The Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company’s next performance is titled Armonía: Harmony in Motion, Excellence in Flamenco. Performances take place on May 8, 9 and 10 at the company’s new home at the Meridian Arts Centre in North York.
With its irresistible rhythms and passion, flamenco is an audience favourite.
“This production celebrates connection, expression, and the enduring spirit of flamenco,” says founder Esmeralda Enrique in a statement.
The company will be joined by acclaimed guest artists flamenco dancer/choreographer Jose Manuel Álvarez (Barcelona, Spain) and singer Manuel Soto (Jerez, Spain). Guitarists Caroline Planté (Montréal) and Benjamin Barrile (Toronto), singer Marcos Marín (Montréal) and percussionist Miguel Medina (Montréal), will provide the live musical accompaniment, creating an immersive, authentic flamenco experience.
The Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company has won three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and counts 27 nominations for outstanding production. The company boasts a four decade history of bringing contemporary flamenco dance that honours its tradition to Toronto audiences.
LV caught up with Esmeralda Enrique to ask a few questions about the upcoming show.
Esmeralda Enrique
Esmeralda founded the Academy of Spanish Dance in 1981 and the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company in 1982. She grew up immersed in the flamenco tradition, and began studying dance as a child. She was working a a professional dancer by the age of 14.
Enrique and her company have become on of Canada’s most renowned flamenco dance companies, and Esmeralda has built an international reputation as a dancer and choreographer. Her work has been recognized by multiple awards, including Toronto Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Vision Award for Arts and Culture and the inaugural Young Centre for the Performing Arts Dance Award as Senior Artist in 2012, and she named one of the 10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians in 2008.
Esmeralda Enrique: Q&A
LV: What can you tell us about Armonía: Harmony in Motion? The theme of the show is harmony — what will the audience experience that connects with this idea?
EE: As dancers who enjoy our craft, feeling the pulse and rhythm of the movement and music, we strive to create a state of harmony. This harmony is woven through the many landscapes of our lives and widens our sense of belonging. The presence of harmony, understanding, justice, compassion, and mutual respect is an awareness from within that we are participants in a vast whole.
LV: What can you tell us about the guest artists you’ve brought in for this show? What special qualities will they bring to the performance?
EE: Caroline Planté is one of a handful of accomplished flamenco guitarists in the world. And she is Canadian! Her melodious and exquisite compositions are immensely inspiring. Our singers Manuel Soto and Marcos Marín, whether singing solo or in harmony, transport us to a higher realm. And dancer/choreographer Jose Manuel Álvarez challenges us to dance at new levels.
LV: How do the traditional and contemporary elements of flamenco contrast each other? What are the major differences or characteristics?
EE: The contrast in traditional and contemporary flamenco are sometimes subtle such as singing in a key which is not common for a particular flamenco form, or incorporating unusual or more modern melodies in a traditional verse. In dance, there can be an adaptation and blending of non-Spanish dance forms, or we can dig deeper into the tradition and expanding inward.
LV: Why do you think flamenco continues to have a strong appeal for audiences?
EE: I believe that flamenco implies life; life in movement, in song, in music. Flamenco speaks to what humans regard as our most basic joys.
Show Details
Armonía: Harmony in Motion, Excellence in Flamenco will take the stage May 8, 9, 10 in the Lyric Theatre of the Meridian Arts Centre (5040 Yonge St, North York).
The Company’s dancers, Kiyo Asaoka, Makeda Benítez, Pamela Briz, Nancy Cardwell, Virginia Castro Durán, Rocío Conde, Alison MacDonald, and Esmeralda Enrique herself will perform.
- Find tickets and other show details [HERE].
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