Olympia Estrella and Rafael Campallo fuse flamenco and jazz in 'Flamenco Blue, Copas en Nueva York'

The dancer from Granada premieres her show in New York and Philadelphia

Flamenco-world.com

Flamenco, jazz and tap make an effort to communicate with each other, or at least that's the idea behind 'Flamenco Blue, Copas en Nueva York', the new show being presented by Olympia Estrella, a dancer from Granada who lives in Seville. Another dancer from Seville, Rafael Campallo, participates in the work as guest artist, in addition to jazz musicians Talib Kibwei and Robert Hogan, and tap dancer Joseph Webb. The production premieres January 8th and 13th, 2002 in New York, and the 14th in Philadelphia.

Ever since Pedro Iturralde and Paco de Lucía immortalized the joining of these two musical genres at the end of the seventies, both have been destined to get along. In a new attempt to demonstrate precisely this, artistic director and dancer Olympia Estrella has created the show 'Flamenco Blue, Copas en Nueva York'. The idea is to "combine the musical essence of jazz with flamenco in a production which maximizes a really intimate and dynamic kind of fusion". And far from being content with the simple fusion of musical styles, Olympia Estrella has set the goal of "communicating the pulse, the feeling and the emotion of both forms, at the same time maintaining the ambience and individual personality of each".

Rafael Campallo (Photo: Anahí Carmody)

Guest artists

Representing the flamenco side is the dancer from Seville Rafael Campallo who participates as guest artist, Mariano Campallo on the guitar and Emilio Cabello in charge of the cante. From the jazz contingent, there are American musicians like Talib Kibwei who has teamed up with other jazz musicians like Don Cherry and Randy Weston, and the jazz guitarist Robert Hogan, a regular in New York clubs. Tap dancer Joseph Webb, a member of the cast of 'Bring in da noise, bring in da funk', which has been holding its own on Broadway for the last four years, is also featured.

The New York venue for the scheduled performances on January 8th and 13th, 2002 is the Pantheon Theater, while in Philadelphia the premiere will be held on January 14th in the AMLA Theater. 'Flamenco Blue' is being sponsored by Absolut Vodka and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in New York [Oficina Comercial Española]. The production is also being backed by Air Plus Comet, Gorham Hotel, Majorica Pearls, Rail Europe and the Roger Smith Hotel.