As legendary bailadora Rosario Ancer prepares for this month’s Vancouver International Flamenco Festival, she’s as enthusiastic as ever about the artform that she put on the map in Canada.
“Flamenco conveys all the emotions that unite us as humans—from sadness to despair to love to death to dark and light that is in life,” Ancer says.
As the co-founder and artistic director of the annual festival, she has brought a long list of spectacular flamenco artists to Vancouver over the decades. But this year, her own company, Flamenco Rosario, will be in the primary spotlight for the 35th edition of the festival. It will perform with guest artists next Saturday (September 27) at the Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton Street) in a program called Soulfulness to celebrate Flamenco Rosario’s 35th anniversary.
“I’ll be dancing—after five years of not performing—my Soulia, which is my signature dance,” Ancer reveals. “It’s as much as I can do. I’m 74. Then, the rest of the company will join me at the end of my dance.”
Soulfulness features four highly regarded guest artists: singer José “El Cachito” Díaz and bailadoras Macarena López and Pilar Fernández, and guitarist Caroline Planté. El Cachito comes from a family of artists from Barcelona and he is now based in Mexico where he lives with Fernández, his partner. She is from Monterrey, Mexico, which happens to be Ancer’s hometown.
“I know her family—her father and her uncles,” Ancer reveals. “They’re well known in the city because of their love for flamenco guitar. So she grew up with flamenco in her household.”
Ancer promises a soulful evening
The other dancer, López, is an award-winning choreographer based in Seville. Planté lives in Montreal and spent many years in Spain honing her skills as a flamenco musician. Local artists include Yurie Kaneko, originally from Japan; Katia Flores, from Peru; and Jessica Oryall, a Canadian dancer with Peruvian heritage.
“The night promises to be very soulful for the audience, with all the pain and all the joy,” Ancer promises.
The Vancouver International Flamenco Festival opens on Saturday (September 20) and Sunday (September 21) with free outdoor events at Picnic Pavilion on Granville Island. That will be followed on Tuesday (September 23) with a short film, “Be/Sois”, at Alliance Française (6161 Cambie Street), which is already sold out.
The first ticketed event is Dark Sounds at 8 p.m. on Wednesday (September 24) at Waterfront Theatre, featuring Victoria-based Palabra Flamenco. It’s comprised of dancer Denise Yeo, guitarist Gareth Owen, and producer and poet Garth Martens, and singer Veronica Maguire. Presented in partnership with the Vancouver Writers Fest, it fuses spoken words with the urgency of a flamenco performance in addressing contemporary issues and the dark core of sex, family, love, and being human.
That will be followed by De Fez a Jerez at 8 p.m. on Thursday (September 25) at Waterfront Theatre. Presented in partnership with Caravan World Rhythms, it will feature Moroccan-born singer Lamiae Naki and her ensemble, Seffarine. The diverse group of musicians weave together the sounds of Spain and North Africa in mesmerizing performances.
Acclaimed El Cachito will perform in Mel Lehan Hall
On Friday (September 26), the Karen Flamenco Dance Company will offer their take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, as reinterpreted by composer Max Richter. Karen Pitkethly, Timo Nunez, and Fanny Ara are choreographing a performance with Gerado Alcala on flamenco guitar and Justine Reinhart serving as the cantaora. It’s also at the Waterfront Theatre.
The final event of the festival is La Música del Flamenco at 8 p.m. on Sunday (September 28) in Mel Lehan Hall at St. James Community Hall. It features the acclaimed El Cachito doing vocals to Planté’s flamenco guitar with Flamenco Rosario dancers. The evening will open with local artists Jafeline Palacios (voice) and Gerardo Alcalá (guitar).
Ancer and her late husband, Victor Kolstee, launched the Vancouver International Flamenco Fest on June 10, 1990 at what was then known as the Vancouver East Cultural Centre on June 10, 1990. It was the first flamenco festival in Canada.
“At the beginning, there was no support,” Ancer recalls. “Victor and I started the festival with our credit card.”
But the event immediately attracted a following, which grew in subsequent years. The City of Vancouver took notice, as did the people in the diplomatic corps, and later, the Canada Council for the Arts. Now, the festival has financial backing from all levels of government.
“We are so happy that we have all this support and acknowledgement,” Ancer says.
Watch the trailer for the Vancouver International Flamenco Festival.
The Vancouver International Flamenco Festival runs from September 20 to 28 at various locations. Rosario Flamenco and guest artists will present Soulfulness at 8 p.m. next Saturday (September 27) at the Vancouver Playhouse. For tickets and more information, visit the festival website.
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