FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLAMENCO CONFERENCE · 2012. 2. 23. · FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLAMENCO CONFERENCE I att ended the First Internati onal Flamenco Conference in Seville, Spain in November

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Flamenco RosarioArti sti c Director:

Rosario Ancer Musical Director:

Victor Kolstee

Newslett er TeamBarbara MacLellan

Onni Milne Jennifer Parisi

This e-newslett er will be published

three ti mes per year: Winter, Summer and

Fall. Deadline for submissions is fi rst week of December,

May and September.

Copies available at fl amencorosario.org

Flamenco Voice informs members

about local, provincial, and nati onal fl amenco

issues and events, promotes fl amenco culture and inspires parti cipati on in the

fl amenco arts scene.

FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLAMENCO CONFERENCE

I att ended the First Internati onal Flamenco Conference in Seville, Spain in November 2011, responding to an invitati on from the “Insti tuto Andaluz del Flamenco”. This was sponsored by the “Junta de Andalucía” ( Andalucian Provincial Government). In November 2010, UNESCO declared fl amenco “ A World Cultural Heritage”. We were delighted. But att ached to this honor comes responsibility: preservati on, disseminati on, promoti on, educati on and a watchful eye on its evoluti on and innovati on. It was in this spirit, and an unprecedented approach from the Andalucía Government, that personaliti es from the world of fl amenco (arti sts, nati onal and internati onal programmers, criti cs, writers and presenters) att ended this event.

The objecti ves were: (1) to create a forum of fl amenco professionals to meet, refl ect and raise valid questi ons about fl amenco and its role in the cultural industry, in communicati ons or its infl uence from the heritage point of view; (2) to identi fy and share the most relevant changes in this sector and measure its impact in the market; (3) the potenti al of investi gati on, the potenti al of bringing to the table new ideas and debate among fl amenco experts; and (4) to set the basis for the publicati on of “El Libro Blanco del Flamenco” (the fl amenco blank book).

The conference was held in the breathtaking setti ng of the “Convento de Santa Clara” and att ended by over 600 delegates arriving from all corners of Andalucia and the world. It was inaugurated by Maria Angeles Carrasco Hidalgo, Director of the Insti tuo Andaluz del Flamenco, followed by a memorable speech by fl amenco icon “Fosforito”, the legendary fl amenco singer.

I att ended the Flamenco as Cultural Industry discussion. I would have loved to att end all of them because I did not want to miss the panel discussions. Issues we discussed during the three days of the conference were: (1) Flamenco and Truism: Fashion, Instructi ons for Nati onals and Foreigners and Nati onal and Internati onal Markets; (2) Flamenco Industry: Photographic, Visual, Audiovisual, New Technologies and Marketi ng; (3) Flamenco as Cultural Industry: Defi niti on, Evoluti on, References, Analysis, Strengths, Treats, Weaknesses and Opportuniti es; (4) Flamenco as Heritage: Mandatory Educati on in the Schools and Insti tuti on of the Flamenco “Catedra” (Dance, Song and Guitar Courses) in the Nati onal and Regional Conservatories of Dance and Music. The big questi on or concern was how to preserve the art form without standing in the way of the natural course of evoluti on.

Two fl amenco groups performed at the closing event. The fi rst group included Andrés Marín, an excellent fl amenco contemporary dancer, accompanied by a great arti st, singer José de la Tomasa, guitarist Salvador Guti érrez and percussionist Antonio Coronel. The second group was a more traditi onal one and included dancer Carmen Ledesma, singer María Peña, guitarist Antonio Moya and Utrera’s “Palmas” (percussive hand clapping).

The fi rst group was a feast for the eye with their magnifi cent technical executi ons. (conti nued on page 2)

Volume 3, Issue 1: Winter 2012

CONTENTS:

Raices report Pg. 3Noti cias Pg. � Tribute to Lorca Pg. 6 Flamenco History: Oscar Nieto Pg. 8

Flamenco Voice - La Voz del Flamenco Newsletter

“Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Board, nor the Organization.”Comments welcome: [email protected]

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ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES

Flamenco Rosario and Centro Flamenco have undergone administrative changes. Last May, Barbara MacLellan passed the Presidency of Flamenco Rosario’s Board of Directors to Ian Metherell. Victor and I welcome Ian as the new President and take this opportunity to thank Barbara for all her hard work. She volunteered for the Board of Flamenco Rosario with generous spirit, tireless energy and great generosity. Thank you Barbara from the bottom of our hearts!

(continued from page 1)The second group was a feast for the soul - it went so deep.

