Experience Flamenco Portland

Experience Flamenco Portland In Person & Online flamenco classes + workshops, residencies, events, performances in Portland area Making flamenco accessible.
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Experience Flamenco Portland.. provides a broad flamenco experience of Community, Instruction & Performance.

11/10/2024
11/02/2024

Use this step as a 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘫𝘦, a marking step, or as a 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦, an accent or close.⁣

𝗧𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗮𝗷𝗲:⁣

Repeat the sequence a couple of times.⁣

𝗧𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲:⁣

Do it just once when the singer takes a respiro, a break, as they finish a line of cante, or when the guitar resolves. ⁣

It’s in the compás of 12, and it goes like this:⁣

👣 Steps & Counts:⁣

12 step right leg out ⁣

1 ⁣🚫⁣

2 🚫⁣

3 right leg comes together with left leg so that your body is at a 45° angle ⁣

4 🚫⁣

5 ⁣🚫⁣

6 tap right planta (ball of the foot) in with foot closed⁣

7 ⁣tap right planta out with an open foot ⁣

8 ⁣tap right planta in again⁣

9 tap right planta out again⁣

10 tap right planta in again⁣

⬇️ Fan movement*⁣

Begin with your abanico closed.⁣

12 open fan ⁣

1 🚫⁣

2 ⁣🚫⁣

3 close fan⁣

4 spin fan⁣

5 keep spinning for 2-3 times total⁣

6 close fan ⁣

7 open fan⁣

8 close fan ⁣

9 open fan ⁣

10 close fan ⁣

➡️ *Check out my previous reel for a breakdown of the fan movements used in this step.⁣

& save this reel to come back to later.⁣

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿?⁣

💖 Join me this month for Intro to Abanico, a 4-week series you may take on demand at your pace or live in person or online! ⁣








Classes are on in person in SE Portland and Lake Oswego and online!  Saturday classes begin this weekend, Nov. 2:- Intro...
11/02/2024

Classes are on in person in SE Portland and Lake Oswego and online!

Saturday classes begin this weekend, Nov. 2:

- Intro to Abanico (for beginning dancers and those who've never danced with a flamenco fan)
- Footwork Drills (multilevel)
- Body Technique (multilevel)
- Castanets (intermediate)

& New Tuesday sessions start Nov. 19 with:

- Beginning Rumbas (live guitar for the final session)
- Multilevel Technique ((live guitar for the final session)

Class link in comments ;)

Show your love to Experience Flamenco by casting one vote per day in the Best of the Rose City contest through August 30...
08/25/2024

Show your love to Experience Flamenco by casting one vote per day in the Best of the Rose City contest through August 30th.

You'll find Experience Flamenco in the "Things To Do" category under "Dance Studios."

Here' the link to vote:
https://www.voterosecity.com

Thank you for your love and support!

💕Laura

August workshop details are in!Here's what's coming up:August 10 & 11Tangos Made Simple (Live guitar & cante)Bulerias Ma...
07/31/2024

August workshop details are in!

Here's what's coming up:

August 10 & 11
Tangos Made Simple (Live guitar & cante)
Bulerias Made Simple (Live guitar & cante)

August 24 & 25
Intro to Abanico
Castanets

¡Olé!

Link to more details in comments.⬇️

Flamenco lovers from Portland and throughout the US and Canada gathered for what was an incredible flamenco weekend with...
07/22/2024

Flamenco lovers from Portland and throughout the US and Canada gathered for what was an incredible flamenco weekend with Mercedes Ruiz & Santiago Lara. ⁣🙌🙌🙌

Thank you SO MUCH to everybody who came out to support the workshops and show with This couldn’t have happened without you. ⁣

And of course a HUGE GRACIAS to COMPAÑÍA DE MERCEDES RUIZ and Santiago Lara Guitarrista/Compositor. Sois increibles y os quiero mucho!!!!Gracias por haber hecho este viaje tan largo para compartir vuestro arte con nosotros.⁣

The workshops were so. much. fun. (as always) and the show was out of control amazing. ⁣

