Aida Gomez, the young and brilliant new star of flamenco, returns to Japan with her latest self-choreographed production of Georges Bizet's "Carmen" as well as her famed "Salome." Her run of performances starts April 14 in Tokyo.

Born in Madrid in 1967, Gomez danced with many of the great names in flamenco, such as Antonio Gades, Jose Antonio and Joaquin Cortes, before she was appointed as the youngest-ever artistic director of the Spanish National Ballet in 1998.

Three years later she founded her own dance company, since when she has been working energetically as a dancer and choreographer all over the world. In Japan, Gomez truly made a name for herself in 2004 with performances in Tokyo and Osaka of her hugely successful "Salome," which combined the most powerful human emotions with the very highest levels of dance technique. Also thanks to long-running screenings of a documentary film directed by Carlos Saura of the making of "Salome," Gomez' name became widely known not only among dance fans but also in the wider performing arts community.

This time, Gomez again presents the tragic tale of "Salome," her new take on the deadly tale of betrayal "Carmen" and a selection of dances from her latest (also Carlos Saura-directed) film, "Iberia."

"Carmen" tours to Osaka (April 8), Nagoya (9), Yamaguchi (11), Iwate (18) and Ibaraki (23). For full details, call (03) 3353-7801 or visit www.musica.co.jp

"Carmen" then runs from April 14 to 16 and "Salome" runs April 21, 22 and 24 at Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Shibuya, Tokyo. Tickets are 8,000 yen, 10,000 yen and 12,000 yen (tel. [03] 3477-3244).