Press Clipping 2014

talents like Karime Amaya, from Mexico, and Jesús Carmona, from Barcelona,
both 29 years old.

Yerbabuena says she choreographed "¡Ay!" last year after giving birth to her
second daughter, Marieta. In this deeply personal creation, she recalls her
feelings as an expectant mother. "Even the father of the child can’t understand
what it feels like, really, to have a baby inside for nine months — the fear, the
love, the unknowns," Yerbabuena says.

This is why she dances the piece as a solo. "I believed it was something one
should express alone. There was no other way to do it."

She did have collaborators, however, including violinist Vladimir Dimitrienco,
whose music provided an unusual point of departure.

"After nine months plus four months — 13 months, practically, without working
— I returned to the studio without any preconceived idea of what I wanted to do,"
the dancer says. "The only idea was to lock myself in the studio, and then, that I
would love to have a violin in the show.

"So that’s how it was. I locked myself in with Vladimir, and we began to work
together to see what the sounds of the violin might provoke in me. Not the usual
sounds, either. It’s not a familiar melody or a composition, but just sounds that
would stimulate certain movements."

"¡Ay!" also features the voices of three deep-throated "cantaores," including the
famous vocalist Enrique "El Extremeño," and the indispensable guitar of
Yerbabuena’s husband, Paco Jarana. The piece is stark, with a minimum of
props.

"It’s very black-and-white," Yerbabuena says. "The music and the lighting add the
color."

Yerbabuena says that in the ensemble piece "Lluvia," from 2010, she addresses
themes of loneliness, silence and incomprehension. The dance captures the
feelings a person might have looking out the window on a rainy day, but goes
much further than that in scenes in which gypsies dancing to "Tanguillos" laugh
gaily at their own misfortunes. In another scene the dancers’ gestural vocabulary
incorporates sign language for the deaf.
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Yerbabuena reveals that while preparing "Lluvia" she and her company visited La
Once, a school for blind and deaf-mute children in Seville. Speaking of this
experience, she says: "Truly it was a very special day for us, above all because you
see that they are happy. They smile, and you understand that they don’t miss
things they never had."
"Lluvia" she says, underscores "how important love is."

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Flamenco Festival 2014 Presents Eva Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco in "Lluvia" at N... http://www.robertaonthearts.com/dance/idOnstage397.html

Roberta on the Arts

Flamenco Festival 2014 Presents Eva
Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco in "Lluvia" at
New York City Center

Home Flamenco Festival 2014 Presents Eva Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco in "Lluvia"
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Flamenco Festival 2014
Presents:

Eva Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco
Lluvia

www.evayerbabuena.com

At New York City Center
www.nycitycenter.org

Original Idea by Eva Yerbabuena
Choreography by Eva Yerbabuena
Musical Direction by Paco Jarana
Stage Design by Vicente Palacios
Lighting Design by Florencio Ortiz

Sound Design by Manu Meñaca
Costume Design/Costume Making by López de Santos

Sign Language Teacher by José Tirado López
Helene Davis Public Relations

Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
March 9, 2014

1 de 3 15/04/14 15:46

Flamenco Festival 2014 Presents Eva Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco in "Lluvia" at N... http://www.robertaonthearts.com/dance/idOnstage397.html

Program:
El sin fin de la vida
Peldaño
Barro
Soledades
Palabras rotas
La querendona
Dedicated to my grandparents, Concha Ríos & José Garrido…
Lluvia de sal
Llanto

Artists:
Dance: Eva Yerbabuena with:
Lorena Franco, Mercedes de Córdoba, Christian Lozano, Eduardo Guerrera
Music: Paco Jarana, Guitar, Jose Valencia, Singer, Enrique “El extremeño”, Singer
Juan José Amador, Singer, Antonio Coronel, Percussion.

