Pastora rehearsal. July 13, 2006
Alfonso Cid and Behzad Habibzai. July 13, 2006 6:48pm
It's 10:38am on Friday as I type these words. Yesterday (Thursday) was pretty cool. We got a lot done in rehearsal with singer Alfonso Cid, Anna Menendez and the Pastora dancers. It was a long but enjoyable day where we basically practiced from 1:00pm until 7:00pm with lots of breaks, but we survived. Today we'll be rehearsing just a lil' bit putting the final touches, and getting a good night's rest so we can put on great performance in Peña Flamenca on Saturday night. You've bought your tickets already, haven't you?
July 13, 2006 6:48pm
Anna Menendez, Alfonso Cid and Behzad Habibzai. July 13, 2006 7:10pm
From the program notes: Peña Flamenca: first project
Pastora, a flamenco dance ensemble
"Pastora" is a project that aims to provide an opportunity for dedicated emerging artists to collaborate with flamenco professionals. My first inspiration to form an ensemble came from the desire to give an opportunity to certain individuals so that they could acquire more performance experience. It has become evident that they have given the opportunity back to me as I take on the challenge of director and choreographer. Together, we are making steps towards refining and honing our flamenco skills. It is an exciting project for all of us. I look forward to many future projects involving Pastora and to continued mutual growth. I would like to thank the American Dance Institute for their tremendous support and making us a part of their Arts Incubator program. Please join me in this celebration of the hard work and dedication shown by these individuals.
A Peña Flamenca is a venue where aficionados and professionals alike gather to exchange and showcase their talents. In this aspect this first project of "Pastora" hopes to reflect this ideal. Tonight, the ensemble has been joined by other dancers from the DC community, and locally-based guitarists Michael Perez and Behzad Habibzai. We are very fortunate to have Alfonso Cid, the wonderful flamenco singer, singing for us tonight. He has generously agreed to be a part of this evening and without his collaboration, the experience for us would not be complete.
Alfonso's new CD. To preview some tracks, click here.
« Wednesday with Miguelito. July 12, 2006 | Main | Miguelito's birthday at Cabanas. July 28, 2006 »