the expressionist choreographic work, “which seeks images that remain etched on the retina, with a showcase of technical complexity that is not hidden but rather on full display, right there on the stage.”

Inspired by the surreal lens of Ruven Afanador

Marcos Morau, artistic director of the piece, acknowledges that the show arises from the inspiration he drew from the books Ángel gitano and Mil besos and the photographic sessions of Ruven Afanador, who, according to the choreographer, observes flamenco through a distorting lens, one made of dreams, desire and memory. He also considers that the Colombian photographer’s surrealist perspective on flamenco is very similar to the one he himself has developed over his years at the helm of the company La Veronal. For the playwright of this piece, Roberto Fratini, the work seeks to reflect the gaze that Ruven Afanador has when he contemplates his models.

Nine awards and counting

With a total of nine awards collected between 2024 and 2025, Afanador has become a benchmark for contemporary Spanish dance, undoubtedly marking a before and after for the Ballet Nacional de España. At the 2024 Godot Awards, it won the prize for Best Choreography of Spanish Dance and Flamenco, and at the 2024 Critics of the Performing Arts Awards of Catalonia, it won Best Choreography, both awarded to Marcos Morau, Shay Partush, Jon López and Miguel Ángel Corbacho.

At the 2025 edition of the Max Awards, Afanador won five awards: Best Dance Show, Best Stage Direction for Marcos Morau, Best Lighting Design for Bernat Jansá, Best Costume Design for Silvia Delagneau, and Best Musical Composition for a Stage Show for Juan Cristóbal Saavedra, Enrique Bermúdez, Jonathan Bermúdez, Gabriel Georgio González and Roberto Vozmediano. The Talía Awards, granted by the Academy of the Performing Arts of Spain, awarded the show Best Dance Show and Best Choreography.

About the Ballet Nacional de España

The Ballet Nacional de España, directed by Rubén Olmo since September 2019, has been the leading public company for Spanish dance since its foundation in 1978 under the name Ballet Nacional Español, with Antonio Gades as its first director. It is part of the production units of the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM), which falls under the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The BNE’s purpose is to preserve, disseminate and transmit Spain’s rich choreographic heritage, encompassing its stylistic plurality and traditions, represented by its different forms: academic, stylised, folkloric, bolera and flamenco.

The company also works to facilitate access for new audiences and boost its national and international profile within a framework of full artistic autonomy and creativity. Having a programme that combines new creations with the preservation of the traditional repertoire of Spanish dance, and the continuous incorporation of new works, is among the priorities of the current Strategic Plan. In this regard, the BNE has launched a new line of creation open to avant-garde and new trends, inviting international choreographers and emerging creators to collaborate with the company. To broaden the reach of Spanish dance, the BNE promotes mobility by alternating large-format shows with more intimate productions, and encourages the sustainable financial management of all productions by fostering cooperation with other public institutions and private companies.

Ticket information

Tickets, priced at €15 for general admission and €5 for under-30s, can be purchased on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the box office from Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00 and on Saturdays from 10:00 to 14:00, or by phone on 902 317 327 during the same hours. Discounts are also available for students, jobseekers and large families.

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Ballet Nacional de España returns to Tenerife after 16 years