Hostos Center For The Arts And Culture to Present A Palo Seco Flamenco Company

The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, as part of the CUNY Dance Initiative, will present A Palo Seco Flamenco Company on Saturday, February 3, at 7:30 p.m.at the Repertory Theater of Hostos Community College in Bronx, NY.

A Palo Seco, a New York-based Flamenco company, is acclaimed for their raw, emotional performances. Described as "a feast for the eyes and ears" by Theater Online, they will perform traditional and contemporary flamenco, featuring their most lauded repertoire, plus a preview of 'Fieras', a powerful new work that conveys the struggles and resilience of survivors of abuse.

Founded by artistic director and choreographer Rebeca Tomás in 2010, A Palo Seco aims to present Flamenco in a new way, merging traditional techniques with a modern, metropolitan flare. The company's name, "A Palo Seco", comes from a Spanish phrase that refers to a bare-bones style of flamenco music, often consisting of singing or percussion alone. This stripped-down aesthetic is central to their choreography, characterizing their biggest departures from tradition, while also rooting the work in the emotional rawness at the heart of this artistic dance form.

The highlight of the evening will be a preview of 'Fieras', a powerful new work that portrays the stories of women who have survived and thrived after experiencing domestic violence. This piece was created with the support of an ArtsWestchester "Voices for Change" grant, which supported a collaboration between A Palo Seco and Hope's Door, a domestic violence advocacy organization and shelter in Westchester County. The moving performance draws from interviews with Hope's Door staff, and survivors of domestic violence.

This unforgettable evening will take place in the Repertory Theater of Hostos Community College, located at 450 Grand Concourse (at 149th Street) in the Bronx. Tickets are $10, with discounts for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. They can be purchased online at www.hostoscenter.org, by calling 718-518-4455 (M-F, 9am-5pm), or in person at the Hostos Box Office Window (Mon-Fri, from 1pm to 4pm and from 5:30 pm on the day of the event). Hostos Community College can be reached by the IRT 2, 4, 5 Trains and the Bronx Bx1, Bx2, Bx19 buses to 149th Street & Grand Concourse. By car, the College is off Exit 3 of the Major Deegan Expressway (I-87).

ABOUT REBECA TOMÁS

Rebeca Tomás, the founder, artistic director, and choreographer of A Palo Seco Flamenco Company, is a rising star in the U.S. Flamenco community. Her performances, described as "awesomely fiery" by Jack Anderson of the New York Times, have earned her recognition and support from notable institutions such as Arts Westchester, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, the Jerome Foundation, and the Connecticut Office of the Arts. In 2013, she was awarded a fellowship in choreography by the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Tomás honed her skills in Granada and Sevilla, and at the internationally acclaimed Flamenco Academy Amor de Dios in Madrid. With A Palo Seco, she has graced stages across the U.S., including Central Park Summer Stage, (le) Poisson Rouge, Jacob's Pillow, the Chicago Flamenco Festival, and the Eastman School of Music's World Music Series. She has also performed at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund at the Pocantico Center and the New Victory Theater's "Victory Dance Festival".

ABOUT THE CUNY DANCE INITIATIVE

The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) is a transformative incubator that secures two vital yet scarce resources-rehearsal time and performance space-for New York City choreographers and dance companies. Housed within the City University of New York (CUNY), the nation's largest public urban university system, CDI is a residency program that supports local artists, enhances the cultural life and education of college students, and builds new dance audiences at CUNY performing arts centers. CDI is spearheaded by the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College. Alyssa Alpine has been the director of the CUNY Dance Initiative since its founding in 2014.

The CUNY Dance Initiative receives major support from the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation. Additional support is provided by the SHS Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, the National Endowment for the Arts, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. www.cuny.edu/danceinitiative

ABOUT THE HOSTOS CENTER FOR ARTS & CULTURE

Named "the powerful locus for Latino art" by the New York Times, the Hostos Center serves the cultural needs of South Bronx residents and neighboring communities. As a leader in Latinx and African-based programming, the Center creates performing and visual arts forums in which the diverse cultural heritages of its audiences are celebrated and nurtured. The Hostos Center consists of two state-of-the art theaters of 900 and 367 seats each, an experimental Black Box theater and a museum-grade art gallery.

Hostos Center events are sponsored by the Hostos Community College Foundation with funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Office of NYC Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, Jr.

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