Flamenco Festival U.S.A., 2003

DeDesign by Jason Engelund

CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS THE FIERY FLAMENCO EXPRESSIONS OF

FLAMENCO FESTIVAL USA 2003:

FARRUQUITO AND JUANA AMAYA

PERFORMING IN THE GREAT GYPSY TRADITION OF FLAMENCO PURO
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15 AT 8:00 P.M. IN ZELLERBACH HALL

Seville’s most renowned bailador and bailadora reclaim the roots of flamenco in Flamenco Festival USA 2003: Farruquito and Juana Amaya, on Saturday, February 15 at 8:00 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall. Part of Celebración de las Culturas de Iberoamérica, Cal Performances’ 2002/03 programming initiative to bring the performing arts of Latin America, Spain and the Caribbean to Bay Area audiences, Cal Performances presents two of the most faithful representatives of flamenco puro (the most unadulterated form of the Gypsy art), for one night only. Praised by Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times as “the greatest performer” of 2001, Farruquito has become one of the most celebrated figures in contemporary flamenco dance. Juana Amaya is considered a pure product of the Gypsy dance, famed for her charisma and virtuosic footwork. The show, themed por derecho, is divided into two sections for which Farruquito and Juana Amaya are joined by Farruco, Farruquito’s younger brother, dancing seguiriyas and bulerías. Each of the trio will also perform solo, executing such forms as alegrías, guajiras and soleares. Accompanied by guitarists Roman Vicenti, Paco Fernández, and Ra_l López “El Perla”; singers Maria Vizárraga, Enrique “El Extremeño”, José Valencia, and Jorge “El Canastero”; and percussionist Juan Ruiz, the evening promises passion, precision and pulse-pounding excitement.

Saturday, February 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus
Bancroft Way at Telegraph, Berkeley

Tickets: $20.00, $28.00 and $36.00, available through the Cal Performances Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall; at (510) 642-9988 to charge by phone; at www.calperfs.berkeley.edu; and at the door.

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California Tour of Flamenco Festival U.S.A. 2003

Santa Barbara Tuesday, February 11th
Santa Cruz Thursday, February 13th
Berkeley Saturday, February 15th
San Diego Sunday, February 16th

Class Schedule

Flamenco Festival USA 2003 lecture classes
Organized by Miguel Marín Productions and Flamenco-world.com
The stars of Flamenco Festival USA 2003 offer lecture classes organized by Flamenco-world.com and Miguel Marín Productions

Flamenco-world.com and Miguel Marín Productions join forces to offer U.S. enthusiasts an exclusive program of lecture classes taught by the stars of Flamenco Festival USA 2003. An exceptional staff of instructors consisting of bailaores Manolete, Antonio Canales, Juana Amaya and Farruquito; guitarists Paco Fernández and Román Vicenti; and cantaor Enrique el Extremeño will share the keys to the art of flamenco with the students gathered in New York, Hartford and Berkeley through the Flamenco-World website. Link below to registar for classes.

Friday, February 14th
Berkeley. Zellerbach Hall Stage
Dance classes
Duration: 90 minutes
Juana Amaya (6 to 7.30 p.m.)
Farruquito (7.30 to 9 p.m.).
http://www.flamenco-world.com/cursos/2003/usa/indice.htm

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La Miri Flamenco Dance & AZAFRÁN Productions presents:
An Intensive Dance Workshop with:
FARRUQUITO
& his brother "El Farru"

February 15th 2 ~ 4 p.m.
Mills College Dance Department, Oakland
Cost: $65
(1 hour each: technique / choreography; intermediate
& advanced level. Live guitar.)

SPACE IS LIMITED! PRE-REGISTER BY SENDING IN YOUR PAYMENT.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Feb 10th.Send & make checks payable to:
La Miri Flamenco Dance
(in memo section write: "Frqto. workshop")
775 East Blithedale Avenue, #260
Mill Valley, CA 94941

Location:
Mills College, Dance Department
5000 McArthur Blvd. / Haas Pavilion
Oakland (off McArthur Blvd. exit 580)

For more information call Miriam: 415-383-6395
LaMiriFlamenco@hotmail.com

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JUANA AMAYA

Juana Amaya began dancing in her hometown of Moron de la Frontera at the age of six. Like many Gypsies, she was taught by her family at home. At only 14, she was discovered by the eminent flamenco dancer and choreographer Mario Maya who cast her in his flamenco spectacles ¡Ay... Jondo! and El Amargo, which toured internationally for three years. During that period, she won over audiences at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Paris’ Carre Sylvia Monfort Hall. She created such a sensation that other major Spanish dancers asked her to join their productions. From 1984 until 1994, Amaya frequently danced in Cumbre Flamenca, taking breaks to perform with Joaquin Cortes and Antonio Canales in 1993.

In 1994, Amaya formed her own company. Two years later, avant-garde director Salvador Tavora asked her to portray the heroine of his landmark production of Carmen. In constant demand since, she has performed in Cortes’ Gypsy Passion (a show which has served to popularize flamenco the way Riverdance has for Irish step dance) and in 2000 starred with Plácido Domingo in the opera, El Cid, which premiered at the Teatro de La Maestranza in Seville.

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FARRUQUITO

Farruquito (Juan Manuel Fernandez) comes from one of flamenco’s most legendary families. The family of Los Farrucos has long been acclaimed for maintaining flamenco’s purity. His grandfather, El Farruco, one of the greatest flamenco dancers of all time, was the patriarch of a long family saga. Farruco was rebellious and independent, reinventing many of the traditional dances with his spectacular footwork and highly theatrical expressiveness, and furiously trumpeting the Gypsy factor in his art. As a child, Farruquito was always by his side, watching and learning, determined to carry on his grandfather’s legacy. His first appearance on the international scene was at age of five on Broadway, in his grandfather’s show Flamenco Puro. Director Carlos Saura’s evocative film, Flamenco, featured the pair’s master/protégé relationship when Farruquito was just twelve years old, dancing head-to-head with his legendary grandfather.

The death of El Farruco in 1997 signaled a changing of the guard, and at the age of 15, Farruquito took on the responsibility of carrying on the traditions bequeathed him by his grandfather. Since El Farruco’s death, Farruquito has been hailed as the true heir of his family’s legacy--always faithful to his grandfather’s fire, flamboyance and skill. “At 18…Farruquito is already one of the great flamenco dancers of this new century. With the power and purity of his technique and the magic of his brooding presence, he is nothing less than sensational” (The New York Times).

Currently the young patriarch heads the flamenco academy his grandfather began in Seville, and instructs at other national and international centers. Festival and show appearances include Festival de Jerez in Spain, Mont de Marsan in France, and the Royal Festival Hall in London. Often he is accompanied by his younger brother, Farruco, his aunt, La Faraona, and his mother, La Farruca. Farruquito y Familia (2001) marked his New York debut as an adult, part of Flamenco Festival New York presented by World Music Institute and Miguel Marin Productions. Flamenco Festival USA 2003, with Juana Amaya, marks Farruquito’s first American national tour.

Text and images courtesy of Cal Performances and Flamenco-world.com