Noche de Flamenco
by Reyes Barrios
August 28, 2021. 8pm

The Mistress of Flamenco is here. She has the talent, the chutzpah, the skill and the creativity you’ve spent your whole life looking for but never knew it. Seeing her and her troupe LIVE and in the flesh, the passion flowing and sweat dripping to the thrum of the Flamenco beat will have you fully in her thrall. You wouldn’t want to deny yourself that pleasure, would you?

Featuring
Dancers: Lakshmi Basile, Timo Nuñez and Reyes Barrios.
Singer: Antonio de Jerez
Guitarists: Juan Moro and Kambiz Pakan.

Program

Cantinas - The Company
Solo de Guitarra & Antonio
Soleá por Bulerías - Timo Nunez
Tientos - Lakshmi Basile

Intermission

Solo - Reyes Barrios
Alegrías - Timo Nunez
Soleá - Lakshmi Basile
Fin de Fiesta

Lakshmi Basile - (Dancer) began performing at the age of six with her parents’ band “The Electrocarpathians”. She studied dance at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts during elementary and high school. She grew up in the flamenco community of San Diego, where her passionate artistic character began to form. After performing as a flamenco dancer in California and studying classical dance at the University of California Santa Barbara, Lakshmi travelled to Spain at the age of 20 to complete her flamenco studies. She was fortunate to be quickly embraced by artists and find work in tablaos and flamenco private events alongside great artists such as La Toná, La Familia Amaya, Pepe Torres, Joselito Méndez, Antonio Moya, La Tana, Carmen Ledesma, Antonio Rey and Manuel Molina. She was nicknamed La Chimi, which is simply her own name repronounced.

In recent years, Lakshmi Basile “La Chimi” became one of the first and only foreign artists in Spain to win a highly regarded national prize in, Concurso de las Minas de La Unión, 2011. She also won an award in another primary contest, Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Córdoba. There she surprised flamenco critics and received great praise: “un desgarrador homenaje a los románticos de lo jondo” (a heart wrenching homage to the romantics of pure flamenco), Alberto García Reyes, ABC. In fifteen years, Lakshmi consolidates her career in Seville, the cradle of flamenco. She performs daily as a soloist at the tablao “El Palacio Andaluz” in Seville, Spain. She works alongside significant artists in private events and festivals internationally, such as, Great Britain, Denmark and Uruguay. She has produced her own show in Spain, named, “Zarabanda, Lo Que Duerme en el Cuerpo de los Gitanos”, (Zarabanda, What Sleeps in the Gypsies’ Body). She is also sought after as a teacher by flamenco students in Spain. Lakshmi Basile has found her substantial artistic career as a flamenco dancer, because that is what she is in her soul and heart. “Su baile es de una alegría conquistada” (Her dance is one of conquered joy) – Félix Grande, poet and flamencologist. “La única cosa americana que tiene es su pasaporte”, (The only American thing she has is her passport) – Ángel Ojeda, former Minister of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía.

Antonio De Jerez – (Singer) is among the most highly regarded flamenco singers currently in the U.S. Born in Jerez de La Frontera, Spain to a father who was a well-known singer and a mother who was a dancer, Antonio has been singing and dancing since childhood. He performed extensively throughout Spain and in 1977 moved to the U.S. Since then, he has sung for many companies including the Jose Molina Ballet, Rosa Montoya Ballet Espanol, The Boston Flamenco Ballet, plus the companies of Carmen Mora, Luisa Triana, La Tania, Yaelisa and Domingo Ortega, among others. He is artistic director of Canela Pura. Like many cantaores, Antonio is also a poet and frequently writes letras for the cantes he sings.

 Kambiz Pakan - (Guitarist) was born in 1971. In his childhood he listened to a relative playing the setar (traditional persian stringed instrument) which left a great impression on him and later drove him to pursue a unique sound from the guitar. In 1985 when he lived in Istanbul attended the international guitar festival. After this event he began his studies in  music. He eventually moved to California and years later achieved a university degree from CSULB in ethnomusicology/flamencology with an honor. He has worked extensively as a guitarist in the USA. Years of living mainly in the cities of Granada and Jerez has given him a deep insight and perspective in the art of flamenco. Kambiz has traveled extensively in the world which also enriched his musical formation and has helped him aquire a distinct harmonic versatility and an extraordinary sensibility. He has performed on many prestigious stages in the USA, Spain, France, Portugal, Israel, India, Iran among others. He has recently moved back to southern California.

 Timo Nuñez - (Dancer) is an American-born Flamenco dancer, singer, actor, and photographer who has been critically acclaimed for his flamenco dancing since the age of twelve. True to his Spanish blood, Timo gained the base of his training through his studies in Spain. He has established broad recognition in the United States for his work with directors and artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Carlos Santana, Selena Gomez, Luis Fonsi, Yandel, Nappytabs, Kenny Ortega, Nigel Lythgoe, Raj Kapoor, Liz Imperio, Debbie Allen, Leo Moctezuma, Mary Murphy, Brian Friedman, Alex Magno, Amy Tinkum, Otis Sallid, Keith and Sharon Young, Placido and Marta Domingo, Abraham Mateo, Clean Bandit, and more. A prolific artist, Timo has been featured on NBC’s World of Dance, FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance, and has been a flamenco consultant on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

Juan Moro - (Guitar) has played flamenco guitar professionally for over 40 years. He spent many years in Spain studying and performing, honing his flamenco rhythm and accompaniment in the famous Amor de Dios dance studios. He has extensive performance experience in Spain, including in Madrid's Café Silverio with singers such as Rafael Romero, Enrique Oruzco, and El Gitano del Bronce. In the United States, he has played for major dance companies in San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

 Juan appears on the videos Curso de Sevillanas de la Luz and the German documentary Flamenco. Juan's guitar solos are featured on the Flamenco Society recording Olé Flamenco and his full-length solo CD Cinfución was released in November 2008. A new CD – Amordediosero – is currently in production. In San Diego, Juan has performed extensively at Café Sevilla, Olé Madrid, La Estancia Hotel and Spa, and La Gran Tapa, and the Cosmopolitan Hotel. He currently appears regularly Costa Brava restaurant.