After a nine-year hiatus, an East Hawaii audience will experience the mysterious, passionate and complex Spanish art form known as flamenco when the University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center and the Hawaii Concert Society co-present Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana this Friday.
The company, an all-star international cast of dancers, singers and guitarists, will perform starting at 7 p.m.
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023. With home bases in New York City and Durham, N.C., the company reaches more than 30,000 people nationwide each year by promoting flamenco as a living art form and a vital part of Hispanic heritage.
Called “The Keeper of Flamenco” by Dance Magazine, founder Carlota Santana has been honored by the king of Spain with “La Cruz de la Orden al Merito Civil” for excellence and dedication to maintaining the flamenco art in the U.S.
Flamenco — which combines music, song and dance — originated from gypsies in the south of Spain in the 15th century and was influenced greatly by the Islamic, Jewish, Indian, Moorish and Christian cultures there.
The precarious conditions in Spain at that time and during the following two centuries, when most of the above groups were brutally persecuted, made it inevitable that flamenco would often dwell on the more tragic aspects of existence.
However, by blending traditional flamenco with fresh ideas and pushing the limits of its structure, the company’s new work, Quinto Elemento (Fifth Element), expands the boundaries of flamenco.
Choreographed by award-winning dancer-choreographer Patricia Guerrero and set to an original score by Grammy-nominated composer Jose Luis de la Paz, Quinto Elemento delves into the mysterious unseen yet ever-present “essence“ that makes up the space around us.
Often known as “ether,” according to Guerrero it has been reborn in the modern concept of dark energy as the essence responsible for the current acceleration of the universe that is observed by telescopes.
The 75-minute piece aims to extract flamenco’s essence through six dancers, two guitarists and two singers.
While many companies specialize in one aspect of flamenco, Flamenco Vivo is “like a fan” — displaying a wide range of styles, traditional to modern, and employing an array of practitioners, veteran to up-and-coming.
Ticket prices for the performance at UH-Hilo are $30 (general), $25 (60-plus), $15 (student) and may be purchased at https://pay.hilo.hawaii.edu/pac/tickets/, or by phone at 932-7490 Tuesday-Thursday, 9-11 a.m. Remaining tickets, at $5 higher prices, will be sold at the door.
The company also will perform at 2 p.m. at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea on Sunday, March 16.