🤩Seriously. WOW!!!!!! ⁣

“Thank you for putting together a wonderful weekend with Mercedes and Santi. I loved loved loved every workshop class, and the performance was amazing! Mercedes was definitely one of the best teachers I've ever had. She did such a wonderful job of setting the right pace for each level, paying attention to each student, giving a perfect mix of critical feedback and affirming winks and smiles. What a treat to study with her!” - Ali J.⁣

Thank you SO much for introducing me to the most beautiful unique dancer I have EVER seen, and her talented husband. Her performance was amazing. I LOVED every minute of it. I have never seen anyone dance like this. Mercedes is so gifted. You have expanded my world! Thank you for a job well done. - Leigh Y. ⁣

(Those are just a couple of the many glowing messages we’ve received about the weekend. :)⁣

P.S. Thank you for providing a top notch flamenco guitar for Santi to play while he was here ⁣Nat Hulskamp.

And thank you Jeff Trapp for hooking us up with a great microphone for Santi’s guitar.⁣

And thank you STEPS PDX for allowing us to use your beautiful studio!

¡Olé!⁣




07/21/2024

THIS is about to happen. ⁣

DUAL with COMPAÑÍA DE MERCEDES RUIZ and Santiago Lara Guitarrista/Compositor at TOC Portland

Olé!⁣













TONIGHT: Flamenco lovers of Portland - The ticketing site is back up!! (It was down earlier today but is now working, ph...
07/20/2024

TONIGHT: Flamenco lovers of Portland - The ticketing site is back up!!

(It was down earlier today but is now working, phew.) You may purchase in advance using the link below or get your tickets at the door.

Show 8pm
Doors 7pm
TOC Portland

Mercedes Ruíz & Santiago Lara: DUAL! Live in Portland

07/20/2024

♥️ DUAL ♥️

“Throughout the show, Mercedes Ruiz will play with her own incarnations of femininity.

Sublime in the bata de cola, radiant in the shawl, she seems to have put his thought into each fringe that he swirls and spreads with precision.

Here, without frills, everything has its place in a dance far from being superficial, where the stage is powerfully inhabited.

Dual offers us the feeling of the beautiful, the strong...from the depths

The link with the music and with the presence of Santiago Lara is the true red thread, from the very beginning to the shared chord that marks the end.”

— Journal- La Terrasse.Fr

This Saturday, July 20th at TTOC Portland!

MMercedes Ruíz & Santiago Lara: DUAL! Live in Portland
Ticket Link in comments

CCOMPAÑÍA DE MERCEDES RUIZSSantiago Lara Guitarrista/Compositor

07/17/2024

♥️ Another peek at Mercedes Ruiz practicing for DUAL, the latest creation with her husband Santiago Lara coming to Portland , this Saturday, July 20th!⁣

Mercedes Ruíz & Santiago Lara: DUAL! Live in Portland

📰 “Once she starts dancing, she takes over the stage. It is impossible to take your eyes off of her… Taken separately, the two artists are among the best of their generation. Together, they offer a moving and forceful show where the exploration of flamenco will take you to a moment of grace. Time passes too quickly and we would like to stay two or three more hours to enjoy their talents.”⁣

- Vicente Pasquinelli /The Night Owls of Avignon⁣

See you at the show?⁣

Ticket link in comments ;)

COMPAÑÍA DE MERCEDES RUIZ Santiago Lara Guitarrista/Compositor TOC Portland

07/14/2024

👀 Sneak peek at rehearsal with Mercedes Ruiz

🎶 Here she runs through a piece where she dances to the guitar of Manuel Morao, a prominent guitarist from Jerez de la Frontera whose company she danced with when she was just six years old!⁣

🧳 At the young age of six, Mercedes toured with him and his company all over Europe and even to New York.⁣

💒 Watch her perform this whole piece next Saturday, July 20th at The Old Church in Portland.

🎵 This will be one of many numbers she dances in DUAL, a collaboration with her equally talented husband, Santiago Lara on flamenco guitar.⁣

07/12/2024

Live flamenco right here in Portland with two of Spain’s biggest flamenco artists, Mercedes Ruiz & Santiago Lara on July 20th:

Mercedes Ruíz & Santiago Lara: DUAL! Live in Portland !!!

