COMING EVENTS

PERFORMANCES:

4 MAY TO 17 MAY 2010

SINGAPORE – various workshops and performances to be held featuring el Titi de Algeciras and Antonio Vargas. For more information contact Antonio through his FACEBOOK page.

SUNDAY JUNE 6TH – BODY MIND & PSYCHIC FESTIVAL

Hamilton Hall – Wayville Showgrounds.
Triana Flamenco Dance Studio will be performing at 3.00pm.

For more information, news and views – visit our facebook site Triana Flamenco Dance Studio.

Major Events Of The Last 12 Months

Saturday 9 January and weekly for 6 weeks at 7.30pm.

Singer - el Titi de Algeciras with Aloysius Leeson accompanying, will be performing with a dancer at Casablabla, Leigh Street in the city.

February 13th. FLAMENCO CABARET at Red Poles Café, McLaren Vale from 7pm.

The Veronica Vargas Dance Flamenco Co will be performing featuring el Titi de Algeciras – singer Aloysius Leeson on guitar and dancers Michaela Nelson and Danielle Makras on this special night celebrating Valentines Day.

TABLAO FLAMENCO TRIANA

SUNDAY 18 OCTOBER AT 3PM

Where: Folk Centre, Cnr South Road and George St Thebarton
Tickets: $25/20/12. Prepaid 22/18/12. Children 6-12 yrs free
Tickets available at door. On-site parking available. Open Bar.

Featuring Triana Flamenco Dance Group with a special appearance by Veronica Vargas.
Guest Artists: Gypsy flamenco singer ‘el Titi de Algeciras’
Flamenco Guitarist Aloysius Leeson
Award winning violinist Amaya Flores Williams

Bookings: 0438 366 931

VIVA TRIANA – Gypsy Passion

A spectacular performance of flamenco produced by Veronica Vargas, Two special guest stars give this production its authenticity and authority. Internationally acclaimed gypsy singer ‘el Titi de Algeciras’ together with one of Australia’s top flamenco dancers – from Sydney - ‘Ana Otero’. Talented flamenco guitarist Aloysius Leeson completes the lineup.

Saturday 27 September

FLAMENCO, GYPSY & ALL THAT JAZZ

A fun-filled, entertaining night of music, song and dance with Triana Flamenco dancers, Russian Group Volya and Singers from the Sphinx Creative Centre.

Guest artists:
Gypsy singer: el Titi de Algeciras
Guitarist: Aloysius Leeson.

6 – 9 JULY 2008

FLAMENCO DANCE WORKSHOPS WITH ANA OTERO FROM SYDNEY

2 - 4 MAY 2008 - COMMONWEALTH BANK POLICE TATTOO

The Commonwealth Bank Police Tattoo is returning to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre with an ‘ALL NEW’ exciting and spectacular show including performing groups from around the world, thrilling audiences with music, song, dance, precision marching and much more! This year the Veronica Vargas Dance Flamenco Company will be performing to an estimated audience of 22,000.

This special event will feature many never before seen international and national acts, as well as special guest performer Mr Todd McKenney from Dancing With the Stars. Get ready to be entertained. Tickets available form Ticketek.

SATURDAY 25 AUGUST

ESPANA OLE! A Gypsy Journey

Presented by Veronica Vargas Dance Flamenco Company.
Union Theatre, Adelaide University.
2 performances - 2pm and 8pm.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH -- 8PM
A SPANISH NIGHT OF FUN, FIESTA AND FLAMENCO
at the Villa Condesa Restaurant with Veronica Vargas Flamenco.
A la carte menu -- international cuisine, tapas and sangria available
BOOK NOW -- Telephone 8269 7733. www.villacondesa.com.au
Venue: 89 Prospect Road, Prospect.

FIESTA AT PENNYS HILL WINERY -- 14 OCTOBER.
Veronica Vargas Flamenco with guest guitarist JOSE' GIRALDO from Madrid.
For bookings and more information ring the Winery on Tel. (08) 8556 4460.