I thanked them for the invitation to participate in this historic event. I informed them with pleasure that, on the Canadian west coast, we honor traditional flamen-co and instill respect for this wonderful art form in our students and audiences. At the same time, we carefully handcraft new innovative work, maintaining a balance between the roots and its natural evolution. I’m not worried about the future of flamenco. Flamenco is bigger than an artist. Flamenco is spirit. The Spirit of Flamenco is unchangeable.

Rosario Ancer

This past December, Chloe Ernst, our smart and charming Office Administrator – and travel writer - left Centro Flamenco to pursue new opportunities in her successful writing business. She is now in Montreal working for a newspaper but will be back in Vancouver for the summer. We will miss her dearly. We take this opportunity to welcome our new full time Centro and Flamenco Rosario Administrative Assistant and professional photographer, Virginie Lamarche.

Victor Kolstee & Rosario Ancer

KUDOS!

Bluma Field studied and danced Spanish classical dance and flamenco in Vancouver from the late ‘50s to the ‘80s. In her contribution to the Vancouver Flamenco Retrospective, she described those years and ended with these remarks:

“I drifted in and out of the Spanish dance milieu in Vancouver until I found out that a new teacher had come to town. I sought out this “messiah” of the Spanish dance idiom. To my surprise, she (Rosario Ancer) taught FLAMENCO! Eureka! I began to take lessons and turned a new page in my life by participating in and finally beginning to truly learn this wonderful medium. I wish I had been exposed to this

wonderful teacher many years before as I was in my sixties when I began this new journey. The old adage, “better late than never” applies here. If my memory serves me correctly, I was in the first or one of the first student recitals at the “Cultch”.

Kudos to Rosario and Victor for making flamenco so accessible to those interested in partaking and those just interested in watching and enjoying the genre. They have contributed so much to the culture of Vancouver. I am happy to have been part of this much appreciated journey to flamenco in Vancouver.”

Bluma Field’s article on her participation in Vancouver’s early flamenco scene will be published in the next issue of Flamenco Voice.

Flamenco Voice - La Voz del Flamenco Newslett er

3“Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Board, nor the Organizati on.”Comments welcome: info@fl amencorosario.org

Centennial TheatreElectric Evenings at

We are grateful for the support of our season sponsors:

CENTENNIAL THEATRE IS A FACILITY OF THE NORTH VANCOUVER RECREATION COMMISSION

FlamencoFlamenco RosarioRosario

Known for its spirited, fiery, and creative performances, Flamenco Rosario continues to honour the rich flamenco tradition with original works that

examine the cultural history and evolution of the art form.

“…a tour-de-force of essence and soul…the audience was in silent awe as they witnessed the flow and passion…”

– Review Vancouver

Raíces: Further Investigations Among the Roots of Flamenco

A co-presentation with the Canadian Iranian Foundation

Friday, November 25 at 7:30 pm

Canadian Iranian Foundation

Box Office: 604-984-4484 2300 Lonsdale, North Vancouver Tickets online at www.centennialtheatre.com

EVENTS REPORT: RAICES 3

Watching Rosario and kathak dancer Aarti Pole trade footwork and rhythms at Flamenco Rosario’s third version of Raices Flamencos (Flamenco Roots) was just one of the highlights of this fascinati ng show. Not surprisingly, it received a well deserved standing ovati on from the enthusiasti c and appreciati ve audience.

Three wonderful singers, four outstanding musicians and fi ve marvelous dancers collaborated under Rosario’s directi on to create the memorable reworking of the explorati on of cultural and musical roots of fl amenco. This version brought back Aarti , Spanish fl amenco singer Jesus Montoya, Jewish Sephardic singer Moshe Denburg and sitar player James Hamilton. They all performed in the fi rst version of Raices.

Jesus and Moshe created another unforgett able moment when each sang a haunti ng solo – the two seeming to echo one another. To explore the links of fl amenco to Persia/Iran dati ng back through the Moorish period in Spain, tar player and singer Amir Koushkani was invited to be part of the producti on along with percussionist Hamin Honari, who stepped in on short noti ce as a replacement for Sal Fererras. The skilled musicians from diff erent genres came together in a very short ti me under the musical directi on of Victor Kolstee to blend their music in amazing ways.

During the fi rst half of the show, each musician performed in their unique style and traditi on. During the second half, the audience was spellbound as they played together, blending styles, sounds and rhythms in a seamless yet varied explorati on of the convergences and diff erences in their music. Similarly, the dancers demonstrated the unique nature of their own dances but came together to blend their art, especially in the fi nal bulerias.

Flamenco Rosario thanks its partner, The Centennial Theatre, for the invitati on to present Raices and The Canadian Iranian Foundati on for their collaborati on and help in making this event a major success. Let’s hope there will be a Raices 4 as Rosario and Victor conti nue to explore the roots of fl amenco.



