about the peña
The Peña Flamenca de Londres is a flamenco club run like a
traditional Spanish peña flamenca. We were set up in 1984 and
are now bigger than ever with nearly 400 members. We provide a convivial meeting place for
anyone interested in flamenco singing, dancing and guitar. We stage monthly shows,
usually by professional artists. Active participation by members at all
levels is also encouraged. At our Members' Nights anyone can get up and
perform, accompanied by a professional singer and a guitarist. We also
hold flamenco workshops for members to ask questions and learn from the
experience of others. Our flamenco guitar courses are very popular and will hopefully continue annually.- see
courses section.
The peña is proud to present the best flamenco in
Britain. Resident UK artists who are regulars at the peña
include dancers such as Felipe de Algeciras, Carmela Romero, Juanita
Jimenez, Anita la Maltesa, Maribel la Manchega, Talia Cohen and Nicolia
Morris (who went on to join Israel Galván's dance company in
Seville). Regular guitarists include Angus Cruickshank, Mario
Basilisco, Ramón Ruíz, Ángel, Chris Mullet, Tito
Heredia and Tony el Despeinao. Our singers include Jasmin Villalobos,
Manuel de Cádiz, Fernando Reyes, Olayo Jimenez and Modesto Rodriguez. Our charity
gala nights have raised many thousands of pounds for charity. We are
totally self-sufficient: we don’t depend on public grants and we
organise all our events with volunteers.
And we promote visiting artists from Spain. Memorable artists from Spain who have appeared at the peña have included the singer Miguel Poveda the La Unión prize winner who performed with his guitarist Chicuelo. Dancers who have performed at the peña include Ángela Granados, El Titi, David Romero and Juan Polvillo - also well known flamenco groups such as Duende de Jerez, featuring the dancer Ana María Blanco and Leo Molina's Grupo Maya de Granada.
Star performers this season have included the whirlwind gypsy dancer Jairo Barrull, and singer Laura Román. We can truthfully say that we are the only organisation that would have attempted to bring a singer of the calibre of Laura Román without support.
