We’ve decided to offer a virtual taste of the fest in order to adhere to physical distancing measures, and keep the art of flamenco alive in our community while staying safe!
Thank you for your interest in the KW Flamenco Fest. This summer, we will be offering what we’re calling a “shadow fest”, which a taste of what our live fest would be like through online workshops, meet-ups, and videos.
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We first founded the Little KW Flamenco Fest in the summer of 2018, in order to try to create a more sustainable flamenco community here in the Waterloo Region. Through the fests, we’ve brought in visiting artists to lead workshops for the current KW flamenco student body, tried to open up the opportunity for all those interested in giving flamenco a try to do so in a fun and exciting way alongside fellow, enthusiastic first-timers, and to collaborate with our guest artists in a live performance. It seems that nourishing local flamenco paid off, for interest in local flamenco happenings had grown to the point where this summer we had planned on expanding the Fest so that it would no longer be called the Little KW Flamenco Fest, but rather the KW Flamenco Fest. The original program would have run from July 21st to the 31st, with 7 workshops and 4 performances at various venues in Kitchener & Uptown Waterloo. We had planned on featuring several artists, including a Wilfrid Laurier alumnus who now resides in Granada, Spain—in the heartland of flamenco; and the theme was to be “Flamestizo”, exploring the influence Latin America has had on the flamenco tradition.
But then, the pandemic and global shutdown created a new world. With festivals and events being cancelled through the summer, with international travel restricted, and with ongoing physical distancing restrictions, we realized the need to change the original Fest plans.
In an effort to try and keep local flamenco alive, and to connect with local art enthusiasts in a positive and joyful way, we’re now offering the virtual shadow fest, still in the original time-frame of July 21st – 31st with online events of the following kind:
- Two “visit to our studio” sessions where Claudia (a.k.a. Calú) will walk viewers through how she is keeping flamenco practice alive in her at-home practice space
- A guitar workshop with Julian (a.k.a. Jules) for all those who are interested in incorporating flamenco technique and sound aesthetics into their guitar playing
- The return of our two guest dancers from 2018-2019 for…
- An intermediate level dance workshop, and
- The release of a video performance created in collaboration with Claudia & Julian.
Please continue to visit this page and our social media accounts for more information on registration and links as we continue to put this virtual fest together and make details available.
Thank you again for your interest and we hope to connect with you this year online! And a very special thank you to our Maestro level sponsors, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., Susan Watters, and the Courtyard Waterloo St. Jacobs, for your continued support during this time.
Workshops & Events
Guitar Workshop: Creating the Flamenco Sound - July 21
For guitarists of all levels and musical genres, join Julian Berg for an on-line workshop as he demonstrates and explains the critical elements of the flamenco sound. You can follow along on your guitar or observe and learn with Julian, who has trained with Jesús Panea Morente from Extremadura, Spain and in Paco Peña’s flamenco program at Codarts conservatory in the Netherlands. In addition to ongoing performances, he offers classes in guitar – flamenco and the fundamentals of jazz and classical – in KW and the GTA.
In the Studio with Claudia Aguirre: Flamenco Footwork Techniques - July 24
Tune-in to Claudia Aguirre’s personal footwork practice. During this session, you are invited into Claudia’s home studio to get an insider’s view of the regimented practice required for honing footwork skills – the incremental steps needed to build up footwork, stamina, and rhythmic precision. Through this session, we aim to increase appreciation of flamenco dance for practitioners and non-practitioners alike. While this is not an instructional session, we hope it can provide insight for those who have already begun their flamenco training journey, on how they might be able to apply some of Claudia’s approaches into their own practice (i.e. use of metronome and “drills”). This session might be of particular interest to musicians (e.g. percussionists) interested in learning more about flamenco dance and hoping to someday accompany it live.
Claudia has studied flamenco dance and vocals in Toronto and Spain, and holds an M.A. from York University’s Department of Dance. She offers vocal and dance training in KW and the GTA.
In the Studio with Claudia Aguirre: Flamenco Braceo - July 27
Our global lock-down period has given Claudia Aguirre the unique opportunity to further explore her dance vocabulary, in particular the possibilities of flamenco arm-work (braceo) and hands (floreo). In this session, Claudia invites you into her home studio, where she will demonstrate the different approaches to flamenco’s upper body-work. This will range from the foundational positions of the arms and alignment of the body, to the more nuanced transitions from one pose to another. Through this “behind the scenes” session, we hope to inspire flamenco dance students to explore these intricacies in their own training, and to make all audience members more cognizant of flamenco’s aesthetic tradition and evolving practice.
Claudia has studied flamenco dance and vocals in Toronto, The Netherlands, and Spain, and holds an M.A. from York University’s Department of Dance. She offers vocal and dance training in KW and the GTA.
Cyber Dance Class with Ronaldo Monge & Josie Sinnadurai! - July 21, 28, 29
This 3-part workshop will begin with a 15-20 minute instructional video, created specially for the Shadow KW Flamenco Fest 2020. In this instructional video, guest artists Ronaldo Monge and Josie Sinnadurai will demonstrate and break down two separate dance sequences. Each one is short but packed full of energy, with lively steps you can use at any flamenco party (surely on everyone’s bucket list for as soon as this social distancing period safely ends). Parts 2 & 3 include interactive on-line sessions with each of the artists. During these sessions, registrants can meet the dancers, ask for points clarification, and practice together as a “virtual” group. This online class is geared towards those who have already taken flamenco classes and know the basics of the movements, technique, and vocabulary.
Both Ronaldo and Josie have been guests at the previous Little KW Flamenco Fests, wowing the audiences with their energy and talent. Ronaldo has studied in Granada, Spain and runs his own tablao shows in Chicago. Josie has studied extensively in Seville, Spain and recently toured with the welsh National Opera. We eagerly welcome their return!
