Viaje Flamenco at Artscape

Viaje Flamenco portrays the cultural history of flamenco through Arabic, Indian, Sephardic, Iberian and North African music, song and dance. The show reunites award-winning director Geoffrey Hyland with La Rosa's artistic director and choreographer Carolyn Holden, the Vadhini Indian Arts Academy, and guest artists from Spain: choreographer and dancer Joaquin Ruiz and singer José Salinas.

An eclectic mix

Holden, who recently returned from Madrid where she spent time working with Ruiz and La Truco, explained that this production began with the creation of Route Expressions that was presented at Artscape in 2006. Viaje Flamenco was first performed in 2007 and continues this fascinating journey through time, exploring flamenco's many global influences. Audiences can thus expect an eclectic mix of pure and fusion flamenco, by choreographers ranging from contemporary flamenco trendsetters to traditional Indian kathak experts. Director Hyland has restructured the production in order to bring a freshness to the work and bring a stronger focus onto La Rosa's strong male dancers. He first worked with La Rosa in 2005 in Federico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding and has remained a close friend to the dance company, working either as director on productions (Jazz Flamenco Jazz, 2006) or in an advisory capacity (Heart of Sand, 2009).

The collaboration between La Rosa and Savitri Naidoo, artistic director of the Vadhini Indian Arts Academy, has resulted in each organisation developing a deep cultural appreciation of the others' dance discipline. Their relationship began in 2004 when JazzArt invited the two companies to collaborate on a piece entitled Angika Bahavam for their annual Danscape production, joining forces once more in ‘07 for La Rosa's first staging of Viaje Flamenco.

The cast

The cast for this season of Viaje Flamenco includes company members Lisa Ventura, Ndumiso Tafeni, Zethu Mtati, Beth Shapiro, Alejandra Parolis, Kim Pretorius, Loreán Swartz, Luvuyo Simandla, Nicole Kleinhans; trainees Paballo Nhlapo, Mkhiwa Botya, Thandlowethu Sam and Deidre Jantjies and Youth Ensemble members Buhle Qinga and Kevin Sakhayi. The dancers are supported by a nine-piece musical ensemble featuring vocalists Nicole Holm and Loreán Swartz, accompanied by Bienyameen and Al Faried on flamenco guitar, Robert Jeffery on cello and guitar, Robert Davids on cajon, Max Starcke on saxophone and Ronan Skillen on tabla and darabukha. The renowned designer, Dicky Longhurst, has rejoined the team once again, creating striking costumes in golden hues that complement the various cultures represented in the production.

Development initiatives

La Rosa was founded in 1990 as a platform for students of Spanish dance to perform their chosen art form on a regular basis and at a professional level. Continuous and increasingly frequent performances in and around Cape Town and at Arts and Dance festivals across the country, have established the company as one of the foremost exponents of this dance discipline. La Rosa has also been involved in development initiatives since 1997 focusing on making the flamenco dance form accessible to the young of the city, developing the artistic and technical skills of potential professionals as well as creating new audiences across the broader socio-economic spectrum.

Viaje Flamenco runs at the Artscape Theatre from 17 to 21 February. Evening performances take place at 8.15pm, at 2.30pm on 20 February and at 6pm on 21 February. Tickets cost from R95 to R125 with special discounts for groups and learners. All bookings are via Computicket or +27 (0)21 421 7695.