Duende Flamenco Festival 2023: Performances

Date: Thursday, November 16–Sunday, November 19, 2023

Celebrate the fiery world of flamenco with live performances by prolific artists from all over the world. Learn more about the artists below. 

Evening Performances

Emilio Ochando

Emilio Ochando is an award-winning dancer and choreographer based in Spain. He trained at the prestigious National Ballet of Spain and the Royal Conservatory of Madrid. He danced with the companies of Domingo Ortega, Aida Gomez, Rafael Aguilar, Inma Ortega, Nuevo Ballet Espanol, and Rojas y Rodriguez. In addition, he has toured Europe, Asia, and North America and has worked extensively in Japan. 

Carmen Romero

Carmen Romero is an award-winning flamenco dance artist, performer, teacher, and producer. With a strong presence in the national and international dance scene, Romero has an unmatched talent for improvisation, choreography, and storytelling. Romero's mesmerizing ability to create transcendent experiences on stage has won her countless awards and nominations. Aside from coaching Latin pop star Shakira, she has received the Chalmers Award for the K.M. Hunter Emerging Artists Award, represented Canada at the 9th Annual Certamen de Coreografía de Danza Española y Flamenco in Madrid, and performed as a soloist in the International Castanet festival in Girona, Spain.

Miriam Mendez

Miriam Mendez is a masterful pianist, composer, and arranger. Born in Seville into a family of musical tradition, Miriam started her musical training at the age of three and wrote her first song two years later. Throughout her childhood, Mendez lived between two worlds — flamenco at home and classical music at conservatories and schools all over Europe. She has performed at several prestigious international music festivals, from the International Festival Antalya in Türkiye to the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, sharing the stage with numerous famous performers, including Chick Corea, Paco de Lucia, and Michael Camilo.

El Yiyo

Miguel Fernández Ribas, known as El Yiyo, is a talented flamenco dancer from Sant Roc, Barcelona, with roots in the Roma community. Raised amidst flamenco sounds, he honed his skills by learning from online sources. “I was born into the technology generation. I’m a YouTuber who learned more by dancing in front of a screen than in front of a mirror. I  didn’t have a great teacher who turned me into a good flamenco dancer, but I was lucky to have a family who always loved flamenco.” Embracing versatility, he trained in contemporary and classical dance. At just 18, he dazzled audiences in over 20 national and international festivals, performing alongside renowned flamenco artists. 

Eduardo Guerrero

Eduardo Guerrero González, born in Cádiz, started dancing at the age of six and trained under renowned masters like Mario Maya and Antonio Canales. He later expanded his dance knowledge in contemporary and ballet. He has collaborated with top artists on the national scene, earning recognition for his quality, physical capacity, and technique. He played main roles in various prestigious companies, including Aida Gómez, Eva La Yerbabuena, and the National Ballet of Spain. In 2011, his choreography "Mayo" won the Prize in the Choreographic Contest of the Professional Conservatories, launching his successful solo career, where he has created numerous shows and performed worldwide.

 ANDALUSYRIA

ANDALUSYRIA is an original musical project merging Andalusian and Syrian influences through original compositions and arrangements. It rallies oudist Nazih Borish, pianist Gabriel Evangelista, and percussionist Hanser Santos.

 Maria Serrano

Maria Serrano is a renowned flamenco dancer from Seville, Spain, who has travelled the world with famous ensembles, enchanting audiences with her sensitivity and power. She founded her company, Compañia Maria Serrano, in 2000 and has produced several acclaimed shows, including

"FlamenTango" and "Intuición." Maria Serrano has expanded her teaching to Canada by launching her dance studio in Toronto.

Flamenco Borealis

Flamenco Borealis is a Saskatoon Flamenco dance and music company and a nonprofit dedicated to exploring the vast possibilities of flamenco art and staging performances which, like the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), are unpredictable, dynamic, grandiose, mysterious, brilliant, and poetic. Founded by Lina Kazan and Daniel Regnier, the company promotes the outreach and appreciation of flamenco by organizing regular educational programs. In 2021, they conceptualized, created, and performed in award award-winning dance film TAKE MY HAND. Flamenco Borealis has received numerous grants from the SK Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts and is currently working on a major dance film production called Colours of the Seasons, which explores how we experience the energies of the seasons and the emotions we derive from nature and its landscape transformations through flamenco music and dance. 

Notas de 4

Calgary-based Notas de 4 is a Latin Jazz ensemble whose original compositions are inspired by flamenco, Latin jazz, and traditional music from Cuba and Mexico. Their captivating compositions have earned them several awards, including Best World Recording in 2020 at the YYC Music Awards. They recently released their second album, Cosas Maravillosas, and their recent sold-out show at the King Eddy was covered by CBC Alberta and Key of A. 

Alfonso Cid

Flamenco singer and flute player Alfonso Cid's earliest influences were his mother, an amateur singer from Triana, and his grandfather, an aficionado of flamenco. He was awarded two scholarships to attend the summer course at the Cristina Heeren Foundation for Flamenco Art in July 2007 and 2008 and recorded backing vocals in the hit song “Mi Santa” by popular Latin artist Romeo Santos featuring the great flamenco guitarist Tomatito. In January 2023, Cid collaborated as a Flamenco singing consultant for Indiana University-Bloomington’s production of the opera Ainadamar-Fountain of Tears by Osvaldo Golijov.

Alfonso Cid has toured the USA, Canada, Latin America, Israel, and Europe.

Guillermo Guillén

Guillermo Guillén is an exquisitely artful and eclectic flamenco guitarist, composer, and arranger whose sensitivity and creativity make him a highly sought-after musical collaborator for live performances and studio work — from the most traditional flamenco to adventurous, experimental projects. Born and raised in France, Guillén trained in Spain and has performed and taught flamenco internationally for over 20 years. 

Guillermo Guillén is the founder of FlamencoMaps, the online educational and teaching resource center and YouTube channel. Thousands of flamenco lovers from around the world have benefited from his highly effective classes and instructional videos.

The ninth annual Duende Flamenco Festival is guest curated by Carmen Romero, the artistic director and principal dancer of Toronto's Compañía Carmen Romero

Artistic Direction by Amirali Alibhai, Head of Performing Arts at the Aga Khan Museum. 

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