Technical & Staff:
Gabriel Portillo, Costume Design and Making
Fernando Martin, Lighting Design and Lights
Manu Meñaca, Sound
Daniel Estrada, Stage Manager
Maria Molina, Production and Management

Tonight’s Flamenco fans waited some time for the most exciting moments in Eva
Yerbabuena’s Lluvia (rain), with its psychological storms. She appeared tonight in a
dynamic, driven performance, unique in every way, with five accompanists on vocals (and
chanting), palmera (rhythmic clapping), music (guitar, percussion), and dancing (four
additional dancers). The Company is quite versatile, with performers switching roles from
vocals, to clapping, to background drama. And, drama there was. Sets include a table that
morphs for surreal interaction, a stage street, and a large, high door, quite evocative of tango
shows produced in recent years. But this is more of a multimedia event, with projections,
long periods of dance despair, and mystery of the source of angst, although one can guess
and make assumptions, based on the vocal chanting. The audience, mostly Spanish
speaking, was especially enthusiastic, as they could at once match word to motion.

Yet, in the final “Llanto”, a soleá, Ms. Yerbabuena changed from internalized stillness to
externalized propulsion. Her lengthy black train of a ruffled dress was held at various levels
to show her legs, feet striking the floor in vibrating rhythms, undulating in tiny circles,
occasional kick-steps to right or left, a tiny ankle swing backward. She obviously saved the
most physically challenging choreography for the finale. One of the singers stood stage right
with an enormous fringed shawl in deep red, and Ms. Yerbabuena took percussive steps
toward him, as she wound herself in its elegance. There was some similarity to Graham’s
Spectre-1914, with the expansive, flowing black dress, lined in red, used for enhanced
theatricality. Ms. Yerbabuena used the combination of the shawl, which she twirled and
raised like a brilliant sunset over her head, as she swirled in rapid footwork dervish. Lorena
Franco, Mercedes de Córdoba, Christian Lozano, and Eduardo Guerrera were fine dancers,
as well, with angular imagery and proud, Spanish poses, sometimes like a toreador, with
macho affect.

2 de 3 15/04/14 15:46

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March 5, 2014 Circulation 58,573

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March 5, 2014 Circulation 58,573

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March 6, 2014 Circulation: 40,000

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March 8, 2014

2013-2014

2013-2014

2

August 21, 2013

The Adrienne Arsht Center Announces 30 New Shows

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
marks its 2013-2014 box office opening with more than 30 new shows on sale
to the public for the first time, including 20 new shows just announced:
Smokey Robinson, Michael McDonald, Natalie Merchant, Whoopi Goldberg,
Soweto Gospel Choir, plus the return of Miami favorites Flamenco Festival
Miami 2014, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ayikodans, and more! The
event-filled weekend also marks the launch of the Center’s new website
(www.arshtcenter.org). The new site is enhanced with interactive features
that provide each visitor with a one-stop shop of information on shows and
promotes social media engagement.

The Center’s official 2013-2014 box office
opening begins September 7. The general
public will have their first opportunity to
purchase tickets for any of the 20+ shows now available, including newly
announced performances as well as their first opportunity to purchase tickets to
individual events on the Jazz Roots, Broadway in Miami, and Knight
Masterworks Season - Ziff Classical Music Series, including Chris Botti, Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra, Warhorse, Elf: The Musical, Blue Man Group, and
many more.

No fees for 48 hours!

To commemorate the box office opening and the new website, the Center will
be waiving handling fees for any purchases made online exclusively at
www.arshtcenter.org for 48 hours – 10 a.m. Saturday, September 7 to 10
a.m. Monday, September 9.

As always, Arsht Center members have an opportunity to purchase tickets for
all of these shows prior to the general public during the annual private sale,
going on now until September 7. Memberships begin at $75; additional
information can be found in the “Membership and Support” tab at www.arshtcenter.org.

