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February 17, 2008, 1:30pm
Port Coquitlam, BC
"PORT COQUITLAM COFFEE CONCERT"
The vibrant virtuosity of flamenco come vividly to life in the "Port Coquitlam Coffee Concert" on Sunday February 17th, 1:30pm by Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre. The program presents nine spectacular artists in contemporary flamenco vignettes and traditional cuadro flamenco!
Join us in PoCo for this fabulous FREE performance!
Date: February 17, 2008
Time: 1:30 - 3:30pm
Talk to the artists after the show over coffee!
Venue: Terry Fox Theatre, Port Coquitlam, BC.
Cost: By donation
Box Office: At the door at Terry Fox Theatre,
www.terryfoxtheatre.com
Children go free! Adults pay by donation.
Thank you to The City of Port Coquitlam,
Parks & Recreation Department
for producing this event!
Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre artists in this concert include:
Oscar Nieto, Artistic Director
Kasandra La China, Choreographer & Director
Gerardo Alcala, Guitar
Pirouz de Caspio, Singer
Stephanie Pedraza, Dance Soloist/Singer
Michelle Harding, Dance Soloist
Ana "Anita de Bornos" Llanes, Dance Soloist
Andrea Williams, Mozaico Flamenco Dancer
Cyrena Huang, Mozaico Flamenco Dancer
Monica Perez-Laurin, Mozaico Flamenco Dancer
Shyiang Strong, Mozaico Flamenco Dancer
Mozaico Flamenco Dancers
Photo by Harry Brewster
The program will include contemporary dance company vignettes featuring work with manton (shawl), bata de cola (long train) and of course, castanets! Also be mesmerized by stunning dance solos --Alegria, Seguirya and Solea por Bulerias -- and guitar and cante solos.
BIOGRAPHIES
Oscar Nieto
Artistic Director
Oscar Nieto has become one of North America’s most acclaimed flamenco dancers since launching his professional dance career at the Chicago Lyric Opera House in 1969. Following his debut performance, he was invited to work with Lola Montes and her Spanish Ballet, and with the José Greco Company. A tour of Europe with José Antonio’s Ballet Silouetas took Mr. Nieto to Spain where he embarked upon an intensive study of Spanish flamenco, regional and classico dance forms. Upon his return to North America he worked with flamenco masters Ciro & Antonio Gades. Oscar has performed and choreographed for the Boston Ballet, the Boston Flamenco Ballet, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver Opera. His impeccable technique, striking choreography, and overwhelming stage presence have earned lavish praise from press and public.
Oscar has dedicated years to the study of the origins of flamenco, regional & classical Spanish dance forms. He is a fountain of knowledge from a cultural-historical standpoint. In 1998, Oscar received a Canada Council Grant to study the evolution of flamenco and Spanish dance in Spain. In 2004, he received a BC Arts Council grant to mount “Espiritu Sin Nombre”, ‘Spirit Without Name’, a multi-media dance, music and art presentation based on a poem by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. In 2005, Oscar won a Canada Council for the Arts grant to assist him in the development of his documentary on the life of his mentor, Lola Montes. In addition, he is the first flamenco dancer ever to receive the prestigious Jacqueline Lemieux Prize, awarded annually to the most deserving applicant in the Canada Council’s Dance Professionals program. He was selected in recognition of his long standing contribution to the art of flamenco in Canada.
Kasandra La China
Producer/Choreographer
VIDF 2007 - Photo by Elvira Yebes
Kasandra “La China” is the producer and choreographer for Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre's performance at the Port Coquitlam Coffee Concert. She has worked intimately with Oscar Nieto as his protégé since 2001. She has been identified as the city's rising flamenco star who has embodied flamenco with her dynamic, precise style, earning her the enviable reputation as one of the finest bailaoras in Vancouver.
As a choreographer, Kasandra has created many original pieces for Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre and has a reputation for her innovation, style and polish. As Canada’s only professional flamenco dancer of Chinese heritage, she leads the company’s project, Café de Chinitas or “Chinese Café”, as its artistic director. Café de Chinitas showcases Flamenco with an Asian twist, fusing the ethereal melodies of Vancouver’s Orchid Ensemble, integrating Asian themes and costumes. The theatrical series and the Granville Island tablao series have received rave reviews from the press. Kasandra’s mission is to promote multiculturalism and innovate flamenco in a way that reflects her own cultural background and our distinct Canadian identity.
