bones – in 2010. Photo Lisa Greenberg
For one night only – on May 22 – fierce Spanish energy and percussive rhythms will fill the stage at Irvington Theater, as A Palo Seco Flamenco Company arrives with its show Fieras. Performed by an international cast of top-flight dancers and musicians, the show takes inspiration from stories told by domestic violence survivors.
“Fieras uses the deep emotive force of flamenco to explore the power of resilience within us all,” says the company’s artistic director Rebeca Tomás. “Fiera, a Spanish and, more specifically, flamenco expression, refers to a fierce female energy full of strength and force.”
Tomás, a Tarrytown resident, founded A Palo Seco – which translates to bare bones – in 2010. Nothing in her background had suggested an affinity with the classic dance form which originated in southern Spain as a fusion of gypsy and Andalusian folkloric musical traditions, dating from the mid 18th century. But growing up in Connecticut, she enjoyed playing piano and clarinet. “And I always loved Spanish. I was very good at the language, and I studied abroad in Spain one semester when I was a junior, and that’s where I found flamenco the first time and I was just totally blown away. I thought, this is what I have to do.”
A peripatetic period followed, living in Spain on an off, “studying, persisting, processing,” going back and forth, eventually starting to teach flamenco and doing arts education in the U.S. In 2006, Tomás began dancing flamenco with other companies in the tri-state area until the impulse to pursue her own ideas and choreography became irresistible.
Why the intense attraction to flamenco? “The rhythmic nature of it and the raw emotional quality to the singing, I really connected with it,” she explains. “It just called to me. There’s a depth that the music touches and reaches that a lot of other music doesn’t, as easily or quickly. I feel it pierces down to the essence of your heart or your being. It’s not necessarily pretty, the way it’s sung or danced, it’s like in your face and cuts to the chase of deep, guttural emotion.”
Flamenco is an art form with a centuries-long tradition but is constantly evolving. Tomás fuses both the traditional and contemporary in her work, and she enjoys the balance. But she only works with female dancers. “One of my north stars is female empowerment and the feminine,” she says. And her shows explore female topics. Vo(i)ces was inspired by motherhood experiences and Nosotras Somos, which played at Bethany Arts Community in 2019, explored female empowerment.
The new work, boosted by an Arts Westchester Voices for Change grant, was created with input from Hope’s Door, which seeks to end domestic violence and achieve safety, independence, and healing from the trauma of abuse. “I met with CarlLa Horton, the executive director, and she connected me with several different survivors who were interested in talking and participating in the project, telling me their stories,” said Tomás. “It was amazing.”
Irvington’s show will be Fieras’s third performance and offers a delicate exploration of its theme via music, dance, poems, vignettes, recordings and memories. Suitable for children aged 10 and older, the work considers a dark topic from many angles, and includes elements of lightness, innocence and hope.
Tickets are on sale for $25 via the Irvington Theater website.
