The celebrated guitar maestro Paco Peña and his Flamenco Dance Company return to New York with A Compás!, their mesmerizing program showcasing flamenco’s compelling rhythms.
Joining Peña are guitarists Paco Arriaga and Rafael Montilla, singers Immaculada Rivero and Javier Marquez, percussionist Nacho Lopez, and three outstanding dancers: Ángel Muñoz, acclaimed for his “regal, smoldering dancing” (New York Times); the explosive Ramón Martínez; and Charo Espino, whose electrifying castanet duet with Peña is one of the highlights of the show.
A Compás! transmits to the audience a range of flamenco rhythms, from the trance-inducing quality of the alboreá to the razor–sharp complexity of the bulería. Each artist is isolated at one point in the show and is thrown onto the naked reality of a given rhythmic structure (or compás). By fusing the performers’ individual interpretations of each rhythm, the ensemble creates an experience that is not only intimate, but equally inviting and communal.
Tickets are on sale now. Reserve yours before they all sell out!!!
Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd Street, NYC
Friday, October 2, 2009 8:00 PM
$25, $35, $45; students $18 with college ID
Call Ticketmaster (212) 307-4100 or Tickets/info (212) 545-7536
Visit: http://worldmusicinstitute.org/event.php?id=902
The Dancers
Ángel Muñoz, born in Córdoba, started his dance training with maestro Inmaculada Luque, with whom he studied for eight years. He then studied at the Dance Conservatory and later became a member of the Ziryab Dance Company, under the direction of Javier Latorre. Muñoz performed as a soloist in La Fuerza del Destino, which toured Europe. He appeared in the operas La Traviata and La del Soto del Parral, and on television series before obtaining La Mejorana Prize in 1994 in Córdoba’s National Flamenco Art Contest. He was the lead dancer of the Jose Antonio Dance Company and has traveled throughout the world with the Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company. He also appeared in the show Universo Flamenco, backed by guitarist Mario Cortés. He performed as principal guest artist in María Pagés Company and danced in many productions including La Tirana, which premiered at Seville’s Bienal de Flamenco in 1998, and Flamenco Republic, which was presented in New York in 2001. More recently, he was invited to dance in Sueños de Ida y Vuelta by guitarist Victor Monge, and in Serranito, in which his wife Charo Espino also danced. Muñoz founded his own company, and in 2003 premiered his show Robándole al Alma in South Africa. He also works as a flamenco dance instructor.
Charo Espino, from Seville, received her foundation in dance with such teachers as Caracolillo, Manolo Marín, Ciro, Paco Romero and Paco Fernández. Since beginning her professional activities in the late 1980s, she has taken part as the principal dancer with Ballet Teatro Español de Rafael Aguilar, Compañía de Teatro de Danza Española de Luisillo, Ballet Danzarte de Joaquín Ruiz, Ballet Español de Miguel Ángel, the Ángel Muñoz Company, and the Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company. In 1988 she participated for the first time in Seville’s Bienal de Flamenco and one year later in Italy she obtained the Navicella dance award. In the 1990s she worked as the first dancer in the opera La Traviata by Luigi Pizzi and José Carreras, was an artistic partner of the dancer Cristóbal Reyes, and collaborated in Federico with Carlota Santana and Juan Andrés Maya. In the mid-1990s, she relocated to Japan, where she performed at the tablao Flamenco of Tokyo, sharing the stage with Ángel Muñoz and Carmelilla Montoya. She toured Japan and Morocco with the guitarist Víctor Monge “Serranito,” and danced in La Arena de Verona in the Italian opera Il Trovatore, under the guidance of El Camborio and Lucía del Real. As principal dancer, she appeared in the film Callas Forever, directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Since 2004, she has toured internationally with Paco Peña and the show Sueños de Ida y Vuelta by Serranito.
Ramón Martínez, born in Málaga, studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Málaga where he graduated with honors. He trained with renowned teachers Manolete, Matilde Coral, Manolo Marín and Eva Yerbabuena. After performing at the flamenco tablao of Pepe Marchena, Martínez took part in Mario Maya’s Requiem y de lo Flamenco (1994 -1995), and appeared in Movimiento Perpetuo choreographed by José Granero (1995). In 1996 he rejoined Mario Maya for the Winter Games of Sierra Nevada and appeared in the Bienal de Flamenco in Seville with choreographer Javier Latorre in Lances del Arenal. He went on to perform in Maria Pagés’ El Perro Andaluz, and Manolo Marín’s Suite Iberia in 1997, and later appeared in Jaleos by María Pagés and Fernando Romero, and in Eva Yerbabuena’s 5 Mujeres 5. He returned to the Bienal de Flamenco in 2000 with Javier Barón’s Baile de Hierro, Baile de Bronce. In 2001 he appeared with Cristina Hoyos in her production Al Compas del Tiempo and more recently was invited to perform in the tablao Flamenco in Tokyo with his own group. He joined the Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company to appear in Voces y Ecos.
Tickets are on sale now. Reserve yours before they all sell out!!!
Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd Street, NYC
Friday, October 2, 2009 8:00 PM
$25, $35, $45; students $18 with college ID
Call Ticketmaster (212) 307-4100 or Tickets/info (212) 545-7536
Visit: http://worldmusicinstitute.org/event.php?id=902
Related posts:
- Review of Paco Pena “A Compas” at UCLA
- New York Flamenco Festival 2009
- Paco Pena Requiem for the Earth
- Paco Pena at UCLA Royce Hall
- Andres Pena y Pilar Ogalla