Yurie Kaneko explains how excited she is to be in this festival, which has given her the opportunity to meet great artists, such as Karime Amaya, and learn from them. “It’s like being transferred to Spain or to the Oscar Premiere”. She was born in the north of Japan, where she never danced flamenco. It was when she arrived in Vancouver that she saw it for the first time.

She claims that she doesn’t have a favourite type of flamenco, she just wants to feel the connection between the artist’s hearts to hers and be able to express herself. Her goal is to integrate her Japanese roots, Canada and flamenco respecting tradition but with innovation as well, with the freedom that her now country provides her, since “Canada is open to new ideas”.

In addition, because of the increasing number of Japanese people that want to learn flamenco, she advises them, emphasizing the importance of understanding the roots and culture of this art. Finally, she believes that the reason Japanese culture loves flamenco that much is because “they love something true and not superficial, something that takes time to cultivate”.