Spanish & Mexican Artists Led by Lineage of Legendary Carmen Amaya Headline Vancouver International Flamenco Festival
Vancouver International Flamenco Festival proudly presents the local debut of Mercedes Amaya Company, September 16 & 17, 2016, 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Helmed by the niece of legendary Gypsy flamenco dancer, Carmen Amaya, this ensemble of artists from Mexico and Spain will dazzle in Templanza, a sensuous journey through the history of flamenco and its Gitano origins. Each evening will also feature a special opening performance: On September 16, Saskatoon’s celebrated ¡ARTE! Flamenco will share the evocative De Cal, Canto y Arena; On September 17, Vancouver’s own Flamenco Rosario will start the night with their playful Flamenqueando. Tickets will go on sale August 13.
“The Amaya name is synonymous with exceptional artistry. Their family represent one of the greatest lineages known to flamenco,” says Rosario Ancer, Artistic Director & Founder, Vancouver International Flamenco Festival. “Over her illustrious career, Director, Choreographer and performer Mercedes Amaya has followed the path of her iconic aunt, the late Romani dancer Carmen Amaya, in preserving and promoting flamenco and its Gypsy roots around the world. Mercedes will continue this mission here at the 26th annual Vancouver International Flamenco Festival with a performance that will undoubtedly beguile and inspire.”
In Templanza, festival audiences will for the first time encounter the authentic Spanish Gypsy style of flamenco. Mercedes Amaya and her dancers will ignite the Vancouver Playhouse with their vigorous palmas (hand clapping) and frenetic footwork, driven by the gravelly voz afillá (Gypsy style vocals), and raw guitar. A fiery tribute to flamenco’s vibrant past, including the legacy of Carmen Amaya, Templanza was first presented in 2015 at Mexico City’s prestigious Palacio de Bellas Artes. This electrifying work traces the evolution of flamenco, while revealing the diverse ways, from sumptuous sway to fierce flourish, each member – Mercedes Amaya (dancer), Nacho Blanco (dancer), Jose Diaz ‘Cachito’ (singer), Santiago Aguilar (guitarist) – embodies duende, the spirit of flamenco.
Mercedes Amaya, better known as ‘La Winy’, was born in Mexico to Antonia Amaya and flamenco singer, Luis Algaba ‘Chiquito de Triana’. Her parents represent many of the Amaya clan who emigrated from Spain to find fame in the Americas. With talent in her blood, and a mother and father dedicated to this rich, poetic art form, Mercedes adopted flamenco as her life passion. In the early 1990’s, she formed Mercedes Amaya Company with husband, guitarist Santiago Aguilar. Upon gaining notoriety in Spain alongside artists such as dancer/film actor Antonio Canales, Mercedes took her company to the U.S. to take part in the National Institute of Flamenco’s festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Soon after, Mercedes Amaya Company was called upon by Japan’s prestigious tablao, ‘El Flamenco’ to perform a successful six-month season. Through this various international exposure Mercedes solidified her role as a worldwide ambassador for flamenco.
Spreading passion for flamenco is a tradition passed to Mercedes by Carmen Amaya (1918-1963). The Spanish Gitano dancer is largely credited for sparking North America’s love for this discipline. Carmen’s mesmerizing ability celebrated from Buenos Aires to Mexico City was famously praised by the great conductor Toscanini, who upon witnessing her cried, “Never in my life have I seen such fire and rhythm!” Carmen captured the mainstream imagination in 1941 during her Carnegie Hall debut. The ‘Queen of the Gypsies’ thereafter rose to superstar status, performing for former President Theodore Roosevelt at the Whitehouse, appearing in eight Hollywood films, and gracing the cover of Life Magazine.
ABOUT VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FLAMENCO FESTIVAL (vancouverflamencofestival.org)
The Vancouver International Flamenco Festival is one of few celebrated festivals devoted to Flamenco Art outside of Spain. Since its beginnings in 1990, the festival has developed a mature understanding of Vancouver’s multicultural audiences by nurturing the form’s hybridized roots in Sephardic, Persian, Gypsy and Indian cultures. The festival strives to reflect and connect diverse sociocultural identity through work narratives underlining flamenco’s universal message of humanistic tolerance. Now a two-week long annual event, the festival remains visible presenting work at multiple venues throughout Vancouver, such as Granville Island’s Picnic Pavillion, the Playhouse Theatre, Scotiabank Dance Centre, Vancouver Public Library, and Lower Mainland’s Centro Flamenco with more than a quarter century of flamenco presence behind it, the festival shines a stronger light on Vancouver for younger generations of dancers all around the world, while celebrating new relationships with sister organizations across the nation, helping to forge a more integrated Canadian identity of flamenco.
LISTING INFORMATION
Vancouver International Flamenco Festival presents:
Mercedes Amaya Company
Dates:
September 16 & 17, 2016 at 8pm
Address:
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Tickets:
Adults $60, Students/Seniors and RAFAS Members $55.
Tickets available as of August 13.
Box Office:
vancouverflamencofestival.org or 604.568.1273