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HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT FLAMENCO ROSARIO

Become a Member: By becoming a member of the Flamenco Rosario Arts Society, you support Flamenco Rosario and help bring outstanding flamenco shows to the stage with local, national and international stars. You receive discounts on workshops and concerts with your membership and have access to members only events and services. Download a membership form from flamencorosario.org or pick one up at Centro Flamenco.

Please renew your membership for 2012. You must be a current member to vote at the upcoming AGM.

Become a Donor: We accept all funding donations or services donations with thanks. To donate, visit the Flamenco Rosario website, scroll down to the “Donate Now” button, click on button and follow the steps.

For information, call 604-737-1273.

USEFUL WEBSITES

Flamenco Rosario - www.flamencorosario.org

Centro Flamenco - www.centroflamenco.com

Best all around flamenco site - www.flamencoworld.com

Excellent flamenco radio 24/7 from Spanish broadcaster, Canal Sur - http://www.radiotelevisionandalucia.es/tvcarta/impe/web/enDirecto?canal=ca1

Program guide for the above - http://blogs.canalsur.es/parrilla_cfl/

In Spanish - interviews and items of interest on flamenco cante - www.rtve.es/podcast/radio-exterior/el-callejon-del-cante/

Home of flamenco in Canada - http://flamenco.ca/

NOTICIAS (WHAT’S HAPPENING)

Cuadro FlamencoFebruary 24, 2012, 8pm, St. James Hall.

Performers include Rosario Ancer, Victor Kolstee, company members Melanie Meyers and Veronica Stewart, singer Stephanie Pedraza, and Flamenco Rosario Professional Training graduates Katia Flores, Zehra Pirani LeRoy, and Simone Leung.

FOURTH ANNUAL GALA DINNERSunday, April 1, 2012, 6pm, Chill Winston.

This year’s gala is happening on April Fools’ Day. Be prepared for some extra fun and surprises!

Chill Winston’s chef is designing a special menu just for us. We’ll have a silent auction and a flamenco performance to keep you entertained.

This is the Vancouver Flamenco social event of the year - don’t miss it! Tickets are $95 per person, $48 of which is a charitable donation for which you receive a tax deductible receipt.

For ticket information call the Flamenco Rosario office at 604-737-1273.


5“Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Board, nor the Organization.”Comments welcome: [email protected]

SPANISH ExPLORERS LEAVE A LEGACY

We are familiar with the British legacy to BC. After all, the city we live in is named after the British explorer, Captain George Vancouver. There is another legacy to BC history and place names, that of Spanish exploration along our coast. How many are familiar with these place names yet know nothing of where they come from:

Tofino: Explorers Galiano and Valdes named Tofino Inlet in 1792 in honour of their teacher, Spanish hydrographer Captain Vincente Tofiño de San Miguel.

Galiano Island/Valdés Island: Two commanders of the Spanish navy, Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés, explored Canada’s Pacific coast in 1792. They are remembered in the naming of Galiano Island and Valdés Island in the Strait of Georgia.

Quadra Island: Named for Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (1743-1794), a Spanish naval officer and explorer who sailed up the B.C. coast in 1755 and 1779.

Port Alberni: Commemorates Don Pedro de Alberni, founder of a failed Spanish colony at Nootka, B.C.

Vancouver-Point Grey has reminders of the Spanish connection: Alma (Street) means “soul” in Spanish; Blanca (Street) means “white” in Spanish. We also have Langara College, named after Spanish naval commander Juan de Lángara.

Ships of the Spanish navy operating from Mexico were particularly active, extending their voyages to the missions in California to explore and claim sovereignty over the coasts of modern day Alaska and British Columbia. During the period 1789-1796, they also established a short-lived settlement at Yuquot in Friendly Cove in Nootka Sound which became the centre of their activities.

The Alberni Valley Museum presented the exhibit NOOTKA: A Return to a Forgotten Past in 2001. This exhibit documented Spanish explorations of the Northwest Coast during the late 1700s and the

people and places they encountered. It presented photographs of the most important images of maps, people, places and artifacts still existing from this time when the Malaspina Expedition brought artists Jose Cardero and Tomas Suria to the coast. These images from a far off time, but of places and people familiar to us, such as the great Chief Maquinna, are a treasured legacy of our very earliest history and a fascinating glimpse into a world of contact and encounter, when two civilizations met and engaged each other on the Northwest Coast of Canada.

The exhibit was originally organized by the Museum of Ethnology in Barcelona and travelled throughout Spain. Following the tour, the display was then presented by the Government of Spain to the Mowachat/Muchalaht people of Nootka Sound, whose ancestors met some of the great figures of the age of exploration.

