The ground is shaking outside the classroom door. Underneath the subtle Spanish singing and thunderous, uniform stomping on the floor, a guitar can be heard, along with clapping and the guiding voice of the course’s leader.
Lucia Álvarez’s class is in session.
Álvarez, the current flamenco guest artist teaching at UNM for six weeks this semester, was brought to the program because of her ability to perform in a particular type of setting.
Marisol Encinias, a lecturer of flamenco dance at UNM, said the program chose Álvarez for the guest teaching spot specifically because of the opening of a new flamenco performance space in Albuquerque called a tablao, a restaurant and bar where live flamenco is performed. Álvarez is especially gifted in dancing in the tablao setting, which requires improvisation and spontaneity as opposed to set choreography, she said.
Some of the students graduating from the flamenco program at UNM are starting to dance in the tablao, and the program wants them to be as prepared as possible, Encinias said.
Encinias said it is also a requirement that students watch tablao performances. Students can train during the day, and watch performances at night, she said. Álvarez is the first guest artist brought to UNM specifically to teach students how to dance at a tablao.
Encinias said Álvarez is also teaching students a taranto, a song form about workers who labored in mines.
“This day and age it might not be about working in the mines,” she said. “In flamenco, the literal meaning of historical song forms might not apply to contemporary dance practice.”
Andrea Lozano, a junior dance major, said Álvarez exercises in arm movement to a recording of a petenera, a historical flamenco song form referring to a singer named “La Petenera.”
According to legend, “La Petenera” was known to be “the damnation of men” due to her seductive power.
Lozano watches flamenco performances at the tablao every Sunday and has recently seen Alvarez perform.
“She knows how to work the stage and she’s very comfortable up there,” she said.
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Lozano said Álvarez’s performance has a strong connection to the guitarist, the singer and the rhythm.
“It’s crazy being able to see her perform, and then come to class,” she said. “You want to give it your all because you don’t want to look bad in front of such an experienced performer.”
Lozano said guest artists sometimes create their choreography while they are teaching, leading to a fast-paced learning style. She said guest artist choreography is sometimes used for faculty productions as well.
Álvarez, who has been dancing since she was 11 years old, said the crowd at the tablao in Albuquerque has a lot in common with her audiences in Spain.
“In Spain we have a lot of tourists,” she said.
Álvarez said she focuses on technique rather than repertory in the lower level class she teaches at UNM. She said less advanced students have a problem knowing how to shift their weight, and that simplifying material for beginners can be a challenge.
But it allows her to learn in the process, as she said it’s a good exercise as an instructor to break down material to a more basic level.
Encinias said the first time a guest artist came to teach at UNM was in the spring of 2012. Since then, an average of about four guests per academic year have visited to teach at UNM’s dance department.
She said that although the National Institute of Flamenco (NIF) and UNM have collaborated to work on many projects, such as the flamenco festival held every summer, the guest artist program is specific to UNM, and separate from NIF’s endeavors.
UNM professor and NIF Director Eva Encinias — who is also Marisol’s mother — said for every dollar the University puts into the flamenco guest artist program, the institute puts in another dollar to help house the guest artists who are invited to teach. She said UNM funds could be used to house artists, but the program saves that money to ensure that artists can continue to come to campus in the future.
Eva Encinias said UNM is the only university in the country that offers a concentration in flamenco, an endeavor that has not been without hardship. Fitting flamenco into a university program has proven to be difficult, she said, especially when not everyone understands the art form.
Eva Encinias said she was frustrated for years trying to educate students while only being able to reference important flamenco artists. It wasn’t until four years ago that University administration approved funding for the guest artist program, allowing an unprecedented level of interactivity and authenticity for students.
“With the guest line, students can really experience flamenco,” she said. “It’s not just theory.”
The benefits of UNM’s investment in flamenco can be seen with advancing choreography and performance, she said. “My family and my children are all about education. Flamenco runs in our blood,” Eva Encinias said. “We’ve done it all of our lives. Above that, we are educators.”
