Guest artists bring authenticity to flamenco program

By Sara MacNeil  Published 09/07/16 12:01am

 By David Lynch
Students in an advanced flamenco class dance to the tempo played by guest instructor Lucia Alvarez at Carlisle Gym on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016. The class meets for two hours a day, five days a week.

The ground is shaking outside the classroom door. Underneath the subtle Spanish singing and thunderous, uniform stomping on the floor, a guitar can be heard, along with clapping and the guiding voice of the course’s leader.

Lucia Álvarez’s class is in session.

Álvarez, the current flamenco guest artist teaching at UNM for six weeks this semester, was brought to the program because of her ability to perform in a particular type of setting.

Marisol Encinias, a lecturer of flamenco dance at UNM, said the program chose Álvarez for the guest teaching spot specifically because of the opening of a new flamenco performance space in Albuquerque called a tablao, a restaurant and bar where live flamenco is performed. Álvarez is especially gifted in dancing in the tablao setting, which requires improvisation and spontaneity as opposed to Read More…