With Juncá, the Jerez-born Mercedes Ruiz explores her roots, which are of Flamenco itself, to share her art in a highly personal and creative mixture of traditional images and modern perspectives.

Preview Mercedes and the excitement of the Festival

As internationally acclaimed architect Antonio Gaudi once said, “Originality is found by returning to the origins.” Mercedes Ruiz has embarked on such a journey of interpretation of the traditions of her native Jerez and the legacy or her ancestors.

Juncá is just that: a return to the origins, the essence, to the founding pillars of flamenco. With her intrinsic self confidence, the dancer dares to reinterpret the art form and offer us her own personal way of understanding the traditional flamenco singing and dancing styles which originated in her native city. No one doubts that the seguidilla, the soléa and the bulería have a special historic connection with the city of Jerez, and this is essential to the development of the new show.

Mercedes Ruiz is already widely regarded as one of the most important female dancers in flamenco today and is constantly striving to take her artistry to the next level.

One of the most celebrated Flamenco dance artists in Canada. Lauded internationally as a choreographer and teacher, Esmeralda Enrique is the founder of the Academy of Spanish Dance and the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company, renown for its innovation, versatility and artistic excellence. Esmeralda Enrique grew up in the flamenco tradition, studying dance as a child and was working professionally by the age of 14. She toured the western United States and Canada with the company of Luisa Triana and later North America with the famous company of José Greco. Shortly after she moved to Spain and perfected her art under the watchful eyes of Spain's greatest masters including Victoria Eugenia, María Magdalena, Pedro Azorín, Paco Fernández and José Granero. She appeared throughout Europe, the Middle East, Mexico and the Carribean with the renowned companies of Paco Ruíz, Miguel Sandoval, Antonio del Castillo, Sara Lezana and Cristóbal Reyes.

In 1982, Ms. Enrique immigrated to Toronto and established the Academy of Spanish Dance. Shortly after, she founded the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company, which has emerged as one of Canada’s foremost dance ensembles. Her vision and passionate commitment to flamenco have earned her acclaim across the country as a teacher, performer and artistic director. Ms. Enrique has become a beloved personality, a warm and charismatic addition to the Toronto dance community.

Ms. Enrique has been honoured with Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations in 1997, 1999, 2002 and in 2006. Indeed her choreographic talent is well known, a contemporary fusion that demands versatility and excellence. “Caminos Flamencos” of 2007 celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company’s establishment in Canada. Undoubtedly Esmeralda’s spirit and energy over the last twenty-six years have helped make flamenco a vibrant, driving force on the Canadian dance landscape.

Carmen Romero is the artistic director of Compañía Carmen Romero and the School of Flamenco Dance Arts based in Toronto since 1992. As a dance soloist Carmen Romero revels in the art of improvisation with her musicians at her mercy the thrill of dance being unbridled and temperamental brings out the best in Carmen’s performances. "… unnerving and raw, her emotional presence soon pulls you up straight."
Dance International

As a choreographer, Carmen Romero conveys old traditions to the modern world articulating the primal essence of flamenco. Carmen has received many awards for her work including: the prestigious Chalmers Award and the K.M Hunter Emerging Artists Award, given to artists who have made an impact on dance in Canada. As well she had been nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for the company’s latest production Carmen Complex. Backed up by a dedicated crew of dancers and musicians the company has performed in the prestigious IX Certamen de Choreografia y Danza in Madrid, Spain, Canada Dance Festival (Ottawa), Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver) to name a few, as well as realizing tours in various parts of Canada, Europe, the United States and Asia.

Carmen Romero is as passionate a teacher as she is a performer. From Beginner to Professional levels, students learn the physical and technical aspects as a language rather than a series of steps, chords and rhythms. It is the communicative interplay between dance, song and guitar that gives rise to the expression of the human soul. Her objective is to get dancers to go beyond technique and explore the emotional content that is so revealing in flamenco.

Gareth Owen, blends the traditions of Flamenco guitar with his own aggressively passionate style. A talented young guitarist, from Canada’s West Coast, he is one of the privileged few North Americans born into the world of Flamenco. As the son of top Flamenco guitarist Harry Owen and dancer Veronica Maguire, Gareth plays with the instinct and raw intensity that comes from truly having the music in his blood and bone. From an early age he has been immersed in the rhythms of Flamenco, performing professionally alongside his family and the Alma de España Flamenco Dance Company. In 2001, at the age of 12, Gareth participated in the CD recording of Alma de España’s “Flamenco Live” at Victoria’s MacPherson Playhouse Theatre.

Now, 7 years later, Gareth is once again recording with his parents, but this time as a soloist in what he hopes will be the first of many albums. His talent, technical ability and the way he draws the music from his very soul has earned acclaim at the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, the Victoria Conservatory Festival of Music Summer Guitar Academy and his first sold out solo concert in 2006. Gareth has performed throughout British Columbia, including touring of the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island and he is currently extending himself to reach a greater audience. He has participated in concerts presented by the Arts Council in the Queen Charlotte Islands, the University Theatre in Calgary and his 2008 solo concert at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall in Victoria, B.C., at which his CD was recorded.

Gareth traveled to Spain for the second time in 2007. Living in Jerez de la Frontera, the heartland of Flamenco, gave him the opportunity to study and absorb the Spanish culture and traditions. There he played for many of the local singers and dancers at Peña Los Cernicalos and furthered his studies with guitarists Jesus Alvarez and the legendary Niño Jero. Today, at age 20, Gareth draws on the inspiration of many of today’s great Flamenco guitarists. His playing falls between the open, intuitive sounds of Niño Jero and the modern syncopations of Diego Morao. Through mastering the arrangements of Moraíto, and emulating the tone of Diego Amaya, Gareth creates a style that is all his own. Since returning home to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, Gareth has been busy performing and putting in hours of practice every day. Although Gareth’s playing can be experimental, with a great deal of contemporary sound and modern style, he maintains the essential spirit and traditions of pure Flamenco. Gareth is constantly pushing himself to the very edge of his music and within the Compás (Flamenco rhythm) redefining that edge