"Sara Baras is one of the classiest, most contemporary flamencas, respecting the traditions of her chosen art form while smoothly and surely pushing it into modern times." -- THE TIMES on Sabores, July 2008

Spanish Flamenco Icon Sara Baras comes to Beijing with her Flamenco Sabores this August to cheer up the 2008 Olympics.

Sabores is a piece without a story which invites us to taste the different style of flamenco music and to color each of our emotion. During one hour and 20 minutes, Sabores covers various flamenco emotions and tries to give each piece its own character. Sabores brings alive the flamenco tradition from the actual feelings which sands down the rhythmic and melodic frontiers of flamenco's styles, and melt them into a single colorful dance.

Sara Baras is acclaimed as the emerging queen of flamenco of this generation. Celebrated for her brilliant footwork and captivating stage presence, her shows capture perfectly all the emotion, drama and passion of traditional flamenco with a vibrant contemporary edge.

According to UCLA Newsroom, Sara Baras was born in Cadiz and began studying dance at age 8 with Concha Baras, her mother and first dance teacher. After winning first prize in a Spanish television contest “Gente Joven” (Young People) at 18, she joined Manuel Morao's company, sharing the stage with flamenco greats such as Enrique Morente, Javier Barón, Paco Peña, Merche Esmeralda, El Güito and Antonio Canales. In 1998, Baras established her own company, Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, creating the works "Sensaciones," "Sueños," "Juana la Loca (Vivir por Amor)" and the acclaimed "Mariana Pineda" (loosely based on Federico García Lorca's play of the same name).

Baras has won numerous awards for dancing and choreography, including the prestigious Premio Nacional de Danza from Spain's Ministry of Culture in 2003 for "Mariana Pineda" and the Premio Max de las Artes Escénicas, which she has won on two occasions — once for Best Female Interpreter of Dance and once for Best Dance Work and Best Choreography. She also won the Critics' Prize and the Public's Prize at the Flamenco Festival of Jerez. In addition, Baras opened the Cádiz Carnival in February 2001, an honor reserved for only the most popular figures, and in 2002, she was named the "Face of Andalusia."

Editor: Dong Jirong