Tsawwassen Flamenco group ready to let The Phoenix fly
Los Gitanos Flamenco Dance Company will be presenting The Phoenix, Flamenco Fire at the Tsawwassen Arts Centre on June 1-3 which is being billed as an explosive blend of dance, live painting and music.
Organizers say the the show is unlike anything produced before in Tsawwassen.
“I am very excited to have partnered this year with so many talented artists in our community which allowed us to fuse our seemingly different styles into one incredible performance,” said Bev Mantovani, owner and choreographer of Los Gitanos Spanish School of Dance in Tsawwassen. “This show allowed the perfect opportunity to combine our different talents into one unique flamenco presentation. You won’t even find this in Spain.”
The audience will witness the development of live painting as it is created to the sounds of Spanish guitar, soulful songs, rhythmic palmas and castanets, intricate zapateo (footwork), compelling piano and violin, and the warmth of percussion.
“Garett Campbell-Wilson is a young, curious and extremely talented (Tsawwassen) artist who loves to find ways to progressively take his work to a new level,” Mantovani said. “He has tried live painting before to violin music, but not to flamenco dance; he instantly accepted the challenge. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with him and I can’t wait to see what he will develop during our performance.”
One of the songs at the performance called “Poeta” by Spanish flamenco composer Vicente Amigo has been recorded by the students of the Delta Community Music School led by Stephen Robb.
The second part of the song will be played live by Robb and one of the violinists at the music school.
“A few years ago, we partnered with Stephen and his students and we fused classical music with flamenco and the result was amazing,” said Mantovani. “Stephen is such a professional musician, I look forward every time we have the opportunity to collaborate.”
Other partners in this performance include local musician and percussionist Dave McIlory.
“You would think Dave was born playing the cajon, this special box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru. He has such an incredible sense of rhythm and deep understanding of music,” said Mantovani.
Three well-known talented artists from the flamenco scene in Vancouver and long time associates of Los Gitanos are “cantaora” (singer) Jafelin Heltin, guitarist Peter Mole and teacher Oscar Nieto.
“I cannot imagine doing a show without them,” Mantovani said. “They are the best in the business. Their knowledge, years of experience and love of this genre are a gift to our audience who sometimes are not very familiar with their art form.”
The performances run June 1 and 2 starting at 7 p.m. and June 3 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by calling 604-948-8081 or email info@losgitanos.ca.
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.