Contact Veronica Vargas on 0438 366 931 for more information.

FIESTA FLAMENCA -- a night of 'flamenco, fun and fiesta'.
Saturday 20 May at 8pm. $15/10.
Venue: Triana Studios.

El Titi de Algeciras performed in ALBENIZ, CIRCULO DE FUEGO, The Street Theatre, Canberra on 13 and 14 February 2006.

El Titi de Algeciras performed with Danza Viva Company in Perth on 3 & 4 February 2006.

SUMMER WORKSHOP WITH ANA ROMERO FROM MADRID

For the first time in Adelaide, Ana Romero, Flamenco Dancer from Madrid, will be giving Flamenco Dance Workshops at the Triana Studios for Intermediate to Advanced Levels. 3,4 & 5 February 2006. Contact Veronica Vargas for more information.

PASION FLAMENCA

Saturday 8 October – Barossa Regional Gallery, Tanunda

PASION FLAMENCA

Saturday 20 August – Echunga Institute

PASION FLAMENCA

Festival Space Theatre – January 2005

BOLERO FLAMENCO

Scott Theatre October 2004

PACO PENA PERFORMANCE & MASTERCLASS 2 SEPTEMBER 2005

For those that did the Master class and saw the performance – I’m sure you’ll all agree that it was worthwhile. Angel Munoz is an excellent teacher, showing consideration for those having trouble keeping up. His technique made everyone work hard and the Bulerias choreography was ‘gracioso’ and very gypsy. Rafael Montilla, main guitarist after Paco Pena, volunteered to come and play for the class as he wanted to catch up with Titi and myself. He was the guitarist we had at the last workshop with Fernando Romero. It wont surprise anyone to know that Rafael, Angel and our own Titi are related. Titi singing Bulerias for the class completed the trio and made for a perfect flamenco experience.

The performance of Paco’s Company was great – all performers were exciting to watch. My own personal favourite was Angel’s Solea por Bulerias which was very flamenco, very gypsy and so emotional it sent shivers down my spine – not an easy thing to do to me, when I have seen and experienced so much flamenco in Spain for so many years. His dance for me was a spiritual experience.

Check out the photos of the class in the photo gallery.

FLAMENCO!
By Veronica Vargas

¡Flamenco! - images of frills, driving staccato rhythms, gypsies with dark flashing eyes, guitars - hot, steamy nights in Spain!! Well it’s all true if you’re a tourist, however, if you’re the artist, there is another, more serious side to this.

As a flamenco dancer and teacher for over 20 years I’m constantly surprised at the lack of appreciation and knowledge that still exists regarding Spanish flamenco dance.

Flamenco dance is an exciting and challenging dance form that attracts people by its basic rawness and passion. It derives its roots from the gypsies who originally came from India and reflects a variety of cultures, in particular the Moors - all of which have left their mark in the music and dance of the south of Spain. Most people think of it as unstructured gypsy dancing and that after a night watching it, anyone can do it by stamping feet and waving arms around. In fact the rhythms of the music and the dance co-ordination needed to execute this, together with the ability to improvise, makes it one of the most complicated dance forms to learn outside of its borders.

Contrary to popular belief - a professional flamenco dancer has to be trained. Flamenco with its evolution is constantly developing new techniques. Flamenco dancers like other dancers need to look after and train their bodies and have an understanding of how they work. In addition to flamenco classes, dancers in Spain also attend classical Spanish and even contemporary dance classes. The demands on dancers today, particularly on female dancers, makes it necessary to have a high level of fitness.

Early this century women did very little footwork leaving that to the men, concentrating instead on the grace and beauty of their arms, wrists and upper body. Today the female dancer is expected to have the same strength and feet technique of the male as well as the upper body work.

Flamenco dancers work to live music, the essential ingredients to a performance being the dancer, singer, guitarist and sincerity. The SINGER, contrary to what most people outside of Spain believe, is the main focus – flamenco began with singing – the guitar was a late addition. Flamenco is a pure, very personal art and a dancer who pretends passion will not hold the audience. Like good jazz improvisation, individual expression can only happen within a group performance and a good performance relies on the members supporting and trusting each other. So it’s best the dancer not argue with the group before performing as the guitarist may play out of time and the singer decide to sing at inappropriate times.

