Fanny Ara returns to The Fountain! Traversing the boards alone, she brings deep passion, contemplation, and the vital energy of the grounding earth to the stage. Join us for for a special performance that will leave an indelible mark on your soul.
What Happened to Flamenco 2026
by Fanny Ara
Featuring
Dancer / Director - Fanny Ara
Vahagni - Guitar
Vardan Ovsepian - Piano
Diego Alvarez - Percussion
Fanny Ara (Dancer - Director) is an internationally-sought after and award-winning choreographer, performer and instructor. Her most dedicated worldwide fans especially credit her as one of the driving forces of flamenco today; an artist excelling in the full spectrum of flamenco, from the most traditional to the avant-garde. Fanny has been an invited artist in national and international festivals and has toured extensively in Canada, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa, and throughout Europe.
She has been distinguished since 2006 with nominations from the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards in the categories of Most Outstanding Individual Dancer, Most Outstanding Music, Ensemble, and Individual Performance for her project, Juncal Street, and Best Ensemble for her work with the San Francisco Opera in La Traviata. New York’s Vilcek Foundation also awarded Fanny a prestigious finalist prize for “Creative Promise in Dance” in 2012. Fanny’s versatility in the art form of flamenco is manifested in her many artistic works. As Philip Gardner said of her performance at the Joyce Theater in New York City “My newest love is Fanny Ara...the captivating expressive qualities of Fanny’s upper body mesmerized us while her footwork.” dazzled both the eye and the ear...she soared into the upper most echelon of dance artists I have witnessed over the years.”
Her latest productions (2019 with ‘Tattooed’ and 2024 with ‘Lilith’) as an artistic director, choreographer and dancer were reviewed as a triumph of artistry and self- actualization where the ovation was immediate, standing, vociferous, prolonged”
Diego “El Negro” Alvarez (Percussion) was born in Venezuela and is a master cajón player. He lived 16 years in Spain where he developed his career alongside the most prestigious flamenco dance companies such as those of Joaquin Cortez, Antonio Canales, Sara Baras, Nuevo Ballet Español and Paco Peña among others. He has more than 12 Latin Grammy nominations and is a winner of a Latin Grammy in 2010 for best rock album of the year for “Sera” by La Vida Boheme. He is committed to promoting the cajón with its Peruvian roots as a universal instrument. He now lives in Los Angeles where he continues working on different musical projects between flamenco and jazz.
Vardan Ovsepian (Piano) is an Armenian-born pianist/composer whose studies include Yerevan State Conservatory, Estonian Music Academy, Helsinki Jazz Conservatory, and Berklee College of Music.
From the early years Vardan was fascinated by the blend of western classical music with jazz, and has been in perpetual search for unique ways of incorporating the hybrid formation in his composing and improvising. Consequently a semi-large chamber ensemble (VOCE) was formed in 2005, focusing on the cinematic approach in the musical narrative.
Throughout the years Vardan has also developed a remarkable angular geometric world, connected to his background in chess, and his attraction to minimalism and contemporary architecture, resulting in the publication of 2 books: Mirror Exercises (2011) and Permutation Studies (2020).
Another spotlight is the origination of the “Fractal Limit” duet with Tatiana Parra, which has received an immense international recognition. The project showcases Vardan’s remarkable technical proficiency and capacity to articulate contrapuntal textures.
In addition to VOCE and Fractal Limit, Vardan has collaborated with artists like Mick Goodrick, Peter Erskine, Jerry Bergonzi, Tim Miller, Ben Monder, David Binney, and has released 20+ albums as a leader and co-leader.
“Vardan brings his own sound and ingredients... I have never heard any musician quite like him in terms of harmonic awareness and melodic power. I suspect that he will prove to be quite a sensation…” - Peter Erskine
My name is Vahagni (Guitar), and I am a guitarist, composer and producer. My music is not gnre-based, rather it is rooted in various cultures from flamenco, Armenian folk, classical, jazz to electronic production and experimental art music.
I’m an Armenian who grew up in LA with a deep connection to Flamenco music, that’s the short version.
I always had the guitar in my hands but started playing at the age of 9. My father being my musical mentor and professional classical guitarist. In my teens I lived and studied flamenco in Andalucia, Spain with masters like Manolo Sanlucar and Paco Serrano in order to submerge myself in that culture
My career also started in my teens, playing small gigs, sitting in with my father and his bands. I found the love for composition at a very young age and since then I primarily play my original works in concerts and have recorded four albums and three EP’s as a soloist.
My curiosities have always pulled me in many directions, from being MD and guitarist for Concha Buika to playing lead guitar for Capital Cities, or co founder of the duo Paco Versailles. Throughout it all, I never lost my center, which was the Flamenco guitar. A seed with deep roots that was planted in me at a very young age.
I try to have a very honest and human approach to my music-making. There are a lot of different components to us as individuals and human beings, so our expression naturally consists of all these various concoctions. I aim to find a balance for it all to naturally exist in my music, just like it does in us.