Abrepaso Flamenco
Abrepaso Flamenco is Northeast Ohio’s premiere flamenco arts and culture nonprofit organization. We aim to create new entry points into flamenco – inviting people of all backgrounds to experience flamenco firsthand – and we create new pathways within flamenco – opening space for people to find flamenco’s capacity for human expression and connection. Our vision of flamenco encompasses the cultures, history, musical structures, aesthetics, and evolution of flamenco in order to bring the full spectrum of this art form to the public in the most authentic and highest caliber ways possible.
Our live experiences range from informal jam sessions to traditional flamenco tablaos that feature the raw power of flamenco improvisation to contemporary works that feature groundbreaking choreography and new music compositions. We offer a variety of education programs, including two that bring flamenco directly to the wider community: The Soleá Project and ¡Spain Alive! In The Soleá Project, we combine flamenco’s inherent capacity to build resilience and community with interdisciplinary arts therapy practices that open space for participants to experience flamenco’s cathartic and healing capacity. ¡Spain Alive! encompasses our K-12 arts education work, including workshops, masterclasses, residencies, and educational performances. In these programs, students build skills and confidence that aid in reaching educational standards in social-emotional learning, social sciences, mathematics, motor skill development, literacy, diversity, Spanish language, and more. We also offer on-going flamenco classes year-round for the public to develop skills within the form and our apprentice company, En Camino, allows students to develop high level skills in this folk art form.
Alice Blumenfeld is known for a unique and “fierce presence (her movements seem to arise from several feet beneath the ground)” (Thinking Dance) and her “sharp and exhilarating” energy onstage (Philadelphia Inquirer). She is at the forefront of flamenco in the United States, a leader in contemporary flamenco choreography and a nationally recognized teacher and performer. Blumenfeld’s recognitions include: a Fulbright recipient in dance in Spain, a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and a two-time Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award recipient in choreography (FY20 & 22). She toured nationally with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, and has been a guest artist with Nélida Tirado, the American Bolero Dance Company, Antonio Granjero, Jácome Flamenco, Dominick Farinacci, among other companies and she has performed internationally in Berlin and Spain. She started several highly successful and continued programs while at Flamenco Vivo, including their Palos Series and the NYC Feria. She has taught at the Cleveland Art Museum, Oberlin College & Conservatory, Wayne State University, Children’s Museum of Cleveland, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, among many other institutions. Blumenfeld holds an MFA in Dance from Hollins University and a BA in Comparative Literature from New York University where she graduated summa cum laude, with highest departmental honors, and Phi Beta Kappa. Blumenfeld grew up in Albuquerque, NM immersed in flamenco culture. She is currently an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Akron and a teaching artist for the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning.
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