Fanny Ara dancing to En el Compás de su sangre (by Esperanza Fernández and Dorantes) at the Mexican Cultural Institute. June 7, 2007 8:46pm
It's 11:28am on Friday. Last night (Thursday) Ginette Perea and I went to the Mexican Cultural Institute to attend a performance by San Francisco-based flamenco dancer Fanny Ara and friends in a concert titled Magia Flamenca. The theater which seats several hundred was sold out. From what I could tell just there was a large contigent of French speaking people. I spotted a few members of the DC flamenco community too. (I imagine a good number of the DC flamencos were up in New York to see Paul Fradin's production of Flamenco Pa' Dos at Symphony Space which was going on the same night.)
Anywayz, as beautiful as the theater was here at the Mexican Cultural Institute, the seating was less than ideal for appreciating the visual aspect of a flamenco performance. Despite my relative tallness, my view was obstructed everytime the person seated in front of me decided to move his head this way or that. 
So there were times when I just held my camera waiting for the right moment when all the heads would move so I'd have a clean line of sight. One time I handed my camera to Ginette hoping she had a better view--so some of the following pics may be hers too. Oh well, I got used to it after awhile and it certainly helped that dancers Fanny Ara and Melissa Cruz were very expressive with their upper bodies.
Just goes to show you that they were well-rounded in their flamenco skills--not only being able to cleanly execute footwork but also effectively communicate emotions with their upper body movements and facial expression. The music with the emotionally moving cante and tasteful flamenco guitar accompaniment also more than made up for what I couldn't see in the dance.
The photos displayed here are not meant to fully document the evening. In fact, I didn't pull out my camera until well into the second half discouraged at first by the view of the dancers only from the waist up. What I do have is not bad thanks to my new camera with 12x optical zoom that let me get close as if I was seated in the front row. Enjoy!
June 7, 2007 8:47pm
June 7, 2007 8:49pm
The program:
Bulerías (which rhythmically modulated to Sevillanas and back to bulerías--very original!)
Alegrías--danced by Melissa
Nana--sung by Vicente
En el Compás de su Sangre (music by Esperanza Fernández and Dorantes)--danced by Fanny Ara and Melissa
INTERMISSION
Erik Satie, Gnosienne #1 played on piano by Fanny and danced by Melissa
Cartagenera--sung by Vicente
Martinete--danced by Fanny and Melissa
Colombiana--guitar solo by Jorge Liceaga
Soleá por bulerías--danced by Fanny
At intermission: Fanny chatting with staff from the Spanish Embassy and Alliance Française. June 7, 2007 9:00pm
June 7, 2007 9:01pm
Fanny at the piano playing Erik Satie's Gnosienne #1. June 7, 2007 9:17pm
Melissa Cruz dancing to Gnosienne #1. June 7, 2007 9:18pm
June 7, 2007 9:21pm
June 7, 2007 9:21pm
June 7, 2007 9:22pm
June 7, 2007 9:23pm
Vicente Griego "El Cartucho" singing a cartagenera accompanied by guitarist Jorge Liceaga. June 7, 2007 9:26pm
June 7, 2007 9:29pm
June 7, 2007 9:32pm
Melissa dancing a martinete. June 7, 2007 9:35pm
June 7, 2007 9:35pm
June 7, 2007 9:35pm
Fanny dancing a soleá por bulerías. June 7, 2007 9:48pm
June 7, 2007 9:49pm
June 7, 2007 9:49pm
June 7, 2007 9:50pm
June 7, 2007 9:55pm
Bows. June 7, 2007 9:59pm
June 7, 2007 9:59pm
Vicente starting off the fin de fiesta bulería. June 7, 2007 10:00pm
The artist bios:
Fanny Ara
Fanny Ara began her dance studies at age three, studying ballet and contemporary dance at the French Basque country. She studied with maestros Isabel Quintero and Antonio Najarro. In addition to her studies in dance, she studied piano at the Bayonne School of Art for 11 years. She attained a BA in literature with a specialty in music. Also she pursued intensive flamenco studies with Juana Amaya, El Toromobo, Manolo Soler, Hiniesta Cortés. In Spain, she was also accepted into the prestigious academy of Mario Maya and worked in tablaos in Madrid (Al Andalus and El Juglar). Fanny has been nominated in the category of Most Outstanding Individual Dancer for the 2006 Izzies Awards.
