Oscar Valero Flamenco Dance Company

Alfonso CidALFONSO CID - Flamenco Singer

Alfonso was born and raised in Seville, the heartland of Flamenco music. His mother, an amateur singer from Triana, a Flamenco enclave in Seville, and his grandfather, an aficionado of Flamenco were his earliest influences. Alfonso enrolled at the Seville Conservatory in 1990 to study flute and music theory. For the following 5 years he received a classical training.  He also attended the classes of the Cristina Heeren Fundation for Flamenco Art in Seville, Spain in July of 2007 with maestros Paco Taranto and the young talent of flamenco singer Rocio Márquez.

Since his arrival in New York in 1997, Alfonso has played with Flamenco artists, such as: Pilar Rioja, Andrea Del Conte, Nelida Tirado, Sara Erde, La Conja, José Junco, Oscar Valero, Carmen Romero, Edwin Aparicio, to name a few. Flamenco guitarists: Chuscales, Arturo Martínez, Pedro Cortés, Carlos Rubio, Roberto Castellón, Carlos Revollar, Miguel de la Bastide.

He has performed in the following venues: Town Hall with the World Music Institute, London's Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Sala Covarrubias in Mexico City, Carnegie Hall ( Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall) , Joyce Theater, The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Symphony Space, Merkin Concert Hall, Caramoor music festival, La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, The Spanish Theatre Repertory, Thalia Spanish Theatre, The Theater for the New City, El Taller Latino Americano and many of the flamenco tablaos throughout the tri-state area.

www.gazpachoandalu.com
music festivals has given him the opportunity to travel throughout North America, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.



Raphael BrunnRAPHAEL BRUNN - Flamenco Guitarist

Raphael Brunn, Flamenco guitarist and composer, was born in Hackensack New Jersey to a well-known family of jugglers, dancers and trapeze artists.  An American kid with lots of rhythm, Raphael started playing bass guitar at the age of ten.  At fourteen, Raphael moved to Europe to join his father, a world renowned juggler and acrobat who had been using live Flamenco music in his performances since seeing Antonio Ruiz and Carmen Amaya dance in the 1950’s.

From a young age, Raphael was exposed to some of Spain’s finest Flamenco artists including El Manzanita, El Recortao, Pepe Marquez, El Carrete and many more. 

His public debut playing Flamenco guitar was in the opening festivities of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.  Since then, Raphael has performed with many of the artists who initially inspired his dedication to the Flamenco tradition.  In 2001 and 2003 he worked with El Farruquito and El Torombo in the Flamenco production of Incognito, in Frankfurt, Germany.  Now based in New York City, Raphael performs regularly with his own Flamenco Quintet including Oscar Valero (dancing and percussion); Sean Kupisz (electric bass); Duane Eubanks (trumpet); Karel Ruzika (saxophone) and various singers (Mariano Manzella and Alfonso Cid).  He has recently released his debut album, “Puertas Abiertas”, available on his website.

www.raphaelbrunn.com



Carlos RevollarCARLOS REVOLLAR - Flamenco Guitarist

Flamenco guitarist Carlos Revollar is one of the most  sought-after flamenco artists in his native New York City  performing with many of flamenco’s top artists at such  venues as the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center  Summer Stage, Caramoor Festival, New York Fashion  Week, New York City Center, Symphony Space and NJ  Performing Arts Center.

Carlos also brings flamenco to New York City schools,  presenting concerts for children through the Midori  Foundation and Lincoln Center's educational programs.  An accomplished composer, Carlos has won American  Music Center Award Grant three consecutive years for his compositions for the Alborada Dance Theater, for which he is currently the musical director.

Carlos can be seen in his weekly performance at Tapas de España in North Bergen, NJ. He studied both classical and flamenco guitar with Dennis Koster, Antonio "Canito" Suarez, El Entri, Jesus Torres and Luis Heredia.

www.carlosrevollar.com



ULLA SUOKKO - FlutistUlla Suokko

She has been featured in some of the world’s most prestigious concert venues. In addition to the United States and her native Finland, her recent engagements have brought her to Indonesia, Mexico, Sweden, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.

She presents concerts and workshops through Midori & Friends Foundation and Lincoln Center Meet The Artist Program in NYC. Together they also bring music and stories to hospitals, nursing homes, children’s advocacy centers and into the homes of hospice-care patients.  

While enjoying a versatile career as a concert flutist, singer and storyteller, she also has many credits also as an actress, including the title role in an award-winning short film "Dolores," as well as multiple appearances on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien. 

Enjoying collaboration with composers of our time, she has premiered scores of works, many dedicated to her. She plays and tours regularly with some of New York's best contemporary ensembles, including Continuum and Ensemble Sospeso, and holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Julius Baker.

www.ullasuokko.com


Lia Ochoa
SEAN KUPISZ - Percussionist

Sean was born in California and raised in New York. At an early age he began to study piano, clarinet and percussion. Subsequently, he began his bass studies with his uncle.
Upon graduation from the Marines Corps Musician Program, he played with several jazz musicians on the Hilton Head nightclub circuit. He then returned to New York where he continued to compose and arrange for his own fusion band.

Recently, he scored the music for the documentary film "International High". He has also performed with Amanecer Flamenco Progresivo, Minbre y Vareta, Andrea Del Conte Danza España, Flamenco Latino, and the Blues-Pop fusion band The Sway Machinery.




