Sara Jiménez premieres A D I O S E S at the Festival de Jerez, a very personal work by this dancer from Granada, which can be seen at ALL FLAMENCO from 8 March. We take a closer look at this artist in this exclusive interview.

A.F.- How have you been handling the last year and have you completely recovered your rehearsal/performance rhythm?

 S.J.- I've been very lucky to have a year 2021 full of work, with my own projects and in collaboration with other artists. I came out of the pandemic with the premiere of VARIACIÓN a tempo, at the end of 2020 and the journey has been continuous. Now I am just entering 2022 with the premiere of my first piece as a dance company.  I feel lucky.

A.F.- Has this hiatus been a turning point in your career?

 S.J.- Yes, it has been a new moment, and as new, strange. The impossibility of action provoked a timid state in my dance that needed time and listening to assimilate that I was undergoing a change as a dancer and creator.

It is now that I can know and put into action the needs that my art is having.

A.F.- How do you see the future of flamenco after the pandemic?

S.J.- I think flamenco is an art form that is too big, it suffers, as we all suffer, but it comes back to life.  After such a strong blow, as the pandemic has been, I understand that everything is transformed and new media, new ways of doing things, new directions and of course new audiences are established. In my opinion, I think it is in a good place and continues to cross borders.

A.F.- Why did you decide to direct your life towards flamenco?

S.J.- In the first part I didn't decide, it was a decision that came naturally because it was what I had been doing since I was a child. Later, I got to know the studio part and the work at a professional level, so I was totally hooked on the emotional excitement of dancing and being on stage. Now, working as a company and working with artists and people I admire, I am in love with the creative process.

A.F.- What moment in your artistic career do you remember the most?

S.J.-Naturally there are many moments that form part of my career but if I have to talk about some in particular it was: one of the stages I lived through as a solo dancer with the Ballet Flamenco y Andalucía and without a doubt and as the most present, this one I am living through with the creation process of A D I O S E S.

A.F.- What does it mean to you to perform at the Festival de Jerez?

S.J.-I've been performing at the Festival de Jerez for many years with different companies and artists, but without a doubt, this year takes on a greater significance because it's the first time I'm presenting my own proposal at this Festival of which I've had so many good moments throughout my career.

A.F.- What do you want to transmit to the audience with "Adioses"?

S.J.- I try to enter, without invading, into the interior of those present, so that they find a place in the piece with which they feel identified. A D I O S S E S tells universal stories and that's why I would like the reinterpretation of what happens there to be their own reading.

A D I O S S E S seeks to weave stories of farewells, of absences, of waiting, of geographical and emotional exiles, of last times: the last time someone's breath brushes the back of our necks; the last time we hear a song; the last bee on earth; the last time we fall madly in love, for just a few fleeting seconds, with someone we see for the first time; the last time we know, unequivocally, that an end is definitive.

The sound universe of A D I O S S E S is one of melodies. Melodies that, of almost hypnotic simplicity, of familiar and comforting beauty, speak to us of those goodbyes, remind us of the warmth of the absent, console us of our losses, allow us to mourn our loneliness.

A.F.- What inspires you when you create a show?

S.J.-It depends a lot on the moment. I never start from the same place, but I am always very charged with photographic and pictorial imagery. Another of the great bases I draw on when creating is literature and its origin, the word opens up many paths for me. With all this, I let the work speak for itself and the result is never what I originally thought.

A.F.- You have performed all over the world, has getting to know other cultures contributed something to the way you dance?

 Yes, I am a traveller both in my artistic and personal life and I have been lucky enough to be able to enter into the heart of many cultures. I could tell you that it has contributed to me, although I don't keep it very much in mind when it comes to dancing. I think that every experience affects me on a human level and that, in turn, affects my dancing.

A.F.- How do you prepare yourself before going on stage? Any hobbies/superstitions?

S.J.- I don't have any hobbies or superstitions, in fact I try to avoid any act that ties me down or makes me feel suggestive when it comes to dancing, I enter with my left or right foot and my performance doesn't depend on that. But always, in a natural way. The moment it becomes a superstition I will abandon it.

A.F.- And after Jerez, what plans do you have for this year?

S.J.-There are many projects that are already being added to my agenda for 2022. I will be performing with my own pieces A D I O S S E S and VARIACIÓN a tempo, I will continue to collaborate with the companies Eduardo Guerrero, Daniel Doña, WangRamirez, I will be giving workshops in Madrid, Washington and Vancouver and a new project that I hope you will soon be able to hear about.