To stay on the cutting edge of Flamenco, Kasandra has made seven trips to Spain in the past nine years for intensive study in Madrid, Seville and Jerez de la Frontera. In 2005, the Canada Council for the Arts awarded Kasandra the Emerging Artist study grant to further her training. She has studied with Matilde Coral, Immaculada Aguilar, Victoria Eugenia, Merche Esmeralda, Manolete, Javier Baron, Rafaela Carrasco, Belen Maya, Isabel Bayon, Mercedes Ruiz, Ana Maria Lopez, Maria Chacha Bermudez, La China and Carmela Greco.
In September 2002, Kasandra and Oscar Nieto created Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy in Vancouver, BC. The academy’s mission is to provide the best flamenco dance training possible by integrating dance, music, song & rhythm, while adhering to the highest technical & artistic standards. Kasandra inspires hundreds of flamenco students each year and has brought countless devotees to flamenco.
Gerardo Alcala
Tocaor / Flamenco Guitar
New Orleans born flamenco guitarist, Gerardo Alcala, is one of the few foreigners to be respected as a full-fledged Flamenco artist by the gypsy Flamencos of Andalucia, among whom he lived the authentic lifestyle for many years. He learned his art from Rafael del Aguila, Parrila de Jerez, Nino Jero, Rafael Alarcon, Eduardo de la Malena and Pedro Bacan. In the intimate closed-door sessions, or juergas, where the pure soul of Flamenco, el Duende, can surge forth in all its savage beauty, he has spent countless hours accompanying great gypsy singers including the Agujetas clan, Gitano de Bronce, El Garbanzo, El Monea, Salmonete, Chato de la Isla and many others.
He has performed professionally in major theatres on three continenets, including Carnegie Hall, as well as for television, radio and film. In the US, he toured extensively with the Spanish dance companies of Jose Molina and Teo Morca and did many recitals with the legendary Anzonini del Puerto. In Spain, he performed with the all-gypsy company of Fernanda Romero and has had particularly long and close relationships with the Agujetas family, including Manuel Agujetas, who as preserved the deepest and purest singing in Spain. With them, he was featured as sole accompanist in the prestigious Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and in the Dutch fiom Duende.
In 1990, he was honored to become the first North American ever to be
contracted to perform as a soloist in the Bienal de Sevilla, Spain’s most important Flamenco Festival. In 1998, he accompanied Luis Agujetas on his CD “Entre Tu Tierra y La Mia”. In 2000, he appeared accompanying Luis, Diego, and Paco Agujetas in the film “El Turista Soy Yo”. In 2002, he was the first guitarist at Mexico’s most important tablao “Gitanerias” and did a three month tour of Spain and France, accompanying the singer, Dolores Agujetas.
Pirouz de Caspio
Cantaor / Singer
Born in Tehran, Iran in 1969, Pirouz de Caspio was brought up in a rich musical culture dating back thousands of years - A culture which has heavily influenced many aspects of the flamenco art form; especially the song forms.
Pirouz started his formal introduction to music at the age of six. This included singing, and learning to play the piano. It was not until age 15 when he was first introduced to flamenco through Paco de Lucia’s music. That was the start of his journey into flamenco which continued even after he migrated to Vancouver, Canada in 1988.
He has immersed himself in the art of flamenco in many different ways. He is the creator of www.flamenco.ca which was developed to promote and nurture the art and culture of flamenco in Canada. Now, after only 5 years, this site has over 30,000 visitors per month and offers one of the most popular internet-based flamenco radios called “Flamenco Beat” which broadcasts authentic flamenco music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This site was selected and published as “The site of the Month” in one of Spain’s most prominent flamenco publications called “Alma100”.
He also founded “Peña Bulería Flamenco Club” in Vancouver in August of 2003 (www.penabuleria.com). This club’s aim is to promote local and international flamenco artists by producing spectacles and coordinating workshops. Since its inception, the club has produced 12 unique concerts by local and internationally acclaimed flamenco artists.
As Pirouz does not believe that flamenco can be learned in the classroom, he has primarily learned his flamenco through interactions with national and international artists and through recorded music and videos. Pirouz has had the opportunity to study with and learn from many well known singers from Spain including David Lagos, Rafael de Utrera, Maria Fernandez, Cristo Cortes, Paco de Leon, and Enrique Soto. His favourite flamenco singer of all times is Camarón de la Isla and his favourite flamenco guitarist is Paco de Lucía, also known as “El Jefe”.
