Sonia and Ismael are CUNY Dance Initiative Recipients for both 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.
They premiered the first movement of their new piece Ella at the CDI 5th Year Fest, and will be presenting the New York premiere of Tierra Flamenca at City University on May 22nd, 2020.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020 at 8 pm
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston MA 02115
Renowned flamenco artists Sonia Olla and Ismael Fernández (Madonna, Ricky Martin) join pianist and Berklee faculty member Olivia Pérez Collellmir and her acclaimed musicians to present an impassioned evening of music and dance from Spain.
Featuring the captivating sounds of flamenco, fused with jazz, Latin influences, and classical stylings, the concert explores Spain’s traditional folkloric roots and its contemporary composers, creating a universal sound with no musical boundaries.
The evening also features a premiere performance by Pérez Collellmir’s new Berklee Spanish Music Ensemble, representing the culmination of its fall semester collaboration. The orchestra is conducted by Jerry Gates, a professor in the Contemporary Writing and Production Department.
Admission: $10 in advance / $15 day of show
When the artist steps onto the stage, she feels within her a state of splendor or magnificence – not purely physical or sensory, but an energy that transcends the physical. This feeling is intimate, and makes the artist vulnerable; it leads her to the brink of what she is capable, and no one knows just exactly what is going to happen next. Gloria releases pure creativity, and fuses the artist, the music and the audience until all are one. Gloria is not a single experience, but shared among all who experience the moment. The excitement of performance, and all its possibilities, allow room for all to share in Gloria.
Gloria is the what the artist feels when she is about to perform: it is an energy that allows her to push herself. I can be scary – I can make the artist vulnerable because even she does not know what will happen on the stage. But it is also energizing for this sake reason.
This feeling is an intimate moment that the artist can share with the audience: everyone can experience it all at the same time.
It never happens the same way twice! It is different each time because it is a shared experience and it is the audience creates the room that allows the artist the space for artistic expression.
Gloria cannot be achieves by a single artist, but through the shared experience of live performance.
On November 20th, 2019 Sonia collaborated with pianist Olivia Perez Collellmir at Tedx Cambridge as part of its Salon Series on AI Ethics and Civil Liberties.
Each salon features an artistic performance, two distinguished speakers, and a Q&A that provides audience members an opportunity to speak directly with some of the region’s brightest innovators and creative minds
TedX Press Links:
https://www.tedxcambridge.com/performer/sonia-olla/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mILOMFN-Q94