New Website Features

The new website features more than a dozen new functionalities, including
the ability to select your own seats, see the view from every section, print
tickets at home, connect seamlessly to Facebook/Twitter/Instagram,
become a member instantly and buy and redeem gift certificates. In
addition, users can now watch videos, view photos and read cast
biographies and reviews on a page dedicated to each show. To add to the
site’s user-friendliness, www.arshtcenter.org is also mobile-optimized,
making the site easier to navigate from a mobile phone or tablet device.

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“The Arsht Center has worked diligently to create the new website, testing it with dozens of patrons to ensure we
create a site that is easy to use, engaging and fun,” said John Richard,
President and CEO of the Arsht Center. “We are excited to now unveil the
new site to all who enjoy the Center and the performing arts. We encourage
everyone to log on to experience the excitement of seamless online
engagement with the Arsht Center.”

For complete listings, including performance dates and ticket pricing, please visit the Adrienne Arsht Center
website at www.arshtcenter.org.
- See more at: http://www.hotspotsmagazine.com/featured/3088-the-adrienne-arsht-center-announces-30-new-
shows.html#sthash.BxzkU74U.dpuf

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September 22, 2013 Circulation 75,990

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September 26, 2013

2013-14 arts preview: The season in dance

The South Florida dance season for 2013-14 looks a good deal like it has been since the demise
of Palm Beach County’s own Ballet Florida: One major company, a host of excellent touring out-
of-towners, and many smaller troupes.
The difference in the past couple years has been that some of the smaller companies are
creating a lot of original dances, so fans of this athletic art can be rewarded with happy surprises
if they know where to look.
Miami City Ballet: The Miami Beach-based company offers its first season completely designed
by its new artistic director, Lourdes Lopez, who adds the kinds of modern work to the troupe she
felt was missing, while still hewing to its core of classics by George Balanchine and Jerome
Robbins.
As always, the company can be seen in three different cities and counties: the Kravis Center in
West Palm Beach, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, and the Ziff
Ballet Opera House at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.
The first program, titled First Ventures, includes the first of four company premieres, Christopher
Wheeldon’sPolyphonia, set to piano music by Gyorgy Ligeti; Lopez and Wheeldon were the
founders of the New York-based modern dance company Morphoses. Two Balanchine ballets fill
out the program: Ballo Della Regina, set to the ballet music from Act II of Verdi’s opera Don

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Carlo, and Serenade, choreographed to the Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings. (Oct. 18-20,
Arsht; Oct. 25-27, Broward; Nov. 15-17, Kravis).
New York City Ballet choreographer Justin Peck, whose commissioned work for MCB had a one-
night premiere last season, sees that work, Chutes and Ladders, added to the regular repertory
(the music is Britten’s First String Quartet) in the second program, called See the Music. Another
ballet created for MCB, Alexei Ratmansky’s Symphonic Dances (Rachmaninov), returns to this
program, along with a company premiere: Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s Jardí
Tancat (Closed Garden), in which three couples dance to Catalan folksongs sung by the
Majorcan chanteuse Maria del Mar Bonet. Rounding out the show is Balanchine’s Concerto
Barocco, to the Concerto for Two Violins by J.S. Bach. (Jan. 10-12, Arsht; Jan. 24-26, Broward;
Jan. 31-Feb. 2, Kravis)