Pirouz has appeared in many flamenco concerts, festival, and shows with national and international flamenco artists since the start of his journey into flamenco.
Stephanie Pedraza
Cantaora y Bailaora / Singer & Dancer
Born in Toronto, Canada in 1980, Stephanie Pedraza carries with her over 17 years of artistic experience. She is a unique combination of singer, song writer and dancer. Born into a Latin American family and having moved to Colombia at a very early age, she has been constantly immersed in her Latin roots of song and dance, these same roots which would become her main source for creative inspiration. Music and dance has always been an immense part of her life as well as her culture.
She began her studies in flamenco dance at Centro Flamenco with Rosario Ancer. Twice, she has been awarded the “Advanced Arts Scholarship” granted by “The Vancouver Foundation” which has enabled her to study in Sevilla, Spain, where she attended the recognized conservatory Fundación de Arte Flamenco Cristina Heeren and studied with some of the most significant figures in flamenco, including Milagros Menjibar, Carmen Ledesma, Javi Navarro, Isabel Bayon, Andres Pena and Sonia Miranda.
She has been a musical collaborator for various musical recording projects in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Spain and Canada. In 2005, she entered to form part of the Latin/Flamenco fussion musical group LAKAYE based in Sevilla. With the release of their first album, she has appeared on Canal Sur Espana television channel and performed at the Sala Chicote concert hall in Sevilla.
She has performed alongside notable flamenco artists in Vancouver including Oscar Nieto, Kasandra “ La China”, Peter Mole and Victor Kolstee to name a few. She has been invited on several occasions to sing for Al Mozaico Dance Academy and Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theater. She can be seen weekly performing at The Kino Cafe in Vancouver. She has recently completed the recording of her first musical production as a soloist in Bogota, Colombia.
On stage, whether it through dance or song, she conveys deep emotions and personal experience earning the hearts of audiences. It is with great determination she continues her journey towards success as a young artist.
Michelle Harding
Bailaora / Dancer
Michelle Harding made her debut as a member of Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre in Poemas de Alegria in 2005. She began studying flamenco in 2001 with Oscar Nieto and Kasandra La China at Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy. Since then, she has traveled twice to Jerez de la Frontera to learn from Mercedes Ruiz, Maria Jose Franco, Matilde Coral, Antonio El Pipa, Maria Bermudez and Ana Maria Lopez. She performs regularly with Moraima at the Kino Café in Vancouver and has worked with many local groups including Flamenco Alcala, Aire Flamenco, Mimbre, Pena Buleria and Sol Flamenco. She performs at community events throughout the Lower Mainland, such as Walk with the Dragon, White Rock Spirit of the Sea Festival, In the House, the PNE and the Powell Street Festival. Michelle is inspired most of all by the paradox that is the essence of flamenco, an art that is at once passionate and restrained, harsh and beautiful, profoundly moving and playfully lighthearted.
Ana "Anita de Bornos" Llanes
Bailaora / Dancer
Trained in classical ballet as a child, Ana Llanes began her studies of Flamenco at the Al Mozaico Flamenco Academy in 2004. For the next three years she delved into intensive training under both Oscar Nieto and Kasandra La China. In 2006, she began performing professionally throughout Vancouver in various venues including the Kino Café, Mona´s Lebanese Restaurant and the Libra Room. She also performed in the Jondo Flamenco Festival and Spirit of the Sea Festival in 2006.
In August 2006, Ana moved to the famous flamenco city, Jerez de la Frontera, where she would spend the next year training under such masters as Ana María López, Mercedes Ruíz, María "Chacha" Bermúdez, and last but not least, the well-respected bailaora, Manuela Carpio, who before Ana's departure from Spain, selected her among many students to participate in her annual year-end performance held in downtown Jerez at the Sala de Compañia. Though honoured to have studied under such great teachers while in Andalucia, Ana equally attributes her understanding of the art of Flamenco to the great deal of time she spent in the presence of such illustrious friends as Periquín "Niño Jero" and his family, Moraito and his son Diego de Morao, Diego Carrasco, Curro Carrasco of Navajita Plateá, Antonio "El Monea" and the sons of Manuel Soto "Sordera", Vicente Soto, Joselito "Sorderita", and El Bo. Ana returned from Spain to Canada in the summer of 2007 to continue her professional career as a dancer in Vancouver B.C. She can be seen performing weekly at the East is East.
