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Dec. 8, 2006
A fiery Chanukah gift
Take a friend to a flamenco show or dance class.
CASSANDRA FREEMAN
Onstage in a candlelit restaurant, a dancer with thundering syncopated
steps moves to the music of two flamenco guitarists and the raw
passionate voice of a singer from Madrid. No, you are not in Spain.
You are in the Kino Café on Cambie, watching some of Vancouver's
best flamenco.
Historians believe that traditional flamenco dance and song began
during the Spanish Inquisition, which started in 1492. Queen Isabella
decreed that all her subjects must convert to Catholicism or face
the harshest of penalties, including death.
Many of the Roma people (formerly known as Gypsies), Jews, Muslims
and Christian heretics fled to the south of Spain, where they hid
in caves and helped each other escape persecution. "Peta Nada"
is one passionate Sephardi song from that time, about a young Jewish
woman killed by a lover.
But not all songs are so tragic. Local teachers and performers agree
that flamenco is so popular partly because it moves right across
the emotional spectrum, allowing participants full personal expression.
Peter Mole began playing Spanish classical guitar at the Kino in
1994. Now, his improvised troupe of musicians and dancers keep the
restaurant busy five nights a week, from Wednesday to Sunday. He
and his friends draw on the talents of mostly local musicians, singers
and dancers. The latter come from local flamenco dance schools and
companies in Vancouver.
The troupe is now so famous that the last time Mole was in Seville,
Spain, a key birthplace of flamenco, a local recognized him and
told him that many people had heard about his success.
"There aren't any places in Canada I know of that host five
nights of flamenco in a row," Mole said in an interview with
the Independent.
Karen Pitkethly is often the principal dancer at the Kino. She also
teaches adult beginners at five community centres in Vancouver and
children at the Arts Umbrella.
"Trying flamenco was just completely different from any other
dance form," she said. "It's so raw and earthy and (because
of the footwork), you are also a musician with the other musicians
on stage."
Pitkethly began her career studying at Centro Flamenco with teacher
and dancer Rosario Ancer, and has also studied in Seville.
Ancer's company, Flamenco Rosario, has performed at the Norman Rothstein
Theatre since 1996, when they presented Raices (Roots),
an exploration of flamenco through Sephardi chants. The company
puts on four flamenco productions a year. The last one was sold
out.
Ancer is from Monterrey, Mexico, a city built by Sephardi Jews fleeing
the Inquisition in the Middle Ages, as well as Spaniards and native
Mexicans. She has been teaching in Vancouver and performing alongside
her husband, guitarist Victor Kolstee, for the last 17 years. Her
school offers four introductory classes for people to become acquainted
with flamenco.
"Flamenco is hard work but very rewarding and challenging,"
she said. "It touches the very depths of your soul. That doesn't
happen very often in the office!"
One of the other perks of studying flamenco is meeting a very diverse
and friendly multicultural crowd, Ancer said.
"There is a strong feeling of community and my students become
really good friends."
Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy is another flamenco institution
in Vancouver. Almost five years ago, accomplished dancer Kasandra
Lea joined legendary dancer and teacher Oscar Nieto to teach adults
from beginner to professional and to dance as part of the Mozaico
Flamenco Dance Theatre.
Since Nieto came to Vancouver in 1983, his Mozaico troupe has performed
at the Norman Rothstein Theatre, with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra,
most recently at the Scotiabank Dance Centre and at many other venues
worldwide.
For more info about Kino Café, call 604-875-1998. Centro
Flamenco is located near Dunbar and Alma. Visit www.centroflamenco.com.
For Al Mozaico Flamenco Dance Academy, visit www.mozaicoflamenco.com
and for teacher Karen Pitkethly, visit www.karenflamenco.com.
Cassandra Freeman is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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