About the Show
DE PASO- was first presented at the XXVI Certamen de Coreografía de Danza Española y Flamenco de Madrid (XXVI Madrid Competition in Spanish Dance Choreography and Flamenco) where it received the Second Prize in the Soloist Choreography category and the First Prize as the Best Music Composition for Dance. From there, it went on to other runs, winning the Second Dance Category Prize at Madrid's City Council Competition for Young Creators.
After the success of the piece, a new and ardent creative phase began to convert De Paso into longer and more detailed choreographic work.
This new version finally premiered at the El Pozo del Flamenco del
Ayuntamiento de Madrid in 2018. In 2019, De Paso was selected to
form part of the catalog of the Network of Theaters in Madrid and in 2020 the program was selected to represent the Casa Patas Foundation on their annual U.S. tour.
Master Classes
Sara and Ruben will be teaching on Wednesday and Thursday prior the show. Get your Flamenco shoes ready, your Covid test or vaccine record and your mask.
They will be offering 3 options:
ADVANCED / Bulerias: Wednesday and Thursday 7:30-9pm
INTERMEDIATE / Tangos: Wednesday and Thursday 6-7:30pm
GIRLS (Age average 9-12): Wednesday 4:30-6pm
ALL workshops will happen at Semilla Flamenca’s studio (23031 NE 61st st Redmond 98053)
sara perez
Choreographer and Flamenco Dancer Sara Pérez was born in Madrid. She began her studies in Flamenco and Spanish Dance at the Marta de la Vega Dance School, graduating with honors. She completed her Dance Education at the Center for Flamenco and Spanish Dance Amor de Dios and at the Casa Patas Conservatory where she studied with such master dancers/teachers as: Alfonso Losa, María Juncal, Belén López, La Lupi, Concha Jareño, Olga Pericet, Carmen La Talegona, Manuel Liñán, and many others. She initiated her professional career with the Carlos Vilán Company and with the Ballet Flamenco de Madrid. In 2013, she began working at the El Corral de la Morería, a tablao (flamenco venue) in Madrid, under the artistic direction of Blanca del Rey.
In 2014, and with the sponsorship of the Casa Patas Foundation, she danced in the production of Querencia at the Noches de Ramadan Festival in Algeria. In 2015, she performed in Xian, China at the Silk Road Festival where she shared the stage with José Barrios. In 2019, she was the invited artist at the Picasso Rose et Bleu Exhibition at the Beyeler Foundation in Switzerland. In 2019, Sara Pérez joined the María Pagés Dance Company performing in the production of Yo Carmen, which traveled to some of the most celebrated festivals in the world including the XIX Bienal de Sevilla, Dance, Dance in Montreal, the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Flamenco Festival in London. In addition to performing, she has also choreographed and created original works. The most notable were Colores Tierra, presented in 2015, at the inauguration of the XXV Seminario Internacional de Danza de Brasilia, and De Paso, for which she was awarded the Second Prize at the XXVI Spanish Dance Choreography and Flamenco Competition in Madrid (XXVI Certamen de Coreografía de Danza Española y Flamenco) and at the Jóvenes Creadores del Ayuntamiento de Madrid.
She transformed this 15-minute piece into a longer performance which ran at several theaters in Madrid for two years. In 2015, she received the Second Prize at the IV Festival Internacional de Danza de Almería. All throughout, she performed at the most praised tablaos in Madrid including Casa Patas, Café de Chinitas, Torres Bermejas and Las Tablas.
In addition to being a performer, and choreographer, Ms. Pérez also holds a degree in Journalism and Audiovisual Communication (2011), and a Masters’ degree in Management and Leadership of Cultural Projects (2020), and has taken courses and seminars on a variety of subjects relating to Stage Direction at the Escuela de Creación Escénica of Madrid.
ruben puertas
Rubén Puertas who was born in Madrid, initiated his studies in dance with Carmen Sivajas and Almudena Díaz Caña.
In 2005, he entered the Professional Dance Conservatory in Madrid where he took courses with Concepción Cerezo, Paco Morales, Juan Manuel Carrillo, Graciela Craus, Javier Palacios, and Lola Pelta. At the Conservatory, he also had the opportunity to take intensive classes with such artists as María Vivo, Merche Esmeralda, and Lola Greco. At the same time, he studied at the Centro de Flamenco y Danza Española Amor de Dios where he received instruction from master dancers/teachers including El Güito, Marco Flores, Manuel Liñán, Javier García, Antonio Najarro, María Juncal, Miguel Cañas, Carmen “La Talegona”, Alfonso Losa, David Paniagua and others.
He subsequently joined the Dance Companies of María Rosa, Carmen Cantero, Javier García, and Rosana Muñoz where performed in the zarzuela, Doña Francisquita, choreographed by Javier Palacios. He also danced in the production of La Traviata with the Ballet of Lola Greco at the Fenice Theater in Venice. In 2006, he joined the Company of Rafael Amargo, and performed in the productions of El Quijote, Poeta en Nueva York, El amor brujo, and La difícil sencillez. In 2010, performed with the Company of María Pagés in Flamenco y poesía, Sevilla, Autorretrato, Flamenco Republic, Miradas, and Utopía.
In 2014, Mr. Puertas performed at the Jerez Flamenco Festival joining the Company of Marco Flores in the production of Laberíntica. He also danced with the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía in the Veranos del Generalife Festival (Summers at the Generalife) in Granada, and with the Nuevo Ballet Español in the production of Titanium.
In 2016, he danced in Los silencios del baile directed by Francisco Hidalgo, a production sponsored by the Casa Patas Foundation, which toured several cities in the U.S. Under the auspices of the Casa Patas Foundation he created and presented Castizo, sharing the stage with flamenco dancer Lucía Ruibal in Cairo, Egypt. At present, Rubén Puertas forms part of the Jesús Carmona Dance Company, and also performs at various tablaos (flamenco venues) in Madrid, such as Casa Patas