Andrea Williams
Mozaico Flamenco Dancer
"Imagenes del Oriente 2007 " - Photo by Elvira Yebes
Andrea made her debut with the company in the 2004 production “Espiritu sin Nombre” & has since performed with the ensemble in "Poemas de Alegria" (2005) and “Café de Chinitas” (2006), in the Vancouver International Dance Festival (2005, 2007 soloist), & with the VSO. Andrea's credits also extend to numerous performances in Vancouver & the Lower Mainland, 100 Mile House, Squamish & St. John’s, Newfoundland. She continues to train in Flamenco & Classico Español with Oscar Nieto & Kasandra La China & has studied with such renowned teachers as Rosario Ancer, Evelyne Benais, Sara de Luis, Concha Vargas, Carmen Romero, & Maria “Cha Cha” Bermudez. Andrea currently teaches dance at Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy in Vancouver.
Cyrena Huang
Mozaico Flamenco Dancer
Cyrena was trained as a professional cellist from the age of 4, but her life changed forever one fateful evening many years ago, when the sounds of fiery strumming and soulful lament drew her inside a flamenco cafe. She immediately began studying flamenco dance with Kasandra La China and joined the Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy where she continues her studies. Soon she was collaborating with Kasandra La China and guitarist Pedro Mole as Vancouver's first flamenco cellist, performing at the Vancouver International Dance Festival, The Heart of the City Festival, The Pena Buleria Jondo Flamenco Festival and the Mozaico Flamenco productions, "Poemas de Alegria" and "Cafe de Chinitas". In 2007, she studied with the flamenco gypsy violinist, Bernardo Parilla.
As a dancer, she has studied with Adela Campallo, Isabel Bayon, Maria ChaCha Bermudez, Josua Vivancos and Myriam Allard. She has danced for Imagine 2010, Walk with the Dragon, the PNE, the Powell Street Festival, Chinese New Year Celebrations, the Vancouver European Festival and at the Kino Cafe. She has recently begun singing flamenco, having studied with El Veneno and Ana De Los Reyes from Spain.
She is currently on faculty at the Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy, teaching Flamenco for Children. "Flamenco is deep in my soul. It is a force of nature and has both the power to sustain me and to shake me to the core . Nothing touches me as deeply as flamenco."
Monica Perez-Laurin
Mozaico Flamenco Dancer
Monica was born in Gibraltar on the Mediterranean coast. Growing up in a culture and family that embraces “the spirit of flamenco”, she has cultivated her innate passion for flamenco by actively studying and performing in Vancouver. Monica has primarily studied with Kasandra La China and Oscar Nieto of Mozaico Flamenco. In Spring 2006, she studied at the Festival de Jerez with Angelita Gomez, El Pipa and Ana Morales. She has also studied in workshops with Maria Bermudez, Andre Marin, Myriam Allard, Carmen De Torres and Veronica Mcquire. She made her debut with Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre in the 2005 production, “ Poemas de Alegria”. Monica will continue to shape and mould her flamenco career in Canada by studying the new and old Flamenco Estilos. "Flamenco is a life long journey. Like anything in life it takes patience, time, love and focus. It is an ancient culture; a true feeling from within."
Shyiang Strong
Mozaico Flamenco Dancer
"Imagenes del Oriente 2007" - Photo by Sandra Leung
Shyiang began dancing at age 9 studying ballet, tap & acrobatics. She discovered her passion for flamenco under the guidance of Kasandra La China & Oscar Nieto, and has been a member of Mozaico Flamenco since 2003. Shyiang has performed in “Lola Montes and the Art of Spanish Dance”, “Espiritu sin Nombre”, the 2005 Vancouver International Dance Festival, “Poemas de Alegria” and the "Cafe de Chinitas" series. She has also participated in local festivals including Imagine 2010, Celebrate BC, Canada Day & the Chinatown Festival. In 2003 & 2005, Shyiang attended workshops in Jerez de la Frontera with Inmaculada Aguilar, Victoria Eugenia, Maria del Moreno, Antonio El Pipa & Maria Jose Francos. She has also studied with Josua Vivancos, Cristina Hall, Myriam Allard, Maria Bermudez, Andres Marin, Alejandro Granados & Concha Vargas.
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