Sara Baras

1971 -

Sara Pereyra Baras (born April 25, 1971) is a Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer born in San Fernando (Cádiz) who has established her own dance company.[1]

Sara was born in San Fernando, in the province of Cádiz, in 1971, where she began her dance studies at her mother’s school, Concha Baras.[2] Shortly after, she joined the company Los Niños de la Tertulia Flamenca, with which she toured the flamenco festivals of Barcelona.

When she was 24 she entered Manuel Morao’s company[3] and performed at the festival Teatro Flamenco Alhambra 89 in Granada. That same year, she was awarded the first prize in "Gente Joven" Spanish television contest. In 1991, with Manuel Morao’s company, she acted for two months at the Edouard VII Theater in Paris.

In 1992, she performed at the "Bienal de Danza" (Lyon), the Palais des Congrès (Paris) and then with her dance partner Javier Barón. During the worldwide exposition of Seville Expo 92, she performed at the Auditorio de la Cartuja in Manuel Morao’s show.

In 1993, she won the "Madroño Flamenco" award at Montellano (Seville)[4] as the most outstanding artist of the year, and participated in the Festival de Sevilla with Flamenco Íntimo. Also, she danced at the Teatro Verdi in Génova with the show Mira qué flamenco.

In 1994, she danced for flamenco singer Enrique Morente in the Semana Flamenca de la Caja de Ávila festival and participated in the XXIII Festival de la Bulería de Jerez. She toured for two months with Paco Peña's company around several European countries, and danced at the "Bienal de Sevilla" in the tribute to bailaor (flamenco dancer) Antonio Ruiz Soler.

In May 1996, she was part of the show Mujeres, organized by Merche Esmeralda's company, which premiered at the Teatro Principal in Vitoria, where she began a tour in Madrid, Barcelona, the Festival de Segovia and the Veranos de la Universidad Complutense festival in Madrid. She was an invited artist in the production Gitano by the bailaor Antonio Canales.[5] This show was presented at the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla and toured at the Festival de Otoño in Madrid in the Albéniz Theater, the Champs Elysees Theater, as well as important theaters in Spain.

As a solo dancer, she took part in several tributes to Camarón de la Isla. She established her own company in 1997, performing in the closure of the XXXVII Festival Nacional del Cante de las Minas. As a guest artist, she danced for the Flamenco Company of "El Güito" in the Teatro del Chatelet of Paris in the Christmas of 1999.

On April 2, 1998, she debuted in the Auditorio de Murcia with her company composed by herself, seven dancers and seven musicians, with a show called Sensaciones, a tour around the different varieties or "palos" of flamenco. At the end of that month, she participated in the television program La Huella de España, organized by the Spanish authors association, SGAE, as a guest artist of Antonio Canales’ Ballet Flamenco. In June, she performed with her company in the Festival de Evian, directed by the master Rostropóvich. In September 1998, the Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras was premiered at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, a show dedicated to Cadiz: Cadiz - La isla. In October 1998, Sara presented in Spanish television, TVE, the show Algo más que flamenco. From January 8 to 14, 2001, she presented her work at the Maison de la Danse in Lyon.

In 1999, she premiered the show Sueños. While performing the show Juana la loca, she rehearsed her next show, Mariana Pineda. She danced at concerts by Chavela Vargas at Federico García Lorca’s house in the Huerta de San Vicente in Granada, at the Teatro Falla in Cadiz, at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, at La Alhóndiga in Guanajuato, at the Festival de Teatro de Bogotá and in the Luna Park of Buenos Aires. She participated in the film Iberiadirected by Carlos Saura, with her own choreography (Albaicín) and another designed in collaboration with José Serrano (Asturias). The film was premiered in November 2005.

In July 1999, on the Patio of the Casa de Pilatos in Seville, she was filmed for Mission: Impossible 2. As a model, she has appeared in the shows of Amaya Arzuaga at London Fashion Week and for Francis Montesinos Madrid and Lisbon.[6]

In 2003 she obtained the Spanish National Dance Award (Premio Nacional de Danza). In 2005, she continued touring the show Sueños all over Europe, the United States, South America and Asia. On December 19, she premiered the show Sabores at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. With Sueños she closed a trilogy of recitals that began with Sensaciones. She also promoted an underwear collection by Triumph with other members of her dance company, and she was featured in a catalogue for Cartier.

Baras recently participated in the film J: Beyond Flamenco, by Carlos Saura (2016).[7]