Two more company premieres are on the third program, Triple Threat, including what is likely to
be the most eagerly anticipated one, West Side Story Suite, drawn from the Leonard Bernstein
musical by Robbins and Peter Gennaro (the dances also include singing, perhaps another
company first). The other premiere is a Balanchine ballet, Episodes, accompanied by the music
of Webern. Another Balanchine work, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, will also be seen; the music is
from an extra number Tchaikovsky wrote for Swan Lake that was later discarded and forgotten.
(Feb. 14-16, Arsht, Feb. 21-23, Broward; Feb. 28-March 2, Kravis)
The final program of the season is devoted to a classic ballet, Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote, with
choreography by Alexander Gorsky and music by Ludwig Minkus. Inspired by the great 17th-
century novel of Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote has been a staple of ballet companies since
its premiere in Moscow in 1869. (March 21-23, Broward; March 28-30, Kravis; April 11-13, Arsht)
No Christmas season would be complete without Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and MCB has
reliably presented the Balanchine version of this most popular of all ballets for years. This is an
opulently traditional production that will be presented 19 times during the holiday season. (Dec.
19-24, Arsht, nine performances; Dec. 27-30, Kravis, six performances; Jan. 3-5, Broward, four
performances)
Unlike the majority of dance companies these days, MCB is accompanied live; conductor Gary
Sheldon leads the Opus One Orchestra in all performances. (Tickets start at $20; call 305-929-
7010 or visit www.mcb.org, or buy tickets through the venues)

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Duncan Theatre: The regular dance season at Palm Beach State College’s Duncan Theatre has
been a must-see for dance fans for a number of years now, and regularly welcomes major
troupes. Shows are presented twice, on Friday and Saturday nights.

First up is the Paul Taylor Dance Company, one of the nation’s finest groups, run by a man who
in his 80s is still producing new work. For the Duncan show, Taylor’s company
performs Esplanade (Bach), Funny Papers(“novelty tunes” such as I’m Popeye the Sailor Man),
and Dante Variations (Ligeti) (Jan. 17-18)

Next up is an annual visitor to South Florida in the winter season, the shape-shifting dance
company Pilobolus. There’s nothing quite like this Connecticut troupe, for whom artistic
expression using the human body, often in how-did-they-do-that living sculptures, is not just the
core of their art but a way of life. (Feb. 14-15)

Founded in 1964, the Utah-based Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company has expanded from its
Western base to international performances, and this summer welcomed a new artistic director,
Daniel Charon, a former member of the Doug Varone and Limon Dance Company organizations.
Ririe-Woodbury has been dedicated to original work and to keeping the dances of the late
American master Alwin Nikolais in the repertory. (March 14-15)

The Duncan season concludes with another returning group, the Koresh Dance Company of
Philadelphia. The company, which features a mix of modern, jazz and ballet styles, will present
Koresh’s own version of Bolero (Ravel) as well as Come Together, The Heart and dances set to
music by Beethoven and J.S. Bach. (March 28-29)

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Tickets for the Duncan Theatre dance shows are $37. Call 561-868-3309 or
visit www.duncantheatre.org.

Ballet Palm Beach: Colleen Smith’s Palm Beach Gardens-based company, formerly known as
Florida Classical Ballet Theatre, renamed itself at the end of last season with its performance
of Wonderland, a new take on Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice stories. Smith is an inventive
choreographer whose ability to instill discipline and polish in her many child dancers is clearly
evident; at its heart, Ballet Palm Beach is a teaching institution.
The company opens its five-performance season at the Eissey Campus Theatre at Palm Beach
State College in Palm Beach Gardens with The Curtain Rises, a poptpourri of four dances, three
of them set to tangos by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, and the fourth to Glenn Miller’s big-
band staple In the Mood (Oct. 25).
Four performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker (Nov. 29-Dec. 1) come next, followed Feb.
14-15 by two performances of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, appropriately enough for Valentine’s
Day weekend. The Petipa-Minkus ballet Don Quixote follows on April 4 and 5, and the season
closes May 11 with a mixed-repertoire program called Tales My Mother Told, featuring dances
suggested by childhood stories recalled by troupe members.
The company actually starts its work Sept. 26-28 with 10-minute “flash ballet” performances at
venues around the county: the Morikami Museum, the Norton Museum of Art, the Palm Beach
Zoo, the Jupiter Lighthouse and several other places. (Tickets start at $15 for the seasonal
shows; call 561-207-5900)