Melissa Cruz
As reviewed by Rachel Howard of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Any dancer could make pained faces. But [Melissa] Cruz is clearly possessed by the duende--the spirit that drives this deeply introspective art."
Melissa Cruz began pursuing dance under the guidance of Rosa Montoya, with whom she trained intensively in flamenco and classical Spanish dance. In the US, she toured and performed with several companies including most notably Madrid's acclaimed Noche Flamenca, with whom she performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. In March 2007, she debuted her first company performance as a part of the series, "Flamenco en Vivo" at the Hobby Centre in Houston, Texas.
Jorge Liceaga
Native of Mexico City, received his education at the UNAM, Escuela Nacional de Música, Mexico City, Mexico. His career as a flamenco guitarist began in 1987 with the collaboration of the well-known dancer Ricardo Montoya, with whom he worked for several years. He has collaborated under the direction of Cristobal Reyes and Cristina Aguirre in Mexico City and has performed as a flamenco guitarist in important theaters such as Palacio de las Bellas Artes, Auditorio Nacional and Teatreo de la Danza in Mexico City, as well as Palace of Fine Arts, Cowell, Theatre Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. He has been the musical director for Virginia Iglesias Flamenco Dance Company for the past 10 years.
Vicente Griego "El Cartucho"
Vicente Griego "El Cartucho" from Embudo, New Mexico has devoted his life to the study of cante flamenco, the art of flamenco singing. In 1992, Vicente began touring the US, Canada and Latin America with the José Greco II Flamenco Dance Company where he was mentored by Caño Roto singer, Alfonso "Veneno" of Madrid, Spain. He also remains a pupil of acclaimed Granaino guitarist Chuscales with whom he performs weekly both locally and nationally.
"Vicente Griego 'El Cartucho' is striking for his deep sonorous wails that seem to come from a cavern, someplace deep within his soul..." -Anna Poplawska, Chicago Artist's News
Melissa Cruz and Ginette Perea. June 7, 2007 10:07pm
Vicente Griego "El Cartucho" and Jorge Liceaga. June 7, 2007 10:11pm
New Mexico flamencos reunited: Claudia, Vicente and Gerard Moreno. June 7, 2007 10:13pm
Miguelito and Jorge. June 7, 2007 10:19 (photo by Ginette Perea)
Reine and Patricia. June 7, 2007 10:22pm
Ginette and Claudia. June 7, 2007 10:29pm
I met Andoni and Sylvain at Cafe Citron some months back when they mentioned the idea of bringing Fanny Ara (who also happens to be from France originally) to DC to perform in a flamenco concert. And now they made it a reality. Congratulations!
Alliance Française staff members Andoni Bérasategui, Sylvain Cornevaux and Miguelito. June 7, 2007 10:41pm (photo by Ginette Perea)
I did a little bit of work in promoting the show by distributing postcards advertising the concert all over the DC area. Just my way of earning a pair of free tickets. My thanks to Alliance Française. Be sure to check out their website for information about other upcoming events.
It's almost noon. Time for me to get out of the house. I hope you enjoyed these pics. As for tonight, I'll be performing at Cabanas in Georgetown with dancers Ginette Perea and Claudia. We'll have the stage outside this time with shows at around 8:00pm, 9:00pm and 10:00pm. See you there!
"Excuse me. Where'd you get that license plate frame?"
June 10, 2007 6:38pm (photo by Cindy's dad)
Good night!
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