Sources:

Nootka go back to past: [Final Edition] Alberni Valley Times [Port Alberni, B.C] 05 June 2001: 5.

http://www.gotofino.com/tofinoarticles/tofinorearadmiralvincentetofino17321795kengibson.html

http://www.billcasselman.com/opening_page_two/spanish_placenames_two.html

Flamenco Voice - La Voz del Flamenco Newslett er

“Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Board, nor the Organizati on.”Comments welcome: info@fl amencorosario.org

6

GARCIA LORCA TRIBUTE NOW AND THEN

The 2011 Flamenco Festi val included a tribute to Spanish poet, Federico Garcia Lorca:

“Javier Barón draws from deep wells as a fl amenco dancer and choreographer. Ten years ago, he was asked by Laura Garcia Lorca to create a work in honour of her uncle Federico, the Andalucian poet and dramati st who was murdered during the Spanish Civil War, and who was a great fl amenco afi cionado. … In Dime (Tell Me), Barón performed as part of a group of friends … who gather around Lorca on a hot summer night. When he comes to the Vancouver Playhouse as part of the Vancouver Internati onal Flamenco Festi val, … music and dance from Dime will feature on the program.”

Source: Georgia Straight (September 29-October 6, 2011), by Tony Montague.

Here is how Rosario Ancer, Victor Kolstee and others honoured him in 1993:


�“Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Board, nor the Organization.”Comments welcome: [email protected]

VANCOUVER FLAMENCO RETROSPECTIVE: OSCAR NIETO

My formative years in flamenco and Spanish dance include working with Antonio Gades, Lola Montes, Jose Greco and Ciro. I was fortunate to be living in Los Angeles, California. Spain was there in the personas of these living legends.

In 1983, guitarist and friend Greg Wolfe invited me to come to Vancouver for a break from the midwest Boston Flamenco Ballet tours. It was a visit that was to change my life. I’m still here twenty-eight years later.

When I first arrived in Vancouver, there was little flamenco to speak of - singer José Lara and dancer Angel Monzon. Flamenco and Middle Eastern dancer Jocelyn Chouinard, known as Joselina, was also here. She produced the first flamenco event that I performed in along with Greg Wolfe and José Lara at the Arts Club Seymour Street Stage. It is no longer there. Greg now resides in Portland, Oregon. José is still going strong, singing weekly at the Kino Café on Cambie Street in Vancouver. Jocelyn now focuses on Middle Eastern dance, travelling the world teaching courses for this art form.

When word got out that I was in town, students started asking me to give classes in flamenco. I started teaching. through Greg Wolfe, and I was introduced to other local musicians and quickly welcomed into the music scene around the time that “World Music” was taking shape. I became lead singer for the flamenco fusion band, Flamenco Heresy. We combined flamenco rumbas, a la the Gypsy Kings, Latin tunes and I also danced flamenco. The band was

active for a number of years, performing at many venues around Vancouver. One of the highlights for the band was playing at Expo ’86. (continued on page 8)

Flamenco Heresy concert poster. Courtesy of Flamenco Rosario archives.



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(continued from page 7) Along with Greg Wolfe, other members of Flamenco Heresy were Ian Ayre McConkey, Mario Zetina, Michael Dunn, Dennis Nichol, Jerome Jarvis and Kathy Kidd.

I met Victor Kolstee about a year after my arrival. He had returned from living and studying in Spain. We worked together in one of the first concerts I produced at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

In this concert, I also worked with singer Angel Juarez. Victor’s wife, Rosario Ancer, arrived within the year with their daughter Alexandra and newly-born son Antonio. He and Rosario had met while in Spain. Flamenco guitarist Gerardo Alcala also came on the scene in the mid ‘80s.

Some of the first gigs that I did with Rosario and Victor were at a Spanish restaurant in Gastown, the Barcelona, the Classical Joint, the Arts Club Review Theatre and various other venues around Vancouver. They both worked with me in my company, Mozaico Flamenco, on a number of occasions until they moved to Mexico. On their return to Vancouver, Rosario started her own studio, Centro Flamenco.

This is the third part of a new series. The complete article is called “Vancouver Flamenco Retrospective, 1950-1989”. It includes Kay Armstrong, archival documents, a flamenco student of the early days, Victor Kolstee, Angel Monzon, Huguette Lacourse and Bluma Field. If you know someone else or something else we need to include, please contact the office at ([email protected]) to share their name and flamenco details. There will be a link to the complete article on the home page of the Flamenco Rosario website when all sections have been produced in the newsletter.

Oscar Nieto and Mozaico Flamenco. Courtesy of Flamenco Rosario archives.

Documents

FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLAMENCO CONFERENCE · 2012. 2. 23. · FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLAMENCO CONFERENCE I att ended the First Internati onal Flamenco Conference in Seville, Spain in November