Come dance flamenco style
Emily Thynes
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Arts
Flamenco dance and music company Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana will perform in Markel Auditorium this Sunday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m., as part of Hillsdale College's Arts Performance Series.
After performing at Hillsdale in 2000, the company left the campus ablaze with admiration.
"I just know that when they were here last time, there was such high energy that they were invited back," said Ruth Demkowski, Staff Assistant for Sage Center for the Arts.
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana is a flamenco and Spanish dance company based in New York City and Durham, North Carolina.
George Angell, theater and speech department chairman, was partially responsible for recruiting the company to perform at the college.
"They're very strong performers - Carlota's quite a talent," Angell said. "And they're very strong musically, also. So they're great for music students."
The company's purpose, according to their website, is to promote, preserve, innovate upon and teach the traditional art of flamenco dance through performances and workshops.
The company tours extensively. Its most recently choreographed dance-drama, "Carmen: El Baile," will premiere in Anchorage, Alaska, then they'll take it to Florida and eventually back to New York City.
The company also maintains outreach programs such as Project Ole!, which strives to bring a taste of Spanish culture to school-age American children.
Frequently identified with Spanish culture, it may surprise many to learn that flamenco was not, strictly speaking, a Spanish art form until recently. According to the International Encyclopedia of Dance, flamenco most likely began with the ritual songs and dances of gypsies who came to Spain from Northern Africa.
Flamenco did not become flamenco as we know it until the 19th century, when gypsy performers became a staple in musical cafes. The meaning of the performance shifted from a singer-dancer storytelling duo to a seductive dancer adorned in a fluffy batas de colas dress, beating out percussive rhythms to the accompaniment of the musicians.
After performing at Hillsdale in 2000, the company left the campus ablaze with admiration.
"I just know that when they were here last time, there was such high energy that they were invited back," said Ruth Demkowski, Staff Assistant for Sage Center for the Arts.
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana is a flamenco and Spanish dance company based in New York City and Durham, North Carolina.
George Angell, theater and speech department chairman, was partially responsible for recruiting the company to perform at the college.
"They're very strong performers - Carlota's quite a talent," Angell said. "And they're very strong musically, also. So they're great for music students."
The company's purpose, according to their website, is to promote, preserve, innovate upon and teach the traditional art of flamenco dance through performances and workshops.
The company tours extensively. Its most recently choreographed dance-drama, "Carmen: El Baile," will premiere in Anchorage, Alaska, then they'll take it to Florida and eventually back to New York City.
The company also maintains outreach programs such as Project Ole!, which strives to bring a taste of Spanish culture to school-age American children.
Frequently identified with Spanish culture, it may surprise many to learn that flamenco was not, strictly speaking, a Spanish art form until recently. According to the International Encyclopedia of Dance, flamenco most likely began with the ritual songs and dances of gypsies who came to Spain from Northern Africa.
Flamenco did not become flamenco as we know it until the 19th century, when gypsy performers became a staple in musical cafes. The meaning of the performance shifted from a singer-dancer storytelling duo to a seductive dancer adorned in a fluffy batas de colas dress, beating out percussive rhythms to the accompaniment of the musicians.
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