Inside an upstairs dance studio in Oak Cliff, artists from North Texas, Argentina, and Spain rehearsed a flamenco performance for the upcoming Texas Flamenco Festival.
"It's very difficult, yes, to learn," said dancer bailor Joseph Gonzales. "Learning the rhythms of flamenco is the most difficult."
With every stomp of the feel and strum of the guitar, the passion comes through each artist.
"It's exhilarating for me," Gonzales said. "It allows me to express myself completely. It makes me feel whole. It inspires. It's happiness. It's everything!"
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"All around the world, flamenco is getting to be more and more popular," Flamenco Fever Producer/Director Julia Alcantara said. "They're opening the doors to the rest of the world to participate in this art form that is a healing art."
Flamenco isn't just dance. The music is integral to the performance, composed to complement the steps and story of each piece.
"That's the most difficult part of the art form; the singling and the guitar," Alcantara said. "Every song has its own history, costuming, meaning."
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The Texas Flamenco Festival kicks off the nonprofit Flamenco Fever's Fall Flamenco Residency program. Professional dancers and musicians from around the world perform with students. During the festival, Flamenco Fever will open its new brick-and-mortar headquarters, La Cantera Arts Conservatory.
"We were actually invited to perform in Spain last year," Alcantara said. "We were one of the first American flamenco companies to be allowed to grace the stage in an international festival over there."
The Texas Flamenco Festival kicks off Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas. It runs through Hispanic Heritage Month, with 25 performances in North Texas and across the state. For ticket information, click here.