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Reach Dance/O Dance: Two local dance organizers, jazz dance choreographer Maria Konrad
and former Ballet Florida standout Jerry Opdenaker collaborate frequently on productions from
their bases in Palm Beach Gardens.
The companies have planned Dracula for Oct. 12-13 at the Eissey Campus Theatre. It’s a
retelling of the classic horror story, set to a 1920s jazz score, in which the makers of a silent film
about the legend are unaware that they have cast an actual vampire in the lead role. (Tickets are
$15-$20; visit www.reachdancecompany.com)
Boca Ballet Theatre: Dan Guin and Jane Tyree’s Boca Raton-based company is now in its
23rd season. Also a teaching institution, it offers young dancers a chance to perform alongside
professionals from major companies such as New York City Ballet.
The troupe opens its season Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at the Olympic Heights Performing Arts Theater at
Olympic Heights High School with four performances of The Nutcracker. On March 5, NYCB’s
Daniel Ulbricht, founder of a company called Stars of American Ballet, joins with Boca Ballet for a
night of dance at Spanish River High School.
The troupe plans a mixed-repertory recital May 3-4 called Dance Fest, featuring classical and
contemporary works and guest artists. Its summer program Aug. 1-3 will feature three
performances of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. (Tickets range from $20-$35; call 561-995-0709 or
visit www.bocaballet.org)

Harid Conservatory: Boca Raton’s own conservatory of dance (whose music division was taken
over by Lynn University), founded in 1987, offers tuition-free dance instruction to talented
students, and has placed many of them in dance companies throughout the world.
The conservatory offers two performances this year, starting Dec. 14-15 with Act II of The
Nutcracker and assorted dances from other ballets as well as modern character dances. The
class of 2014 will present a mixed program of dances May 23-25 from the classical and
contemporary repertoires. Performances take place at the Countess de Hoernle Theater on the
campus of Spanish River High School in western Boca Raton, not far from the Harid campus.
(Tickets are $22-$28; call 561-998-8038 or visit www.harid.edu)

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Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida: Vladimir Issaev’s troupe plans four performances this season,
primarily at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, but also expanding into other venues in
Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
The season opens with a double bill of Vicente Nebrada’s Pentimento and Stravinsky’s The
Firebird (Oct. 12-13, Broward; Oct. 19-20, Aventura Arts and Cultural Center), followed by six
performances of The Nutcracker (Dec. 8, Fillmore Miami Beach; Dec. 13-15, Aventura; Dec. 21-
22, Parker Playhouse, Fort Lauderdale).
Issaev’s Dr. Ouch!, a family-friendly story about a veterinarian called to the wilds of Africa to aid
some ailing monkeys, returns to the company’s repertory March 8-9 (Aventura) and March 15-16
(Broward Center). The season ends with a Spring Ballet Gala featuring a mixed repertory of
classic and contemporary dance selections (May 3, Aventura; May 4, Broward). (Tickets start at
$25; call 954-462-0222 for the Broward and Aventura programs; call 305-947-3998 for more
information)

Kravis Center: Modern tap master Savion Glover brings STepZ to the Kravis on Nov. 7, which
will be followed Nov. 22 by Tango Fire, an evening of dances from this popular Argentine
tradition. On Dec. 14 and 15, the Haitian dance company Ayikodans offers two performances of
dance melding the island nation’s folkloric culture with contemporary dance expression.
The Martha Graham Dance Company, carrying on the legacy of the legendary choreographer,
plans dances by Graham, Lubovitch and Duato (Jan. 14), and the contemporary New York
ensemble of Keigwin and Company brings its high-energy style to the Rinker Playhouse Feb. 14
and 15. On Feb. 24, the eminent Alvin Ailey Dance Theater makes a return appearance to the

