Flamenco Vivo/Carlota Santana Present Fiesta Flamenca

Performances: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, 2017, at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana is one of America’s premier Spanish dance companies, dedicated to the belief that the universal spirit of flamenco, a multicultural art form, has the power to build bridges between cultures. Our mission includes raising public awareness of flamenco as an integral part of Hispanic heritage, creating and presenting new works and nurturing the next generations of flamenco artists. The company tours extensively across the country (appearing at some 71 venues in 26 states over the past 5 seasons), and serves New York audiences with an annual home season, supplemented by intensive arts edu-cation programs in a dozen or more public schools each year, and an annual “Flamenco in the Boros” tour which brings free flamenco performances to new audiences around the city. Flamenco Vivo also operates the Center for Flamenco Arts, one of only three New York City dance studios dedicated to the specific require-ments of flamenco, and produces the New York State Flamenco Certamen, a competition for pre-professional dance artists. In 1996, the North Carolina Arts Council invited Flamenco Vivo to establish a second home in the state, in order to conduct bilingual programming targeted to the state’s growing Hispanic cultures. Since that time, we have developed outreach initiatives that have successfully served communities in nearly every part of the state, including many previously unexposed to Hispanic art forms. True to its founding vision, the Company commissions new repertoire with original choreography and music and has premiered a series of dramatic, cutting edge works. Recent creations include A Solas, a deep and soulful modern flamenco work created by celebrated artist Ángel Muñoz, Burlador (The Trickster), an innovative dance drama based on tales of the legendary deceiver Don Juan, Bailes de Ida y Vuelta, a journey through Latin America to show how flamenco has been influenced by Caribbean, Latino and Afro-Latino sounds, Bailaor/ Bailaora, a portrayal of the evolution of flamenco, Mano a Mano - a tribute to the bullfighter Manolete and the contemporary flamenco story-ballet, and Federico, a celebration of the life of Federico García Lor-ca. Each was performed to great acclaim at The Joyce Theater in New York City and on tour. The Company’s mission of bridging cultures using the spirit of flamenco is achieved through extensive com-munity outreach, enriching arts-in-education programs and powerful performances for diverse audiences. In addition to its intensive curriculum based in-school residency programs, the Company has created unique arts-in-education performance pieces such as Amigos Españoles, featuring a young person’s journey through Spain and Inesperanza, a story of life's difficulties told through the art of flamenco, produced in conjunction with the Lincoln Center Institute. Carlota Santana and Roberto Lorca co-founded the company in 1983 and following his death from HIV-related causes in 1987, she was determined to continue their work. In the decades since, she has led Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana to its 30th Anniversary and beyond, performing at such venues as Lincoln Center, The Joyce Theater, The BAM Fisher, The New Victory Theater, Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, The Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota, Florida, Universidad Bucaramanga in Colombia, South America, Palacio de Congresos in Granada, Spain, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art among many others. In accordance with the Company’s commitment to excellence, Ms. Santana has been deemed “The Keeper of Flamenco” by Dance Magazine in recognition of her commitment to creating new works and developing young artists and choreographers. Most recently on the occasion of the Company’s 30th Anniversary in 2013, Ms. Santana was honored by the Government of Spain with La Cruz de la Orden al Merito Civil for ""all the years of excellence and dedication to the flamenco art.” More Info below.