Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, Irvine Barclay Theatre, May 1

Thursday, May 1, 2025 * 8 pm
Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Dr., Irvine, California 92612
ONE NIGHT ONLY!

Considered the most prominent flamenco dance company in the United States, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana will make its SPAC debut with the world premiere of QUINTO ELEMENTO (Fifth Element), a new evening-length work set to an original score of live music. Choreographed by Patricia Guerrero, the new work explores the fifth element of the earth: ether, the essence that makes up the space around us. Hailed as a master of tradition who dares to deconstruct the art form, Guerrero draws on her deep knowledge of traditional flamenco but pushes past the restriction of its rules. In doing so, she seeks to extract the essence of flamenco itself, its invisible fifth element, and make it tangible to audiences.

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About the Company

Founded in 1983, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana 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. We believe that the universal spirit of flamenco – with diverse influences from Roma, Arabic, Jewish, Spanish, African and Latin American cultures – gives this art form a unique power to build bridges between people.

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 at the age of 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 Bien al 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.

CARLOTA SANTANA (Founder and Artistic Director) 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.” 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 with a mission to promote flamenco as a living art form and a vital part of Hispanic heritage. 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. Ms. Santana has been on the faculty of Duke University. Beyond the company’s on-going work, she was the driving force behind 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,” the 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.”

EMILIO OCHANDO (Associate Artistic Director, Dancer) of Valencia, Spain, began his training at the age of 9, collaborated with the National Ballet of Spain at 12, and moved to Madrid at 16 where he furthered his training at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid. He then began performing with multiple Spanish companies (Domingo and Inma Ortega, Malucos Danza, Nuevo Ballet Español, Aida Gómez, Rafael Aguilar) as well as in various esteemed tablaos, touring both the national and international scenes. In 2015, Ochando created his own Company, for which he has choreographed the original works Ida y Vuelta, 3DEUNO, SIROCO, and CLÁSICA TRADICIÓN. A highly awarded dancer, in 2016 alone he received 1st Prize in the category of dance in TalentMadrid, 1st Prize for Group Choreography in Madrid’s Certamen of Spanish Dance and Flamenco as well as the Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana prize to travel to NYC and dance with the Company. Ochando now works extensively as part of the artistic team and as a dancer and choreographer for Flamenco Vivo. Among his additional honors are nominations for the prestigious Max Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Male Interpreter in 2017 for his show SIROCO as well as Best New Show in 2020 for his work CLÁSICA TRADICIÓN. Ochando is currently immersed in solo projects as a guest artist for national and international companies, teaching workshops and masterclasses abroad, and touring his latest original works.

LORENA FRANCO (Rehearsal Director, Dancer) began studying dance at the age of five in her hometown of Córdoba. She continued her studies there until 2005 when she received a grant to study with the well-known Maestro Granero in Seville. There she also studied with Andrés Marín, Isabel Bayón, Rocío Coral, Matilde Coral, Rubén Olmo, Antonio Canales, Rafael Campallo, Encarna López, Adela Campallo and Eva Yerbabuena, among others. She began her professional career with Eva Yerbabuena in 2006 and worked with her until 2017 as rehearsal director. She then worked with other companies such as Daniel Navarro, Javier Latorre, Andrés Peña, Álvaro Paños, among others. She has worked as soloist in productions of Agustín Carbonell “el Bola” and Manuel Cuevas. She also performs frequently as soloist in tablaos such as Los Gallos in Seville, Las Tablas in Madrid, Los Tarantos and Las Ramblas in Barcelona and in Japan.

FANNY ARA (Dancer) is an internationally sought after and award-winning choreographer, performer and instructor. Her most dedicated worldwide fans especially credit her as one of the driving forces of flamenco today; an artist excelling in the full spectrum of flamenco, from the most traditional to the avant-garde. Fanny has been an invited artist in national and international festivals and has toured extensively in Canada, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa, and throughout Europe. She has been distinguished since 2006 with nominations from the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards in the categories of Most Outstanding Individual Dancer, Most Outstanding Music, Ensemble, and Individual Performance for her project, Juncal Street, and Best Ensemble for her work with the San Francisco Opera in La Traviata. New York’s Vilcek Foundation also awarded Fanny a prestigious finalist prize for “Creative Promise in Dance” in 2012. Fanny’s versatility in the art form of flamenco is manifested in her many artistic works. As Philip Gardner said of her performance at the Joyce Theater in New York City “My newest love is Fanny Ara…the captivating expressive qualities of Fanny’s upper body mesmerized us while her footwork dazzled both the eye and the ear…she soared into the upper most echelon of dance artists I have witnessed over the years.”

Tags California, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, Irvine, Irvine Barclay Theatre, Patricia Guerrero, QUINTO ELEMENTO