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Invitation to students at Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy and artists in the Vancouver Flamenco Community:
Event: "MOZAICO MANIFESTO"
First EVER Mozaico community brainstorm
Date: Sunday September 30, 2007
Time: 1:30-3:30pm
Where: Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy, 828 E. Hastings
Potluck: Please bring a potluck dish to share. This can be tapas, salad, appetizer, dessert, platter or beverages.
To coordinate, please email ANDREA.
RSVP: Please RSVP so that we can organize pizza and chairs. Contact 604-671-9182 or email.
Mozaico Flamenco Community 2005
Andrew Klukas, Elvira Yebes, Kasandra La China, Stephanie Pedraza,
Oscar Nieto, Peter Mole, Cyrena La Sirena (Pic by www.elvirayebes.com)
Many people who come to our Vancouver flamenco performances often comment on the strong sense of community they feel at Mozaico Flamenco. Whether at our El Jaleo performances at the school, community performances or our annual student shows, people always say they get a very warm feeling from Mozaico Flamenco and feel that they can be included in what we are doing.
A community is a social group sharing common interests. In our case, we are all crazy about Flamenco. We interact together, participate in song and dance, share a common environment, but it is our needs and beliefs that give rise to our identity.
For those of you that are new, we will be presenting a short history of Mozaico Flamenco from the perspectives of Oscar Nieto and Kasandra La China. Briefly, Mozaico Flamenco was started 35 years ago by Oscar Nieto in Los Angeles. At that time, it was an avante garde, cutting edge dance company with ideals to integrate Spanish Dances and innovate Flamenco with Latin jazz sounds. In Vancouver in 2002, Oscar and Kasandra La China formed Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy (training school) and Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre (professional company), which are established to continue the tradition of innovation and artistic excellence. However, with a Vancouver twist, we include our own Canadian ideals of multiculturalism, tolerance, lifestyle and balance.
Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre 2005
Monica Perez-Laurin, Shyiang Strong, Michelle Harding, Andrea Williams,
Grace De La Cruz (Pic by www.yaletownphotography.com)
As we head into the future, we have to build our Flamenco Community to include not only dancers but also singers, guitarists, percussionists, collaborative artists and musicians. This community must include the ideals of friendship, communication, inclusion, tolerance, acceptance, generosity, fairness, respect and wisdom.
Oscar and Kasandra have a strong sense of pride in our people, our school, our company and our culture. We wish we could take full credit for all that goes well, but the truth is, we are only a little responsible for it. Yes, we are the instructors aka fearless leaders, but we teach a group of very capable people who have opinions, can participate and take charge of our community. And little by little, each year, we let go and find that our supporters are leaders that, when empowered, can create an even better environment for all of us. Therefore, we would like to hear your ideas.
This Sunday September 30th 1:30-3:30pm, we present the History of Mozaico Flamenco from the perspectives of Oscar Nieto and Kasandra La China, and hold a public forum to brainstorm and discuss the future of our Mozaico Flamenco Community and develop the Mozaico Manifesto. What the heck is a Manifesto? It is a document that reflects our group values, beliefs and ideals. Also, the forum is open to suggestions on how to take our organization into the next 5 years.
Mozaico Dancers 2007
Lisa Sutherland, Priscilla Liang, Farnaz Ohadi, Jesse Fairbrother, Salmeh Ossareh
(Pic by www.elvirayebes.com)
(To prepare for the meeting, think of your own core values and check out the Lululemon Manifesto for some creative ideas to inspire our culture and move us into the future.)
Kasandra y Oscar
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