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Noche Flamenca dancers set to step onto Alys Stephens Center stage

  • November 01, 2011
Noche Flamenca will bring dancers, guitarists, singers to UAB’s Alys Stephens Center Nov. 11 for an evening of authentic flamenco.

Experience the thrill and passion of authentic flamenco when the dancers, singers and guitarists of Noche Flamenca perform live at UAB’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Nov. 11, 2011.

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Spend an evening experiencing the essence, purity and integrity of this ancient form of music and dance — flamenco — beloved by many as one of the world’s most alluring and mysterious art forms. Under the direction of Martín Santangelo, and starring his wife and partner Soledad Barrio, Bessie Award-winning dancer, Noche Flamenca has become Spain’s most successful touring company. All three aspects of flamenco — the dance, song, handclapping and music — are interrelated and given equal weight in the company’s performances, staying true to the purity of flamenco. The company will demonstrate several forms of the dance, including the Martinete, defined as searching for hope in a hopeless situation; the Jaleo, a joyous, yet painful celebration of life; and the wild, frenzied Bulerias.

The company will take to the stage at 8 p.m. in UAB’s Alys Stephens Center, 1200 10th Ave. South. The performance is part of the ACS’s World on Stage Festival. Performance tickets are $59.50, $49.50, $39.50; student tickets are $10. Call 205-975-2787 or visit www.AlysStephens.org.

With annual seasons in New York City and Buenos Aires and return engagements at theaters around the world, Noche Flamenca has a dedicated global audience. Hailed by critics everywhere for its transcendent and deeply emotional performances, the group is recognized as the most authentic flamenco touring company today.

Flamenco arose from the Andalusian region of Spain. Throughout the centuries, Andalusia absorbed peoples of different cultures and backgrounds, including Romans, Jews and Moors, according to Noche Flamenca’s history of the flamenco. However, the most significant arrival was in the 15th century when tribes of nomadic Gypsies settled in southern Spain. In 2010, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared flamenco one of the masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.