11 days until DanceWeekend’19! We are thrilled to have commissioned a new work from choreographer Makeda Benitez in collaboration with Persamenco. Catch their world premiere on Saturday January 26 at 3:30 pm and on Sunday, January 27 at 3:00 pm.
Can you tell us little bit about your company/collective/school?
Persamenco was started based on an interest in changing the colour of the percussive aspect of flamenco, and to incorporate the sophisticated techniques of the flamenco guitar with traditional Persian music. Later the string instrument “Tār” was included into the group, and in the summer of 2017 they invited Makeda to collaborate for the Tirgan Festival, blending traditional flamenco dance with their music.
What are showing at DanceWeekend’19?
At this year’s Dance Weekend we will be presenting our piece titled “Dentro” which combines Persamenco’s fusion of Flamenco and Persian music with flamenco dance. The title we have chosen comes from flamenco’s inward turn of the hands, a gesture of welcoming and drawing in. We invite our audience to step inside the piece with us to feel the spirit of flamenco, as we have found in our own artistic experiences.
Who are the performers/collaborators in this piece(s)?
The dancer in this piece is Makeda Benitez, joined by Persamenco which consists of Bahram Aghakhan on guitar, Pedram Khavarzamini playing the tombak and Araz Salek playing the tār.
Can you talk about your creative process? What inspires you?
I have worked with Bahram many times before in small flamenco shows in Toronto and with Persamenco once before as well. For this piece we are working with the flamenco palo called “Taranto” and have maintained the basic structure however accommodated for the fact that our piece does not include a singer. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Persamenco’s music as I feel that the combination of guitar and tār creates a wonderfully nuanced melody and once we add in the tombak the music is elevated furthermore by the rhythmic contrast that the instrument brings.
Speaking to our creative process, being in two different countries has definitely made it different than others, however our discussions beforehand about structure and musical intentions definitely helped. Personally, in choreographing for this piece I have been thinking about my own story with flamenco, with all the up’s and down’s that have come and continue to come with this journey I am on. For me when I think of “Dentro”, I think of reaching within myself to pull out everything I have into my dancing, even when perhaps I feel that there is nothing left. Recently I have found that this is exactly what inspires me: our ability as human beings to keep finding strength to move forward even when we feel we have given all we have.
Please share your experience performing in a previous DanceWeekend and/or tell us what you are looking forward to at DanceWeekend’19?
Dance Ontario Dance Weekend always proves to be entertaining. I really admire that they include a wide variety of groups and styles of dance, and that both traditional and postmodern perspectives are considered and exhibited. I have always left this event feeling that I enjoyed myself, and sometimes had my definitions of dance questioned. Ultimately I believe that it makes me a stronger dancer and audience member as it helps me to see beyond preconceived ideas and limits, to discover the endless possibilities that dance has to offer us as an art form.
What is one surprising or interesting fact about your company/collective/school?
Audiences may be interested to know that between Persian and Spanish music exist many stylistic overlaps which can lend themselves to choreographic possibilities. In this example, the 4/4 tempo and percussive elements allow us to unite these two forms to bring you “Dentro”.
Do you have any up-coming performances/events you would like to share?
Watch for Persamenco in the Summer of 2019