NEXT MONTH!

Flamenco Marketplace

Saturday, May 14 • 3:00 – 6:00 pm

Flamenco Vivo Studios

Join us for complimentary wine, music, good company, and the best deals for flamenco costumes in NYC! In celebration of Spring, Flamenco Vivo is hosting Flamenco Marketplace where you can buy and sell secondhand flamenco items, or purchase new designs by Sonia Olla and Sally Lesser.

All are welcome for FREE! No RSVP necessary!

SIGN UP TO SELL GOODS

DANCE MAGAZINE

Decolonizing Flamenco Through Exploring Black Influences

by Dr. Brenda Dixon-Gottschild

Friend of the company and esteemed scholar Dr. Brenda Dixon-Gottschild published an article in Dance Magazine’s May Issue that is breaking stereotypes around flamenco. The article features three emerging Black flamenco artists: Phyllis Akinyi, Yinka Esi Graves, and Aliesha Bryan (Flamenco Certamen USA 2016 Winner).

“Like the impasse facing Black ballerinas, they are on a path posted with ‘no trespassing’ signs. Yet, they persist.”

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Flamenco Festival Recap

This past weekend, some of Spain’s best artists graced New York City Center’s stage––the roster included Manuel Liñán, María Moreno, Mercedes Ruíz, and Eduardo Guerrero.

Compañía Manuel Liñán presented ¡VIVA! the first show of its kind to refuse gendered norms in flamenco so explicitly and unapologetically. The show was replete with queer joy, expressed through the most cheerful of palos like bulerías, tangos, alegrías, and milongas.

The festival’s second show, Gala Flamenca, featured a dose of both tradition and vanguard. Highlights included Mercedes Ruiz’s footwork-focused tonás accompanied intimately a palo seco by Maria Terremoto, a stunning alegrías by Maria Moreno who perfectly exuded the aire of this Cadiz-born palo, and an angular, experimental take on caña by Eduardo Guerrero.

GIFT IDEA!

Flamenco Spring Feria Box

by Flamenco Couture

In Spain, spring is celebrated with fairs where people dress up, dance, eat, and enjoy life! Hand-picked by flamenco artist La Candela, Flamenco Couture’s Feria Box is perfect for flamenco dancers, flamenco lovers, aficionados, lovers of Spain.

CHECK IT OUT

FUN FACT

BLESSED RAMADAN
رمضان كريم.

Which iconic Egyptian singer did flamenco greats La Negra & Lole Montoya often sample?

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ANSWER:

Umm Kulthum!

Umm Kulthum (also spelled Oum Kalthoum) was an Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She is considered a national icon in her native Egypt and has been called “The voice of Egypt” and “Egypt’s 4th pyramid.”

In this video clip from the Spanish docu-series Rito y Geografía del Cante, flamenco great Lole Montoya and her mom La Negra are singing parts of Umm Kulthum’s famous “Alfi Leila W-Leila.” You’ll also hear fragments from Saudi Arabian icon Tarik Abdul-Hakimthat’s most famous work “Ya Reem Wadi Thaqif,” which was also sampled by the Gipsy Kings in “Viento del Arena.”

While these are secular songs not associated with Ramadan, they are an example of Arabic influences on flamenco. For almost 800 years, Muslims from the Middle East and North Africa ruled the Iberian Peninsula, known as “Al Andalus” in present day Spain and Portugal. In this civilization, there were periods of “convivencia” when Sephardic Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together and developed a common musical style that greatly influenced the folk music of Spain. Centuries after King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella established the Spanish monarchy, this folk music played an integral role in the development of flamenco as we know it today.