Brickyard Pond Opens 24th Season with Flamenco Vivo!
KEENE, N.H. 8/31/02 The heart-pulsing sounds of castanets, flamenco guitars, and percussive Spanish dance will greet area audiences when Flamenco Vivo!/Carlotta Santana visits Keene State Colleges Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond. The performance, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, will usher in Brickyard Ponds 24th season of presenting professional theater, music, and dance to the Monadnock Region.
Tickets for Flamenco Vivo! and all Brickyard Pond performances are now available through the Brickyard Pond box office, 603-358-2168, or on the web at www.keene.edu/racbp/. Tickets for the performance are $22 and $18 for the general public; $20 and $16 for seniors and KSC faculty and staff; $10 and $7 for youth 17 and younger; and $5 for KSC students with ID.
The performance is made possible through funding by the New England Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the six state arts agencies of New England.
Ms. Santana founded Flamenco Vivo! in New York City in 1983. Her vision was to create a format whereby new Spanish dance and music could be created and developed. Under her direction the company presents new and dramatic work that highlights Hispanic-American influences. Flamenco Vivo! concerts are noted for their bright panoramic view of flamenco dance styles that strike chords in the emotions of all ages and cultures. The New York Times describes the companys performances as an infectiously joyful celebration of music and dance. Flamenco Vivo!/Carlota Santana are on the web at www.flamenco- vivo.org.
Santana describes flamenco as an inherently multicultural art form. Originally from Andalusia, the southern region of Spain, it developed from the interaction of the many cultures that inhabited this region for centuries. The Moorish, Jewish, and Gypsy cultures are integrated in this diverse art form, as well as rhythms from Africa and South America.
Among the eight works to be performed on the Brickyard Pond main stage are Alegrías, which means joy or happiness a dance inspired by the uplifting songs that originated in the Spanish seaport of Cadiz. Luz Y Sombra depicts the light (luz) side of life and the dark (sombra/shadow) side of life. The dance is based on an old flamenco story about a beautiful woman who destroyed mens hearts.
Seguiriya is based on one of the oldest flamenco forms, in which the serious, almost tragic sound of the music gives the dancer a chance to express sorrowful feelings. Sevillanas is a traditional dance from the Andalusian town of Seville, from which it takes its name. It is Spains most popular national dance, with the use of castanets adding to the excitement.
The evening will conclude with Fin de Fiesta (Por Bulerías). The name bulerías comes from burlar or to make fun. The flamenco party ends por bulerías, a jam session in which the performers take their turn to show their stuff.