SARA ERDE - Flamenco Dancer

Sara Erde began studying flamenco, modern dance, and classical ballet at the age of six with Tina Ramirez at Ballet Hispanico in New York City. After graduating from The High School of Performing Arts, she attended the British American Drama Academy at Oxford University. She has been performing for most of her life, both as a dancer and actress in theatres around the world.

In 1995, she moved to Seville, where she studied gypsy-style flamenco with Juana Amaya and appeared in flamenco festivals throughout Andalucia. She was the first foreigner ever to perform as a soloist at the renowned tablao flamenco Los Gallos.
In Seville, she founded her own dance company, Abolengo, which was produced by Dodger Stage Holding and toured in Spain and North America.

Since 1996, Sara has been the principal dancer (and personal dance coach to Denyce Graves, Olga Borodina, and others) in the Metropolitan Opera's productions of Carmen and La Traviata. She is rehearsal director for the dance in these operas, and creates additional choreography as well, including flamenco movement for singers Juan Diego Flórez and Diana Damrau in the new production of Il Barbieri di Siviglia directed by Bartlett Sher. She has danced as a soloist with the Metropolitan Opera on tours in Japan, appeared in the company's PBS version of Carmen, and in the HD broadcast of the Opening Night Gala of the 125th Anniversary season with Renée Fleming. She has also appeared as principal dancer in New York City Opera productions of Carmen.


www.saraerde.com

REBECA TOMÁS - Flamenco dancer

Since her arrival to New York City in January, 2006, Rebeca has been performing on the New York City Flamenco circuit at tablaos such as Ñ, La Nacional, Xunta, Suba, Meson Asturias, and Marbella.  She has also been performing and doing Arts Education in conjunction with Carlota Santana’s company “Flamenco Vivo.”

Previous to her time in New York, Rebeca spent numerous years living between Spain and the U.S., performing, teaching, and conducting workshops in both places. As a solo artist in Spain, she worked at various tablaos, including Al Andalus, El Teatrillo, El Juglar, and Las Carboneras, one of the leading tablaos in Madrid.  She also worked closely with Flamenco Troupe “La Yedra,” with whom she has appeared in a variety of theaters and tablaos throughout the Madrid area, including La Plaza de las Artes, Teatro Francisco Rabal (Pinto), and Teatro F. Garcia Lorca (Parla).  In the Fall of 2004, Rebeca and “La Yedra” also did a tour of Upstate New York.

In the U.S., Rebeca has been an adjunct faculty member for the University of Rochester’s Program of Movement and Dance, instructing Flamenco, and continues her work as a contracted artist for Young Audiences of Rochester, performing and teaching the art and culture of Flamenco to children of all ages.   

Rebeca has trained at the internationally renowned Flamenco Academy “Amor de Dios” in Madrid, studying under such figures as Rafaela Carrasco, La China, Manuel Liñan, María Magdalena, La Tacha, and Manuel Reyes.  Prior to Madrid, she studied in Granada, at Carmen de las Cuevas and at the Escuela de Danza Española with Maite Galán.

www.rebeccaflamenca.com


BARBARA MARTINEZ - Flamenco Dancer

Bárbara Martínez has been performing since she was a child, singing and  acting in opera, off-broadway theater and feature film. In addition to  performing with Oscar Valero Flamenco Company, she also performs both  as dancer and singer with Sol y Sombra, Andrea del Conte Danza España  and Pasión y Arte and with fusion groups, such as Gazpacho Andalú, Coba  and Flamenco Sepharad.

Her recent credits include singing for Pilar Rioja  at El Repertorio Español, dancing at Lincoln Center Out of Doors and  choreographing and recording original music for the feature film Buscando a Miguel. She also played the role of a gypsy girl in several productions of  Carmen and La Traviata at The Metropolitan Opera. Bárbara recently taught master classes for Cirque du Soleil's 'Corteo'.



www.barbaramartinez.com

LIA OCHOA - Flamenco Dancer

A New York city based flamenco dancer, Lia dances regularly as a soloist in  tablaos in the tri-state area, such as Alegrias, Xunta, Ñ, Flor de Sol, and  Cavo.  Since 2005, she has been a dancer with Flamenco Vivo Carlota  Santana touring and performing throughout the US, including the Joyce  Theater in NYC.  Lia is also a company dancer with Omayra Amaya’s  Flamenco Dance Company. 

Before moving to  New York, she developed, directed, and danced in Paragon Theatre  Company’s yearly fundraising show “The Soul of Flamenco” in Denver  Colorado, as well as assistant directed the show “Don Juan Flamenco”,  starring Rafael Campallo and presented in the 2004 Bienal de Flamenco in  Seville, Spain. 

Lia trained at the Cristina Heeren Flamenco Foundation with Milagros Menjibar, Rafael and Adela Campallo, Manolo Soler, and Javier Baron, as well as with Pilar Ortega, among others.  This year she was also dancing in the movie Pink Panther 2 with Steve Martin.

www.liaochoa.com





Oscar Valero - Flamenco Dancer, Choreographer, Musician and Teacher
Oscar Valero Flamenco Dance Company - Flamenco Performances and Classes Anywhere in the World
© Copyright 2008-2012 Oscar Valero
Photo© Doug Menuez

Website designed by Yourwwwpresence.com

Last modified 4/17/12