The Minister of Culture and Sports of the Andalusian Government, Patricia del Pozo, the rector of the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, Francisco Oliva Blázquez, and the flamenco dancer Eva Yerbabuena have presented the Flamenco Chair of the Pablo de Olavide University at an event held at the headquarters of the Andalusian Flamenco Institute. The presentation of this new initiative included a performance by Niño de Gines, accompanied on the guitar by José Luis Medina.
Del Pozo emphasized that «the establishment of this chair represents another step in the implementation of the Andalusian Flamenco Law.» «A legal framework – as commented by the Minister of Culture – that includes the obligation to promote the knowledge of this Andalusian form of expression in schools, as well as to encourage the creation of flamenco chairs with universities to promote, and above all, to boost the research of this art.»
The minister announced that the Granada flamenco dancer Eva Yerbabuena will assume the artistic direction of this initiative. «Eva Yerbabuena is, without a doubt, one of the most prominent creators in the flamenco scene, as evidenced by the recent award of the Olivier Dance Prize from the United Kingdom, undoubtedly one of the most important recognitions in the performing arts, which places her as a key figure in the international projection of flamenco art. A projection that she has always known how to combine with her outreach work.»
Likewise, Del Pozo highlighted that this joint chair of the University and the regional administration presents «as a novelty» the adhesion to it of nine municipalities in the province of Seville: Utrera, Lebrija, Mairena del Alcor, La Puebla de Cazalla, Tomares, Carmona, Los Palacios y Villafranca, Alcalá de Guadaíra and Las Cabezas de San Juan, whose mayors and councilors have wanted to support this proposal by attending the presentation event.
«Our intention is for the municipalities included in this extension of the chair to become temporary headquarters of this chair, while promoting flamenco initiatives in each locality,» Del Pozo stated.
University institutional chairs are «a great tool to make stable collaboration between the university world and institutions a reality. They aim to create strategic relationships through which both parties benefit from the results of research, training, and knowledge transfer,» Del Pozo pointed out.
Led academically by the full professor of Social Anthropology, Fernando Ruiz Morales, the chair aims to promote the implementation of an annual program of activities on flamenco in the fields of training, research, dissemination, knowledge transfer, and cultural and artistic creation.
This chair is not the first collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Pablo de Olavide University in promoting flamenco. In fact, since 2023, both institutions have been jointly organizing the Specialist Course in Cultural Management of Flamenco at the headquarters of the Andalusian Flamenco Institute. A course that has already reached a total of 50 students, the maximum allowed, in the two editions held so far.