6

Kravis with a program that closes with Revelations, usually considered Ailey’s finest work. (Call
561-832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org)
Broward Center: The South Florida Ballet Theater presents a program called Great Pas de Deux
(Series VII), featuring duets from Le Corsaire and Scheherazade, and Act II of
Prokofiev’s Cinderella (Sept. 29), while the New World School of the Arts’ dance students perform
a mixed program Oct. 30 (two performances at the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center), and the
Fort Lauderdale Children’s Ballet Theatre presents Tchaikovsky’sSleeping Beauty (Nov. 23-24).
Step Afrika, billed as the first professional dance company devoted to African-American stepping,
comes to the Parker Playhouse from Jan. 17-18 for three performances.
Arsht Center: Pilobolus performs twice (Oct. 25-26) at the Ziff Ballet Opera House, and the Alvin
Ailey Dance Theater is in residence for three nights from Feb. 20-22. Stars of Flamenco, an
evening devoted to this colorful Spanish folk dance tradition, is scheduled for Feb. 27, followed
Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Carnival Studio Theater by Rhaw, Rennie Harris’s street-dance
company from Philadelphia, which will give three performances. Ballet Hispanico, Eduardo
Vilaro’s Latin dance troupe, arrives June 6-7. (Tickets vary; call 305-949-6722).

7

November 1, 2013 5.4 million

‘Flamenco Jazz Tribute’ Saturday at
Fillmore Miami Beach

BY DAVID SMILEY
[email protected]
BY JUAN CARLOS PÉREZ-DUTHIE
ARTBURSTMIAMI.COM

Suddenly, it seems as if all of
South Florida has fallen under
the spell of flamenco. Whether
it’s another edition of Flamenco
Festival Miami at the Adrienne
Arsht Center for the Performing
Arts or atablao in a Calle Ocho
restaurant, there’s been plenty

of taconeo and zapateado taking place. With much more to come.
For choreographer, dancer and instructor Adriana Nassiff, who runs the Dancing in XS studio
in Doral, there are several possible factors to account for the booming interest in flamenco
and Spanish dance in South Florida.

“The Flamenco Festival from Spain started to come to the States, to cities like Washington
and New York, and then to Miami. This introduced us to some of the biggest names,” says
the Colombia-born Nassiff of the annual U.S. fest that began in 2001.

“Then, with the recent migration of Venezuelans and other Latin Americans who have
brought their love and passion for flamenco to Miami, the studios and schools here have had
to satisfy the demand,” continues Nassiff, a flamenco dancer for most of her 35 years. Her
flamenco classes, she adds, are full.

Two of the art form’s most acclaimed artists will appear together on Saturday. The Spanish
flamenco pianist, composer and cantaor Diego Amador, famous for his fusion of flamenco
music and jazz, has joined forces with countryman and flamenco dance superstar Joaquín
Cortés inFlamenco Jazz Tribute, which marks the start of Amador’s concert tour promoting
his latest album, Diego Amador Live in Paris: Flamenco Jazz Tribute.
“In Miami, Spanish and English are spoken, and that made it attractive. Besides, it is a city of
great quality and culture,” says the self-taught Amador, 40, from Madrid.

“I was in Miami many years ago with another project, but this will be my first time as a solo
artist. I am glad there’s this flamenco fever in Miami right now. Joaquín and I can’t wait to be
there to bring our experience to the audience.”

An audience that will be able to witness not your abuelo’s flamenco, but Amador’s innovative
take on jazz, which he grew up loving passionately, much to the surprise of the other

musicians in his family, and his sensual flamenco cante (singing), and piano playing (he has
described himself as a “pianist who plays the piano as a guitar”).
Miami’s passion for flamenco began with the first generation of Cuban immigrants and has
continued with more recent arrivals from the island, says Paola Escobar, who studied
flamenco in Spain, danced flamenco in Cuba, opened a studio in her native Colombia and
then moved to Miami in 2005.

“Some 15 years after having lived in Havana, I find many of the dancers I worked with back
then are here now,” says Escobar, who dances with several flamenco groups, including
veteran Paco Fonta’s Siempre Flamenco. “They all love flamenco. It’s in their genes.”

