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BEST OF ALAMEDA - COURTESY ALAMEDA MAGAZINE
Cafe Flamenco @ Rhythmix Cultural Works
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CLICK TO READ ENTIRE REVIEW: https://oakulture.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/flamenco-en-vivo-brings-spains-passionate-dance-to-oakland/
OAKULTURE ARTICLE , DEC. 3 2013
HUFFINGTON POST
Recent reviews:
"Most impressive was Yaelisa, a middle-aged woman who proved that time cannot quell the fiery gipsy spirit. This seasoned performer with amazing rhythm was humorous, expressive, joyful and reflective, vacillating from a spunky spirit to a trance-like seduction."
- Tony Frankel, THEATER LOS ANGELES
"Jason McGuire accompanied Ms. Ara with smoldering fast fingerwork that was a brilliant combination of new age work, á la William Ackerman, and traditional Flamenco. I can’t believe all of that music came out of one guitar. "
- Tony Frankel, THEATER LOS ANGELES
"The dancing was terrific. Their flamenco-inspired choreography was closely aligned with the musical impetus, a kind of visual equivalent. The women were beautiful, the men were handsome, the costumes in exquisite taste."
-Timothy Mangan, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"But 'Lo Clasio' really took off with Caminos' dancers-Yaelisa, Melissa Cruz, Marina Elana and Fanny Ara-engaging singers Jesus Montoya and Felix de Lola ina solo each. These artists, including brilliant guitarist Jason McGuire, have performed together for many a season."
-Rita Felciano, DANCE VIEW
"Most of Wednesday's patrons, as well as this writer, called it thrilling entertainment. The message: every night is a holiday when Yaelisa is in the spotlight."
-Allan Ulrich, VOICE OF DANCE
"One was drawn to the mixture of hauteur and sensuality in the rhythmically defined performances of Cruz, Fanny Ara, Christina Hall and Marina Elana. Again, as on so many earlier occasions, Yaelisa's longtime music director, Jason McGuire, transformed a simple guitar into an instrument of desperate yearning."
-Allan Ulrich, VOICE OF DANCE
""It was the fusion of Peña's (Andrés) dancing with singers Rosendo and especially, de Lola's lamentations that kept at the edge of my seat."
-Rita Felciano, SF BAY GUARDIAN
“A Caminos Flamencos performance brings several guarantees: virtuosic music, striking lighting and a closing tour-de-force solo by artistic director Yaelisa to draw shouts of ‘olé!’”
-Rachel Howard, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Her [Yaelisa] interplay with the accompanists proved especially exciting, and the immediacy of her dancing reflected contemporary priorities with great assurance…McGuire’s jazz-tinged technique and technical mastery found a satisfying showcase in his Act 2 solo.”
-Lewis Segal, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“The New World Flamenco Festival opened with heartfelt performances that brought the audience to its feet after a night of music, dance and a it of improvisation at the Irvine Barclay Theater.”
-Justino Aguila, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
“In “Romeras,” company guest Juan Ogalla proved a master of building complex rhythmic edifices from insinuating step patterns…his best dancing all evening came in a passage of delicate intricacy here.”
-Lewis Segal, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Caminos Flamencos beguiles in innovative experiments from the genre’s ‘Golden Age…’ “Siguiriyas’ called from Yaelisa not only great depth of feeling- but great dynamic variety in her footwork and a superb boldness of attack.”
-Lewis Segal, LOS ANGELES TIMES
About Yaelisa
"Responding to Jesus Montoya's and Jose Cortés' heart-wrenching vocals, Yaelisa created a kind of footwork fugue, her quicksilver rhythms overlapping their plaintive croonings in something Bach would have admired."
-Victoria Looseleaf, LA TIMES
"Yaelisa, masterful in 'Siguiriya', turned a page on herself in a fun and flirtatious 'Buscando el Arcoiris' (Garrotin), a dance I had always associated with youth. In the gorgeous 'Sonañdo Despierta' (Taranto), she seemd to float through the music, scooping energy from the ground, leaning into the singers' phrases as they carried her along."
"And yet she sang-with maternally scooping arms, shimmering feet, and an embracing of the floor that recalled early Martha Graham. What a woman, what a dancer."
-Rita Felciano, SF BAY GUARDIAN
"She is one of those rare total artists whose every musle is dedicated to defining a state of emotion. She energizes the entire body. The feet propose a complex rhythm; the proud torso melts into sinuous postures, every fluttering finger generates a vignette."
-Allan Ullrich, VOICE OF DANCE
“The evening became a monument to Yaelisa’s incredibly supple and expressive hands, hands with a life of their own that embellished her taut, forceful dancing with intricate flourishes, energizing the space around her.”
-Lewis Segal, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Yaelisa takes an astringent, quasi-feminist approach to flamenco; the concerts, in a cafe setting, were a smash success.
-Rita Felciano, DANCE MAGAZINE October
‘’Yaelisa & Caminos Flamencos offered up a mesmerizing set, the dancer’s artistry radiating from her flying feet to the spectacular handwork.’’
-Victoria Looseleaf, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“...Por Solea’ traversed a range of rhythms and emotional textures, from alluring and inquisitive to fiery defiance to joyous exuberance, and displayed Yaelisa’s passionate, whole-body responsiveness to the music.”
-Sara Wolf, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
“This ‘Twelfth Night’ has its considerable assets. The music and dancing, choreographed by Yaelisa, are fiery and expert.”
-Steven Winn, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“The choreographer had created a work drenched in the fatalism that is the essence of flamenco...a very disturbing piece [Soledad Sin Descanso], it reminded me of Anthony Tudor’s ‘Dark Elegies’...dramatic.”
-Rita Felciano, SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
”Wearing a long, sleeveless dress tor the spectacular solo “Contratiempo...a la luz de la luna,” Yaelisa danced with intricate, passionate mastery ...never more exquisitely sensitive, never more unique.”
-Lewis Segal, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“The choreography once again enabled Yaelisa to show her great artistry as a soloist. Her perfect and delicate hand gestures, her curvaceous torso, her precise footwork, combined with the music, resulted in an excellent performance.”
-Espectáculos, LA OPINION, Los Angeles
“It might hard to stand out among such luminaries, but not for Yaelisa, who has a finely controlled, hyper-mobile style, like a kind of liquid obsidian. Another jewel in the flamenco crown.”
-Jennifer Fisher, LOS ANGELES TIMES
“...the powerful presence of flamenco dancer Yaelisa ... who also contributed to the choreography ... her heelwork providing an inflamed pulse...that the others echo...”
-Deborah Jowitt, THE VILLAGE VOICE
“...a collaboration with Yaelisa, a fiery Spanish dancer who provides a continuous,flamenco counterpoint...the story is unimportant...the troupe is upstaged by a guest artist, Yaelisa and her flawless heelwork, precise rhythmic clapping, and riveting presence.”
-Gus Solomons, Jr., DANCE MAGAZINE
LOS FLAMENCOS DE LA BODEGA ARTISTS BELOW: Ernesto Hernandez, Freddie Mejia, David Serva, Isa Mura, Paqui La Mera, Raquel Lopez, Cruz Luna, Agustin Quintero, Benjamin Flores, Kyle Ickes
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