Most Popular

Recent Articles

Recent Articles by MARA LEVENTHAL

National Features >

  • Village Voice

    HUD Games

    How Andrew Cuomo gave birth to the subprime-mortgage crisis that threatens to bring down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

    By Wayne Barrett

  • Houston Press

    Hostages of Houston

    Inside the world of "stash houses," where smugglers use torture to extort illegal immigrants.

    By Chris Vogel

  • Phoenix New Times

    Me and McCain

    Here's the John McCain some Arizonans know--and loathe.

    By Amy Silverman

Dance Fever, Spanish Style

By MARA LEVENTHAL

Published on February 07, 2008

We always knew there was more to the art of flamenco than the techniques we picked up one night while eating paella on Calle Ocho and watching a cross-dressing cantaor, who sang and danced with a pink fringed shawl tied tightly around his hips, make the tourists sing along. Now we can learn: The Arsht Center is hosting three days of events at the first Flamenco Festival Miami. Created in southern Spain as a peasant dance -- with influences from Gypsies, Jews, Arabs, and Africans -- flamenco is now an ever-evolving phenomenon of swirling skirts, clapping hands, and fancy footwork.

Tonight at 8, catch opening-night headliner Cuatro Esquinas with singers Carmen Linares and Miguel Poveda; nuevo flamenco guitarist Juan Carlos Romero; and dancer Pastora Galván at the Knight Concert Hall (1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami). Tickets cost $15 to $65. Judge local chefs at the free South Florida Paella Cook-Off outside on the Arsht Center Plaza from 6 to 8. There’s also Spanish food for purchase inside for performance ticket holders. In the next two weeks, you can become a flamenco expert with dance workshops, a photography exhibit, and free demonstrations. Call the Arsht Center box office at 305-949-6722, or visit www.arshtcenter.org/flamenco for the full schedule.
Thu., Feb. 7, 2008



Miami New Times Insiders

  • Local food, music and news blasts
  • Free Stuff