A Través creates projects in which Spanish Flamenco artists work one-on-one with residents of the state of Georgia in a cultural exchange that broadens horizons via the arts (a través de los artes). Classes of Flamenco dance, singing, and music express the lifestyle, language, history, literature, and personal stories of Spain. They are also surprisingly reflective of life in the Americas – today and across history. Our projects are meant to bridge people from different walks of life so that they find new perspectives in which to view the world and themselves.

CURRENT PROGRAMS

A Través is proud to present two major programs annually: The ATLANTA FLAMENCO FESTIVAL and La Feria ATLANTA. Both showcase resident artists in education and performance, as a means of raising awareness of flamenco arts, the lifestyles of the people inside artist circles, and the local network of professionals, students, and aficionados who embrace the art form outside of Spain. The ATLANTA FLAMENCO FESTIVAL was established in 2019 in order to bring world-class artists from Spain to audiences in a variety of performance venues in the state of Georgia and showcase the gamut of styles present in flamenco today. We added APERTURE Residency for the Cuadro to the festival in 2022 as a means of amplifying the experience of artists who create flamenco in Georgia. La Feria ATLANTA launched in 2021 as a community event that represents La Feria de Abril in Seville, Spain, where flamenco is part of the celebration of the arrival of Spain. This event, full of classes, performances, and cooking demonstrations, puts flamenco in the context of the lifestyle of Andalucía, where flamenco began.

OUR FIRST PROGRAMS

After presenting short-term residencies and class series, A Través launched a two-week residency in October, 2016, at the DeKalb School of the Arts High School. A dozen teens from DeKalb County, Georgia, worked with members of Gloria Bendi, including Roma palmeros Luis and Ali de la Tota, from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, to learn a choreography. The dance students then performed on stage with the professional musicians of the group, in two flamenco concerts at the Atlanta Cuban Club. The dancers later returned to the stage with the artists in February, 2017, for four more performances at their school. They continued to perform their new work throughout the school year at other schools and community festivals. The students experienced growth in the arts, as well as intangible elements of teamwork and communication.

Resident artists also taught classes to adults, who joined them in performance at the end of the residency. Adult classes focused on rhythm and the connection between art and everyday life in Spain.

Students of E. Rivers Elementary participated in one of our next residency in October, 2017. Dancers Antonio Granjero and Lakshmi Basile taught kids to sing and dance, as they explored Spanish language via movement, vocalization, and written words.  Kids had fun cheering, stomping, and clapping as they memorized short choreographies.  Before and after arts education time, kids clamored to color pictures of Flamenco dancers and musicians, as well as complete crossword puzzles that explored the Spanish vocabulary used by the artists.

As part of the residency, a group of the visiting artists in a sold-out show at Red Light Café.  They performed a variety of dances and songs in the “tablao” format, meaning they improvised based on the rules and codes of non-verbal communication that is at the core of Flamenco.  One student attended an evening performance by the resident artists and was invited to the stage to show audience members what she had learned during her time studying this exciting Spanish art form.

More than brief classes and performances, A Través is building a network to bring Spanish flamenco artists to the state of Georgia for longer residencies in which they will work with kids in after school programs for up to eight months a year, delivering arts, language, and lifestyle lessons to students.