I have spent years studying in Seville and Madrid with some of the leading exponents of flamenco, which gave me not only formal training in the understanding of different approaches and techniques, but an intimate comprehension of the role flamenco plays in the everyday life of Spaniards - I’ve not only danced it I’ve lived it! While it’s important for all budding flamenco artists to go to Spain to study, the usual 6 week stint is only the tip of the iceberg and that to fully appreciate flamenco a dancer needs to enter the culture and not just learn steps.

Flamenco is an evolving art form. It’s important to experiment, to do something fresh and new, but it’s even more important not to forget its roots and to respect its traditions. When an art form evolves it’s the result of life evolving and dancers need to look to the past to learn and study the way people danced, even though it was simpler. It’s necessary to understand the spirit of those dancers and what they contributed, because they are the ones that led the way for dancers of today. This applies generally across the arts.

The mistake many artists, whether they dance or play guitar, make is to involve themselves with the new and latest ‘fads’ without having a good basic knowledge of the traditional. In Spain, all the trendsetters in flamenco are thoroughly versed and experts in traditional flamenco and from there seek something new.

It’s also important to acknowledge that there are fashions in dance which come and go. Quality survives - fashion doesn’t.

Obviously people in Australia have a different relationship to the art. Local performers initially find it difficult to develop the natural grace, posture and body line that comes from being brought up in Spain and dancing from an early age. Its not part of everyday life here and the natural reserve of Australians can constrain the emotional rawness which fuels flamenco making it initially difficult for students to express themselves.

As a performer I always try to convey the purity and tradition of flamenco in my performances as well as mixing in something new and fresh. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Because we’re not surrounded by the same influences as flamenco artists in Spain, the challenge is to keep abreast of what is happening over there as well as looking to local influences which can work in flamenco.

One cliched image I would like to put to rest and never hear again, is that flamenco works best in a ‘cabaret’ type atmosphere. I hear and read this all the time by people who have no idea and set themselves up as experts and whose ‘spanish’ experience has been limited to those tourist tablaos (commercial flamenco clubs) and 6 weeks in Spain. In Spain, tourists go to tablaos to see flamenco - locals, artists and aficionados go to theatres, festivals and penas (small locally supported, non-commercial flamenco clubs). The majority of flamenco performances are held by dance companies in theatre type venues where the public is not distracted by talking, getting drinks, eating, smoking etc. There are hundreds of intimate flamenco penas which have performances and when that happens, the majority of these venues are set up with concert seating. The bar is usually in another room or closed during the performance. This does not necessarily affect the intimacy and enjoyment of the show. Cabaret style can be good, its fun, but it is not always the best way to enjoy flamenco. Flamenco artists do not like people drinking, talking and smoking while they perform unless they’re in a bar, private house etc or holding an informal fiesta.

I have had the privilege of sitting in on numerous private and spontaneous fiestas where the flamenco has been intimate and magical - these are moments that are always different and could never be repeated on a stage. They are unplanned and usually held after performances. Two examples of these occurred during a festival when a visiting Spanish Dance Company was performing here. The first time was after a Fringe performance of my own Company when some of the visiting artists came to renew their acquaintance with me. We sat outside the venue and the fiesta slowly took on a momentum of its own with singing and dancing until we were asked to leave and consequently invited to a neighbouring restaurant to continue. The second time was a few days later after their own opening night of Carmen. That was entirely different as 50 artists descended on a local spanish restaurant at North Adelaide, launching immediately into song and dance till 4.30 am and the restaurant ran out of beer. It was a wild night.

Attending these private fiestas is not possible for the general public and it can just be a matter of luck if you come across an impromptu one. However, the performances artists put on a stage, whatever the seating arrangements, are the result of a lot of training and hard work and should never be underrated.