The enthusiasm and understanding for flamenco here helps artists who, like Amador, are
experimenting with tradition.

Guitar player and composer José Luis Rodríguez, who hails from Huelva and has made
Miami home since 2011, also likes to show through his work that flamenco can keep up with
the times without losing its classical essence.

Rodríguez, 46, has combined flamenco and Afro-Cuban music; worked with electro-acoustic
sounds; and collaborated on a project of flamenco and Sephardic music.

“When I got to the States, I found that there was this idea, a little bit stereotypical, about the
flamenco guitar,” says Rodríguez, “Because there had been this gap, between the 1980s,
when all these flamenco artists were here [like Cacharrito de Málaga and Paco Fonta], and
now. During the time when Spain was prospering, many of these artists returned home. But
this left an impression of flamenco that was dated.”

As a result, what he does, contemporary flamenco, he calls “ nu flamenco.”
“Flamenco is usually associated with castanets and polka dots, a very typical type of
flamenco, which is not what I do,” adds the musician. “I compose music through flamenco.”





February 20, 2014

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Theater & art

A showcase of flamenco, in all its
flavors

By Karen Campbell | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT MARCH 06, 2014

YI-CHUN WU

World Music/CRASHart brings the Flamenco Festival, including Karime Amaya (above), to Boston
for the 14th year.

For going on 14 years, World Music/CRASHarts has been warming up cold nights with
the heat of flamenco. Flamenco Festival 2014 brings two concerts from Spain that
embrace the range of the art form.
“Stars of Flamenco” March 8-9 features six dancers and seven musicians, showcasing
the contrasting dance styles of veteran powerhouse Antonio Canales, Carlos Rodríguez
(Nuevo Ballet Español), Karime Amaya (grandniece of Carmen Amaya), and young

dynamo Jesús Carmona.

CONTINUE READING BELOW ▼

A March 16 concert by the Tomatito Sextet marks the Boston debut of José Fernández
Torres (Tomatito), one of the world’s top flamenco guitarists, along with his musicians
and dancer Paloma Fantova.

Both productions are curated by Miguel Flamenco)Festival)2014
Marin, artistic director of the Flamenco
Festival, an organization that tracks the pulse Berklee Performance Center,
of the art form in Spain and packages groups
of Spanish artists to tour internationally. He Performing company: Stars of
has been involved with World Flamenco andTomatito Sextet
Music/CRASHarts’s annual flamenco
celebrations since the very beginning. He is Also performing: World Music,
especially excited by the opportunity with CRASHarts
“Stars of Flamenco,” directed by Ángel Rojas,
to present a diverse slate of flamenco artists First performance: Stars of Flamenco,
from different generations. Marin spoke with March 8-9 Tomatito Sextet, March 16
the Globe recently via phone.
Ticket price: Tickets $30-$79

Company website:
http://www.worldmusic.org

CONTINUE READING BELOW ▼

Q. Antonio Canales is really the star and anchor of the gala, isn’t he? Why has he been
so influential?

A. He is one of the artists who has innovated a lot in flamenco and opened a lot of
doors. He has such charisma, such stature. Just by his presence, he is able to
communicate so much. He moves with such intention, he doesn’t need fast footwork to
be in the heart of the people. He has always had maturity and power. Now he is 52,
and he still has that presence. All the dancers on the program have been inspired by
Antonio, and they are so happy to be on the same program. It’s very rare to see all
these artists who have their own companies performing together.

Q. You’ve called Karime Amaya and Jesús Carmona the most important of the
flamenco artists coming up now. I’m really knocked out by Carmona, who has these
brilliant, flamboyant spins and leaps as well as dazzling footwork.

A. He was one of the principal dancers of the National Ballet of Spain [Ballet Nacional
de España] and you can see his training. What makes him so special is he combines his
technique with deep emotion. You can see the connection, otherwise it would just be
footwork, meaningless with no soul. He is very explosive, a virtuoso, but he also has
what we call duende, that magic presence.

