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Cómplices by Rosario Toledo of Sevilla, Spain

Pasión y Arte
Rosario Toledo at the First Philadelphia Flamenco Festival. Photo by Josh Pelta-Heller.
Rosario Toledo at the First Philadelphia Flamenco Festival. Photo by Josh Pelta-Heller.

In its 10th year of flamenco practice, preservation, and exploration, Pasión y Arte (PyA) embarked upon its first outside commission as well as its first collaboration with a major flamenco artist: internationally renowned Spanish dancer and choreographer Rosario Toledo. PyA's mission is to "bring the flamenco tradition into the 21st century by addressing the role of women." Toledo choreographed an original dance for PyA, built during a three-week laboratory phase with the company's dancers and readied for public performances in March 2012, as part of a dynamic "mini-festival of flamenco." In addition to eight performances of Toledo's original work at Christ Church's Neighborhood House in Philadelphia's Old City, PyA also hosted a flamenco symposium of dance experts, as well as master class workshops, led by Toledo.

Recipient
Pasión y Arte

Pasión y Arte

Pasión y Arte is an all-female dance company that creates challenging and original flamenco works. Led by Artistic Director Elba Hevia y Vaca, the company embraces elements of modern and traditional dances, multimedia, theater, and a progressive cultivation of feminist ideas in its expression of modern flamenco. In 2011, with Center support, Pasión y Arte presented the first-ever Philadelphia Flamenco Festival. The second iteration of the festival will be held in 2014, with performances from flamenco masters Israel and Pastora Galván and Rosario Toledo.

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