The Hispania Dance Company
September 28, 2009
By Tine Roycroft
Lindiana Flores, dancer, dance instructor and artistic director of the new Hispania Dance Company has done more in 25 years than most people do in a lifetime.
She has studied under some amazing artists: Denise Jefferson, Director at Alvin Ailey; A.C. Ciulla of Broadway’s “Footloose;” Brice Vick, choreographer of Ashanti’s “Only You” video.
But Flores does not need to name-drop in order to gain respect.
Her talent makes her a force to be reckoned with and led her to co-create, with Hilda Ramirez, the Hispania Dance Company ~ a gorgeous and passionate dance group who will be performing their latest show, “Call of the Drum,” at The Hanover Theater on October 4.
“Our mission at Hispania is to bring an awareness of the Hispanic culture to the Worcester community,” says Flores, “and we wanted to do it through the arts. I think that many of the dance studios in Worcester don’t really cater to the Hispanic community. We wanted to create an environment for Hispanic dancers and at the same time, let everyone see what a rich culture it is.”
Last year, Hispania had its first bold introduction to the city at Hanover Theater with “Anoranzas / Reminiscing.” The performance took the audience back to the roots of the Latino culture and to encourage them to never forget how deep those roots are. The two hour show contained fusions of salsa music, mambo, flamenco and modern fusion.
“It went very, very well,” says Flores. “We had an audience of 2000 and we were very shocked at the level of interest. We always knew there was a need for something like Hispania, but we were amazed to see all of the people and the reporters.”
Along with the success of Hispania, Flores is enjoying other personal victories. She recently came full circle as a dancer. After graduating from college, the Worcester native hit the streets to complete further dance studies in New York City. Upon her return to Worcester, she began teaching jazz at the Nola Borrelli’s Dance Studio where she first took classes as a young girl and ~ as of June 2009 ~ she took over the studio and re-opened it under the name Lindiana’s School of Dance.
Flores is excited to bring Hispania back to the stage of the Hanover with a very powerful show that mixes the deep blood of history with the grace of dancers and driving rhythms. It will undoubtedly stun its audience with its mission and execution.
“We decided to take a portion of last year’s show ~ a part called ‘Call of the Drum’ ~ and we’re taking the percussion aspect of the show to a whole other level with the flamenco,” says Flores. “We’ll have people on stilts with traditional Puerto Rican masks. And the theme of my section is to focus on the colonization of the Caribbean. We’ll be using ropes within the choreography to symbolize the enslavement and trying to free oneself.”
For more information on Hispania’s upcoming performance go to www.thehanovertheatre.org
For more information on Hispania, go to: http://www.hispaniaonline.org/live.
For more information on Lindiana’s School of Dance, got to: www.lindianas.com<-->
Lindiana Flores, dancer, dance instructor and artistic director of the new Hispania Dance Company has done more in 25 years than most people do in a lifetime.
She has studied under some amazing artists: Denise Jefferson, Director at Alvin Ailey; A.C. Ciulla of Broadway’s “Footloose;” Brice Vick, choreographer of Ashanti’s “Only You” video.
But Flores does not need to name-drop in order to gain respect.
Her talent makes her a force to be reckoned with and led her to co-create, with Hilda Ramirez, the Hispania Dance Company ~ a gorgeous and passionate dance group who will be performing their latest show, “Call of the Drum,” at The Hanover Theater on October 4.
“Our mission at Hispania is to bring an awareness of the Hispanic culture to the Worcester community,” says Flores, “and we wanted to do it through the arts. I think that many of the dance studios in Worcester don’t really cater to the Hispanic community. We wanted to create an environment for Hispanic dancers and at the same time, let everyone see what a rich culture it is.”
Last year, Hispania had its first bold introduction to the city at Hanover Theater with “Anoranzas / Reminiscing.” The performance took the audience back to the roots of the Latino culture and to encourage them to never forget how deep those roots are. The two hour show contained fusions of salsa music, mambo, flamenco and modern fusion.
“It went very, very well,” says Flores. “We had an audience of 2000 and we were very shocked at the level of interest. We always knew there was a need for something like Hispania, but we were amazed to see all of the people and the reporters.”
Along with the success of Hispania, Flores is enjoying other personal victories. She recently came full circle as a dancer. After graduating from college, the Worcester native hit the streets to complete further dance studies in New York City. Upon her return to Worcester, she began teaching jazz at the Nola Borrelli’s Dance Studio where she first took classes as a young girl and ~ as of June 2009 ~ she took over the studio and re-opened it under the name Lindiana’s School of Dance.
Flores is excited to bring Hispania back to the stage of the Hanover with a very powerful show that mixes the deep blood of history with the grace of dancers and driving rhythms. It will undoubtedly stun its audience with its mission and execution.
“We decided to take a portion of last year’s show ~ a part called ‘Call of the Drum’ ~ and we’re taking the percussion aspect of the show to a whole other level with the flamenco,” says Flores. “We’ll have people on stilts with traditional Puerto Rican masks. And the theme of my section is to focus on the colonization of the Caribbean. We’ll be using ropes within the choreography to symbolize the enslavement and trying to free oneself.”
For more information on Hispania’s upcoming performance go to www.thehanovertheatre.org
For more information on Hispania, go to: http://www.hispaniaonline.org/live.
For more information on Lindiana’s School of Dance, got to: www.lindianas.com<-->
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