Direct from Seville, Spain: Fin de Fiesta Flamenco dance and music ensemble presents Audacia, a new production that explores the many sides of flamenco. They perform on Bowen Island at the Tir-na-nog Theatre on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. (facebook.com/events/1790631514502543).
Though they come from different continents, Fin de Fiesta Flamenco’s core members make their home base in Seville Spain. That being said, these musicians and dancers call the world home, and have spent much of the past year on the road, collaborating with artists from all over the planet.
Dancer and artistic director Lia Grainger made her way to China and Italy, while guitarist and musical director Dennis Duffin performed and composed in New York, and flautist/singer Lara Wong spent months working in Mexico. French singer Alejandro Mendía, new to the group, has toured everywhere from Morocco to Ecuador to Switzerland over the past year.
Flamenco's gypsy roots in Andalusia are echoed in the vagabond life the ensemble is living.
"Flamenco has its roots in Spain, but it has become an art form of the world," says Grainger. "I was recently in Shanghai and found myself jamming in a public park with flamenco dancers and musicians from Holland, Portugal, Italy, Spain and, of course, China."
Grainger and guitarist, Duffin, found flamenco in unique ways. Grainger was once a collegiate level basketball player in her hometown of Vancouver, and then a journalist, but she threw it all away to become a professional flamenco dancer, a move that once seemed impossible for the 6'2” blond-haired, green-eyed Canadian.
Dennis Duffin graduated with a PhD in Astrophysics from McMaster University, but he left Ontario to pursue his love of flamenco and went to live in Seville to study guitar with the best in the world. The two artists founded Fin de Fiesta Flamenco in 2012.
Now, Grainger is returning home to Canada with an international band of musicians gathered on her travels to present Audacia. This will be the group’s second time in B.C., where they performed to packed houses in 2015, and this time they also head east with a host of shows in Ontario and Quebec. Their 24-show, cross-Canada tour began in Salmon Arm on July 29.
For more information visit: findefiestaflamenco.com
