Flamenco is coming to Revelstoke.
On April 7, Vancouver-based dance troupe Flamenco Rosario will be taking the Performing Arts Centre stage.
The dance company’s stop in Revelstoke on their B.C.-wide tour will also include a Flamenco guitar and dance workshop, which will be held at the Performing Arts Centre on April 6.
Flamenco is a centuries-old form of art based on the folk music and dance of Southern Spain. It includes a combination of singing, guitar-playing and dance.
Performing Arts Centre Executive Director Miriam Manley, who saw Flamenco Rosario perform in Golden a number of years ago, said there is a power and grace in their performance.
“It was so powerful,” said Manley. “It totally blew me away.”
The show in Revelstoke is part of tour that will take them from Kelowna to Kitimat performing “La Monarca,” an artistic commentary on the migration of the monarch butterfly.
As much as the show is about the seasonal migration of the monarch, Rosario Ancer, who is the company’s founder and artistic director, says it is about her own life.
Ancer was born in Mexico, grew up in Spain, and moved to Canada where she has put down roots.
In her artist statement she says the monarch’s cycle of life gave her insight into her own.
“La Monarca, reflects on my continual motion, travelling between Mexico where I was born, Spain – the Mecca of Flamenco, and Canada – my new home,” says Rosario. “Being a migrant between the three reminded me of the recurrent autumn pilgrimage of the monarch butterflies between Canada and Mexico.”
The Flamenco Rosario dance company was founded in 1989 by Ancer and has grown to critical acclaim.
Ancer has won the Vancouver Mayor’s Art Award in Dance, and brings a lifetime of experience to her art practice and dedication to sharing the art of Flamenco.
After a successful career in Spain she moved to Vancouver in 1989, where she and her husband (a flamenco guitarist) co-founded a Flamenco school, the Vancouver International Flamenco Festival, and the Flamenco Rosario Arts Society.
Her artistic practice is not just about engaging with the storied history folk music and dance, but also incorporates lighting, stage design, computer programming, multi-media art and choreography.
The show is scheduled for Saturday, April 7, between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20.
There will be a Q&A moderated by Anna Fin following the performance.
The Flamenco guitar and dance workshops are scheduled for April 6 at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre between 6 and 7 p.m.
The workshops are 16+ and there is limited space available.
The staff at RPAC are asking those attending to arrive 15 minutes early.
@Jnsherman
jake.sherman@revelstokereview.com
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