Thirty-five years in business is quite a milestone, particularly when it comes to Miami’s Ballet Flamenco La Rosa company (BFLR). Although flamenco is a universal art form, upholding the high standards of a company with such renown is not an easy feat. To celebrate this anniversary, they’ve premiered their show Callejón flamenco on March 14^th and 15^th, 2020, with guest artists from Spain. The company is now looking forward to performing this show again, as all activities have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fact that this show was performed in a small venue — Miami Lakes’ Main Street Playhouse — allowed the public — no more than seventy people in the audience — a full enjoyment of the performance in a more intimate setting. Callejón flamenco features four dancers — three female and one male — with live music. The company’s director, Ilisa Rosal, was in charge of supervising the repertoire.

«Spectacular footwork, precise athleticism and vibrant energy, the performances are at once sensual and spiritual, raw and refined, and filled with both restrained passion and electrifying release»

Rosal herself did palmas on the stage, accompanied by dancer and choreographer Irene Lozano Ruiz La Chiqui de Málaga, and by bailaoras Emmy Grimm La Emi and María Mercedes Pérez Merche. Bailaor and choreographer Antonio Rodríguez El Granaíno, cantaor José Manuel Fernández Heredia, from Málaga, and guitarist Paco Fonta, from Jaén, also took part in the show.

That’s how BFLR presents the spellbinding and earthy power of authentic flamenco dance at its best. «With its spectacular footwork, precise athleticism and vibrant energy, the performances are at once sensual and spiritual, raw and refined, and filled with both restrained passion and electrifying release – making it a powerful and passionate language of expression. This production incorporates live music, created and arranged by a guitarist and singer, brought directly from Spain to collaborate with the company dancers and choreographers», states the BFLR website.

«We want to present several flamenco styles and several palos so the public can appreciate a variety seldom seen in commercial shows», said Rosal in an interview for the EFE news agency. «In my opinion, flamenco is not just a cold technique, but something that has to come from the heart. We feature a softer and more lyrical cante and more mellow guitar melodies», she concluded.

«Flamenco is a passionate form of expression that delights and inspires audiences with a breathtaking theater experience full of earthy force, spellbinding movement, subtle nuances, and explosive energy», remarked Rosal.

Ilisa spent five years studying flamenco in Spain, showcasing her talent in multiple tablaos during her youth. She later returned to the United States and in 1985 founded BFLR, a renowned company of baile flamenco made up of artists from the United States, Latin America and Spain.