Quinto Elemento ~ Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana - Event Details

Quinto Elemento ~ Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana

Friday, March 14, 2025, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Location: Performing Arts Center

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana ~Quinto Elemento

Friday, March 14, 2025 @ 7:00pm


Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana celebrated our 40th Anniversary in 2023 and is one of America’s premier flamenco companies with home bases in New York City and Durham, NC. We reach more than 30,000 people nationwide each year through inclusive programs that entertain, educate and empower. Our mission is to promote flamenco as a living art form and a vital part of Hispanic heritage; produce and perform high quality dance works; provide arts education programs that catalyze connections among young people; and nurture the next generations of Spanish dance artists and educators. Flamenco Vivo honors the traditions of flamenco while advancing its evolution as a contemporary dance discipline. Called “The Keeper of Flamenco” by Dance Magazine, Founder Carlota Santana was honored by the King of Spain with “La Cruz de la Orden al Merito Civil” for excellence and dedication to maintaining the flamenco art in the US. We have premiered over 30 original works, offering commissions to outstanding choreographers from the US and Spain. We perform annual seasons in dual home bases of New York and Durham, NC and tour nationally to 12+ cities per year.

Hailed as “The Keeper of Flamenco” by Dance Magazine and honored by the King and Government of Spain with La Cruz de la Orden al Mérito Civil for “all the years of passion, excellence and dedication to the flamenco art,” Carlota Santana is an internationally-renowned flamenco and Spanish dance artist and educator. In 1983, she co-founded Flamenco Vivo with Roberto Lorca; following his death from AIDS in 1987, she was determined to continue their work. In the decades since, she has led Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana’s growth as one of this country’s most successful flamenco companies, with a mission to promote flamenco as a living art form and a vital part of Hispanic heritage.
Under Santana’s artistic direction, Flamenco Vivo has premiered more than 25 original works, offering commissions to numerous flamenco artists from Spain and the United States; important creations include Bailes de Ida y Vuelta, depicting flamenco’s journey through Latin America; Mano a Mano, a tribute to the bullfighter Manolete; and the contemporary flamenco story-ballet Federico, a celebration of the life of Federico García Lorca. Ms. Santana created the company’s innovative arts-in-education program, integrating Spanish dance and culture with academic curricula, and has pioneered bilingual education initiatives targeted to immigrant populations, as well as other programs addressing the special needs of students with disabilities. Beyond the company’s on-going work, she has also been the driving force behind a series of unique special projects, including two flamenco symposia produced in collaboration with Duke University’s Dance Department and the ”100 Years of Flamenco in New York” exhibit mounted in partnership with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The first-ever curated museum show on flamenco in the U.S., “100 Years” ran for five months at The Vincent Astor Gallery at Lincoln Center; in his review, New York Times chief dance critic Alastair Macaulay praised the “vitality and pride” of the show, noting: “This vivid collection enriches our ideas of both this genre and this city.” Santana is on the faculty of Duke University and has taught at Long Island and New York Universities.

Patricia Guerrero (Choreographer) is an acclaimed flamenco dancer and choreographer, winner of the 2021 Spanish Ministry of Culture's National Dance Award, and was named director of the Andalusian Flamenco Ballet in 2023. Born in Granada, a seminal city of flamenco, Guerrero has deep roots in the art form yet is fluent in other styles, from classical dance to Cuban guajiro. She began performing at age 8 and was touring professionally by age 15. At 17, she won the prestigious Desplante Award at Las Minas International Cante Festival and then performed at major dance events, e.g. Jerez and Düsseldorf Festivals. In 2010, she presented her first solo show, which toured Europe, and she has since choreographed numerous works. Carlos Saura asked her to be a soloist in “Flamenco Today,” which toured the world, including NY City Center, and she danced in Saura’s film, Flamenco, Flamenco. In 2011, she was named prima ballerina of the Andalusian Flamenco Ballet, and in 2012, won Best New Artist Award at the Bienal de Sevilla. She has been cast in works by Belén Maya, Dani de Morón and Antonio Rey, and starred as “La Bella Otero” with Spanish National Ballet in 2020-22, for which she won the Spain National Dance Award.

Jose Luis de la Paz (Composer, Guitarist) is an award-winning guitarist and Grammy-nominated composer whose original music ranges from traditional to experimental flamenco and other forms. In 1995, he was lauded as one of the best guitarists in Spain in Felix Grande's "Agenda Flamenca." He was the musical director and composer for Ballet Cristina Hoyos (star of Carlos Saura’s films) for 10 years, and has accompanied numerous famous Flamenco singers and dancers, e.g. Carmen Linares, Arcángel, Antonio Canales, Farruquito, Concha Buika and Belen Maya. While his practice is rooted in tradition, Jose Luis’ work pushes beyond flamenco parameters and extends into world music, as exemplified in his 2018 collaboration with composer Colin Farish on "East of the Evening Star.” Now living in Miami, he first worked with Flamenco Vivo in 2021, composing an original score for Fronteras by choreographers Jose Maldonado and Karen Lugo.

This performance is presented as a co-production with the Hawaiʻi Concert Society

Special Restrictions: Tickets: $30 General, $25 Discount, $10 Student w/ Valid ID & Youth 17 & Under
Tickets are available online: https://artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu or by calling the Box Office
Tuesday - Thursday 9-11am 808-932-7490.

For more information, contact: artsctr@hawaii.edu (808) 932-7490

Tags: performing arts dance music flamenco