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Dear friends, we miss you!

It has been now over six months since the pandemic started. I was in Spain February-March 2020, and never before in my life have I been so eager to return to Canada in the middle of the winter!

As you might have seen on social media, I have been busy switching my classes to online and continue doing so. This fall I started a few in-person classes, which has been so wonderful, let's hope we can continue.

I enjoyed the downtime in the spring, which allowed for self-reflection and reimagining. Besides that, I played chess everyday, enjoyed spending time with my kids and ate wonderful meals. I have been very concerned about the situation, most specially about the human suffering around it and all the industries affected by the pandemic. 

MARIA OSENDE FLAMENCO CO. at the Osprey Theatre back then :)  From left to right: Claudio Slamovitz, Mike Butler, Linda Palmer, Karen Staples, Joyce Saunders, Maria Osende, Daniel MacNeil, Rachel James, Kiriam Thompson, Janine Wallace, Susana Breglia. Photo ©Jon James Photography Canada

I would like to thank our board of directors (Maria Osende Flamenco Co./Atlantic Flamenco Productions Society) for their continued support through these times. On that note, a word below from Robin Muller, our chair.

We miss you, we miss our audience, we miss performing and creating! Wishing you all good health and those in Canada a great Thanksgiving Weekend, 

Maria Osende
Artistic director of Atlantic Flamenco, Maria Osende Flamenco Co.
Owner of Flamenco Dance School Maria Osende

 

Message from the Chair of
Atlantic Flamenco Productions Society


The performing arts world has changed. What looked like a little blip of cancellations in March has turned into a longer halt, as well as an opportunity for innovation and rethinking our resources.  Although public performances are on hold, we are eager to find other ways to share our love of Flamenco and Spanish culture with you.

We turned our focus to education throughout the spring and partnered with our Artistic Director’s dance school to offer online classes with David Romero via Zoom.  David visited Halifax twice as a guest artist of our Atlantic Flamenco Festival (2008-2019). It has been wonderful to reconnect with him and meet dance students online across Canada and North America. 

Maria Osende Flamenco Co. participated in PEI's DiverseCity Online Festival adapting a section of their new production “Dance As If Nobody Is Watching” and performing it live outdoors in June, which also gave us a chance to showcase Halifax's stunning waterfront. 

Below a picture taking during the filming: Karen Staples, Kiriam Thompson, Rachel James, Maria Osende. Photo ©Jon James Photography.

In July we  partnered with HRM’s Develop Nova Scotia. We offered free  “Flamenco Fun” dance classes every Saturday morning on the Halifax Waterfront. It was a great way to start the day, discover flamenco and support the Seaport market.

Our board members will continue looking into ways of sharing of our love of all things flamenco and all things Spanish: cuisine, art, books and worth mentioning online events. We would also love to connect with you at this time. Your ideas, support and feedback are more important than ever and we hope you stay with us through this challenging times.

Yours, Robin Muller
Chair of Atlantic Flamenco Productions Society on behalf of the board of directors

Covid-19 & Spain's Flamenco Tablaos


We hope our newsletter will keep you informed, but also take you back to the earlier days of flamenco.

Covid-19 has dealt a dramatic blow to Spain's flamenco 'tablaos'. These intimate restaurant performance spaces are popular with tourists and locals and provide work for 90% of flamenco artists.

These tablaos, which take their name from the raised wooden floor that reverberates with the clacking heels of dancers, offer intimate shows with a handful of artists - dancers, singers, guitarists, the cajon (box drum) players and the rhythmic clappers - in smaller spaces will also find it difficult to adapt to new social distancing norms.

 
Read: COVID-19 & Spains' Flamenco Clubs

Recipe of the Month: Almendrados

Let us know if you like these cookies as much as we do!
 
Ingredients
1 lemon
2 large eggs
1 and 1/4 cups sugar
1 pound ground almonds/almond flour 
(available from the bulk barn)

Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 360F/180C. Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease cookie pan.
  • Zest lemon avoiding the white part of the peel
  • Separate the egg yolks from the whites. In a mixing bowl and using a mixer, beat the egg whites to a stiff peak.
  • Add the egg yolks in with the egg whites and gently stir.
  • Add the sugar, lemon zest, ground almonds and mix thoroughly
  • Using your hands, form small balls and press down gently with a greased fork to flatten, on pan
  • Bake in over for 15 minutes or until the cookies turn a golden colour.
  • Remove from the oven and gently loosing the cookies using a spatula, do this quickly because if they cool on the sheet they will harden and become too brittle to remove.
  • Cool them on a rack. Store in a tightly covered container.
For more recipes like this go to www.thespruceeats.com
Recipe Credit: The Spruce Eats

Why are Polka Dots so Popular in Flamenco Costumes?

The polka dot pattern was not available until the mid 1800's, as evenly spaced dots could not be fabricated without mechanized printing and synthetic dyes and this was the age of the industrial revolution.Clothing for the lower classes had been very drab and this flamboyant fabric made the flamenco dancers stand out. This proved to be good for business at the Cafe Cantantes and the elite travellers who sought out flamenco performances loved it!

Upcoming


October 12th is National Spanish Day, also known as Fiesta Nacional de España, the equivalent of Canada Day for us.

Nocturne 2020 is happening in Halifax, October 12-17, take a look: at https://nocturnehalifax.ca

Friday, November 13, 8 pm Roland Grant at the Carleton 
Halifax guitar phenom, Roland Grant, makes his Carleton début on Friday, November 13th. Tickets are $20 advanced, or $25 at the door. If you’re a fan of Jesse Cook and/or Daniel Champagne, do yourself a favour and get out to this show! We featured Roland, then (Smith) at our last edition of the Atlantic Flamenco Festival in 2019 and are excited to partner  his performance! Tickets on sale here

Flamenco Online and in-person Classes continue throughout the fall at Flamenco Dance School Maria Osende. For those of you interested in the music, learn the essence of the flamenco fiesta with singer Caridad Vega.  Find a class for you 
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Copyright © 2020 Atlantic Flamenco / Flamenco And Ballet Dance School Maria Osende , All rights reserved.


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