Q. And Karime comes from the ethnic gypsy tradition of her great-aunt, the legendary
Carmen Amaya.

A. She was born in Mexico, and it’s amazing to see how she’s been able to keep that
style alive, but she has made it her own style in her body. She is only 26. She is going
to be the next big star in flamenco. She has footwork speed — I don’t know how she
does it.

Q. What does Carlos Rodríguez bring to the table?

A. He is a choreographer and brings in technique that is closer to ballet, more like the
wind than the earth. He brings in another style of flamenco and represents the next
generation and influence of Spanish classical dance in flamenco.

Q. How has flamenco changed over the past 20 years, and where is it going?

A. We are now living in the golden age of flamenco. All these limitations from
traditionalists are broken, and artists are finding a way to communicate and express
themselves freely in flamenco. You can see traditional, but also more balletic,
contemporary, experimental. It allows this wide range of expression. In the past, you
could only see traditional flamenco, but artists have to find their own way. They listen
to different music and have found a balance that is honest with the art form and with
today, and that’s what keeping flamenco alive. Before, people around the world only
wanted to see the Gypsy dance, but that was the part of the lifestyle of some Gypsy
families. That is not the widest part of flamenco today. I am happy to see artists today
have the courage to do what they have to do and express themselves.

Q. The relationship between musicians and dancers is at the heart of flamenco. It
seems like every flamenco performance is a big party onstage.

A. Totally. I can tell you every show is a new, different experience, and everyone is
involved in the energy that is needed. The harmony and melody are created by the
guitarist, but we need a certain energy from the singing and clapping. In flamenco, the
musician follows the dancer, who sets the tempo. In every piece, the dance creates a
structure, and within that structure the musician sings whatever lyrics come to him
that are part of that particular style, and the dancer has so many variations he can
improvise. It’s very much in the moment and unpredictable, which is what makes it so
exciting.

Q. What does someone who has never seen flamenco need to know to really appreciate
it?

A. You don’t need to understand anything. The art form is very direct. It’s not
intellectual. You just need to feel it. There’s no story. It’s about basic human emotions.
Not long ago, we did a music concert in China, and it was surprising how the audience
connected with the singer, even if they didn’t understand what the singer was saying. I
recommend people let themselves be taken by the emotion. I hope they connect with
that dimension that is beyond ourselves — that spirit, that magic, that energy, to have
an experience with something divine.

This interview has been condensed and edited. Karen Campbell can be reached at
[email protected].

© 2014 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC





Dance

March 6 - 1 2 , 2 0 1 4 TIMEOUT.COM/NEWYORK

Thursday 6

Flamenco Festival 2014
O p e n i n g Gala New York City Center,
131W55thSt between Sixth and
Seventh Aves (212-581-1212,
nycitycenter.org). Subway: B, D, E to
Seventh Ave; F,N,Q,R to 57th St.
8pm; $25-$110. Angel Rojas
directs "Gala Flamenca," which
stars reknowned flamenco dancers
Antonio Canales, Carlos Rodriguez,
Karime Amaya and Jesus Carmona.

Friday 7

Flamenco Festival 2014
O p e n i n g Gala 8pm. See Thu 6.

Saturday 8

Eva Y e r b a b u e n . New York City
Center, 131W 55th St between
Sixth and Seventh Aves (212-581-
1212, nycitycenter.org). Subway; D,
E to Seven th Ave; F,N,Q,Rto5 7th
St. 8pm; $25-$110. As part of the

26l4 Flamenco Festival,

Yerbabuena presents two works.
Tonight's performance, ;AYl, is a
series of solos with live
accompaniment; Sun 9's Lluvia
showcases the choreographer
alongside four other dancers.

N e t t a Yerushalmy 8pm. See Fri 7.

Sunday 9

7pm. See Sat 8.