By Judy Shields
Claremont, California (The Hollywood Times) 09/21/2023
A celebration of the Flamenco spirit with world class Flamenco dance, music, and song. Artistic Director Beatrice Casagrán cooks her mother’s paella recipe on site in her “really big pan” and serves it up with tapas, dessert, wine and mucho amor. This magical night will take place in Claremont on the beautiful grounds of Casa Calaycay under the stars. Food, Dance, Passion– the perfect way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month!
Beatrice and her husband Randy did an amazing job putting together this event and Beatrice’s paella recipe was a big hit. It started off with several appetizers, red and white wine from Spain and even some tequila. If there were those that could not have Beatrice’s famous paella, there was pasta with veggies. Desserts was bread pudding with toasted almonds and lemon cake with orange and brandy sauce on top. We all ate well and had some good wine and excellent guitar playing and Flamenco dancing.
Ophelia’s Jump is a non-profit regional theatre company based in Claremont and performing in Claremont and Upland.
Vanessa was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, which is where she spent her childhood. Her mother was the biggest influence in Flamenco, as she introduced Vanessa to the art from an early age and gave her an upbringing rich in music. It was then that she started to become familiar with cante and the very complex and unusual rhythms of Flamenco.
She began to study Flamenco dance at the age of 13 in El Paso, Texas with Rita Vega de Triana and Curro Niebla. After migrating to Southern California, studied with several well-known teachers in the area, including Sarah Parra, Gabriela Garza, Jose Tanaka (guitarist), Jesus Montoya (singer), Manuel Gutierrez, and Briseyda Zarate. She frequently takes the opportunity to take workshops with artists from Spain.
Vanessa has toured Mexico with the Festival Internacional Cervantino, and Japan with Jose Tanaka’s Soniquete Flamenco, also recording palmas for Jose’s guitar album “Lluvia”. She appeared in the Iron & Wine video on MTV’s “Boy With A Coin”, and in Mater TV’s “Caminos Flamencos”, with Yaelisa’s San Francisco based company. She has also appeared in the annual Los Angeles Flamenco Festival, New World Flamenco Festival, Irvine Barclay Theatre, frequently at the Fountain Theatre’s Forever Flamenco Series, and Houston Flamenco Festival with Jesus Montoya Company. Currently, Vanessa resides in Moreno Valley, California, and performs weekly at many tablaos and private venues in Southern California. She is considered by her colleagues to be captivating, inspirational dancer, and supportive, valuable compañera.
The professional biography of Reyes Barrios is crossed like a destiny written in the stars by her personal life, her precedent and her determination. Vibrant and Powerful in her approach to Flamenco, La Reyes teaches and performs through out Southern California and Mexico.
Marcela Aguayo has been studying different dance forms for over 20 years. She has studied and performed with the top performers in the Los Angeles flamenco community. Marcela started with flamenco and branched out to other dance forms such as ballet and modern. In 2002 she relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico to study at the University of New Mexico and the Flamenco conservatory with the Encinias Family. At the World Festival of Sacred Music 2008, Marcela performed alongside Briseyda Zarate and Jesus Montoya at the Fountain Theatre. In Zarates’ Flamencura in 2009 she performed as an Arte y Corazon company member at the Bootleg theatre. San Diego singer/dancer Reyes Barrios has invited her to dance with her company Espiritu Flamenco at Tango Del Rey as well as Tijuana, Mexico. In 2012 Marcela spent seven months studying in Sevilla, Spain where she studied baile extensively while attending University classes at the Universidad de Sevilla as well as performed in a local tablao T de Triana. At the Orange County Performing Arts High School, she was invited to co-choreograph with Ricardo Chavez and taught flamenco for the 2012-2013 school year. Flamenco is a lifelong process and she feels lucky to take classes weekly with the amazing Manuel Gutierrez. She enjoys demonstrating the art form for children through The Los Angeles Music Center. Marcela has performed with Flamenco Express on the Princess cruise ship line and regularly performs with Flamenco Tropical. She was invited to dance in Carmen with the Santa Barbara Opera. The Los Angeles Opera has hired her for two operas Carmen and El Gato Montes. Marcela has performed regularly in the southern California flamenco tablaos: Alegria, El Cid and Café Sevilla. Marcela feels it is an honor to be a part of the small flamenco community that transcends throughout southern California.
Kambiz Pakan’s childhood listening to relatives playing the setar, a traditional Persian stringed instrument, left a great impression on him and later drove him to pursue a unique sound from the guitar. In 1985 while living in Istanbul he attended the international guitar festival, an event that spurred him to study music. He eventually moved to California and achieved a university degree from CSULB in ethnomusicology/flamencology with honors. Years of living in the cities of Granada and Jerez gave him a deep insight and perspective in the art of flamenco. Kambiz’s extensive travel enriched his musical formation and helped him acquire distinct harmonic versatility and extraordinary sensibility. He has performed on many prestigious stages in the USA, Spain, France, Portugal, Israel, India, Iran among others.
Here is as a video of some brave guest who went up onstage to do a Flamenco dance.
About Ophelia’s Jump:
Ophelia’s Jump Productions was founded in 2013 by women and queer Latinx artists and educators who believe that the purpose of theatre is to create unending conversations, spark imagination, incite conscience, and elicit a visceral response. OJP aims to invigorate the creativity and intellect of our community by working with local and regional artists to tell compelling stories and educate new generations of theatre lovers. OJP believes in centering the stories of diverse voices and the work of diverse artists. OJP believes that presenting under-represented points of view promotes empathy between people of differing backgrounds, engenders critical thinking, and encourages creative problem-solving. We focus on intersectionality.
Mission Statement:
Ophelia’s Jump stirs the conscience of the community through performance and teaching that create conversations, spark imagination, elicit visceral responses, and move people to action. We are a professional, non-profit theater company that questions the status quo by telling stories created by and centering under-represented voices, especially those of Women, LGBTQIA+ and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) artists and audiences.
Values Statement:
Inclusivity drives everything that happens at Ophelia’s Jump. Founded by Women, Queer artists and educators, OJP promotes empathy, fosters appreciation, bridges differences, and promotes understanding among people of diverse ethnicities, genders, sexualities, abilities, and social backgrounds. We are committed to reducing or removing the socio-economic, physical, cultural, and language barriers that prevent equitable, inclusive access to theater in our region.