Some thoughts from COMPAÑÍA DE MERCEDES RUIZ on collaborating with her husband, Santiago Lara Guitarrista/Compositor

“The truth is it’s great because we began working together before becoming a couple. ⁣

We’ve always spoken the same language. He music and me dance. But both of us had the same language. So really it’s completely easy working together. I can’t say otherwise… ⁣

If he weren’t here it would be so hard for me. ⁣

It’s like he is my right hand and he understands me perfectly on stage.”⁣

Experience their collaboration first hand at TOC Portland in just a couple of weeks⁣.

🎟️💃🏻🎶♥️⁣Ticket link in comments

¡Olé!⁣

Summer classes begin THIS EVENING! WHAT'S HAPPENING:💃🏽Tuesday & Wednesday evening classes throughout the summer 💃🏽+ Two ...
07/09/2024

Summer classes begin THIS EVENING!

WHAT'S HAPPENING:

💃🏽Tuesday & Wednesday evening classes throughout the summer
💃🏽+ Two weekends of workshops, August 10 & 11 and August 24 & 25
💃🏽Kids classes in August
🌳 Some outdoor pop up classes if people are interested!

We'd love to dance with you this summer 💃🏽

07/07/2024

♥️ L O V E ♥️ ⁣

🎥 This clip comes from Mercedes Ruiz & Santiago Lara's recent performance of DUAL in Shanghai…⁣

📰 “The audience surrendered to the artistic talent of the Jerez couple, who through dance and guitar structured an intimate and impactful show that has already achieved other successes in other parts of the globe.⁣

…Mercedes’s dance, which defends tradition while also advancing her artistic concept a step further, is intermingled with the powerful guitar of Santiago Lara, who in the show blends his own compositions…with works by guitar masters such as Sabicas.”⁣

- Diario de Jerez⁣

We are 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 that these two are bringing the show , Mercedes Ruíz & Santiago Lara: DUAL! Live in Portland , to Portland’s TOC Portland July 20th!!!⁣

🎟️ Ticket link in comments .⁣

Here’s the original excerpt in Spanish from the Diario de Jerez:⁣

“El público se rindió al talento artístico de la pareja jerezana, que a través del baile y la guitarra estructuraron un espectáculo íntimo e impactante que ya ha conseguido otros éxitos en otros puntos del globo terráqueo.⁣

El baile de Mercedes, con el que reivindica la tradición pero dando un paso más a su concepto artístico, se entremezcla con la guitarra poderosa de Santiago Lara, que en dicho espectáculo alterna composiciones propias, algunas de las que han conformado los trece espectáculos de la Compañía de Mercedes Ruiz, con obras de maestros de la guitarra como Sabicas.”⁣

⁣ DE MERCEDES RUIZ & Santiago Lara Guitarrista/Compositor

07/04/2024

➡️ July 20th direct from Jerez, Spain
Mercedes Ruíz & Santiago Lara: DUAL! Live in Portland

🎟️ Ticket link in comments.

“A grand blaze of Artistry” - Financial Times

“Taken separately, the two artists are among the best of their generation. Together, they offer a moving and forceful show where the exploration of flamenco will take you to a moment of grace. Time passes too quickly and we would like to stay two or three more hours to enjoy their talents.”
— Vicente Pasquinelli /The Night Owls of Avignon

COMPAÑÍA DE MERCEDES RUIZ & Santiago Lara Guitarrista/Compositor

(⁣Limited number of preferred reserved seats available in addition to general admission seats. )

💃🏻🎶♥️⁣

¡Olé!⁣

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Portland, OR
97225

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Experience Flamenco Portland provides a broad and accessible flamenco experience of instruction, performance and community through classes and events with local and international artists in Portland, OR, retreats in the Western US, guided trips to Spain to get to know flamenco in its birthplace, and flamenco articles posted to the blog. Founder Laura Onizuka is driven by the challenge and beauty of flamenco. She believes anyone who is moved by this art form has the capability to access it.

Our Portland classes emphasize technique, improvisation, and the relationship between the cante (singing), baile (dancing), and compás (rhythm) in a positive community based learning environment. Focusing on these skills and paying respect to where flamenco comes from are essential in allowing students to grow into strong flamenco dancers.

We believe that learning is an interactive process that should be fun & that anyone who is moved by flamenco has the capability to access it.

Come unlock the mysteries of flamenco dance and music with us.