UNM student Marisol Encinias’ one-hour dance solo captures a lifelong tradition of flamenco dancing.
The Master’s of Fine Arts flamenco concert “Ilhuicamina, Flechadora del Cielo” is this Friday and Saturday evening in Rodey Theatre.
“I kind of think of it as a journey through different times of my study, each piece having a different feel to them — some are more tragic, some are more happy, some are more tender,” Encinias said.
UNM is the only university in the world that offers an advanced degree with a concentration in flamenco, said Donna Jewell, head of the UNM dance department. In addition to working toward the degree, Encinias said she is a flamenco instructor and a mother.
“Someone once told me that flamenco wasn’t a good hobby, and it’s true. It’s very demanding and something you have to really spend all of your time doing,” she said. Her family’s passion for the dance began with her grandmother, who passed it to her mother who passed it to her. She said she named the performance “Ilhuicamina,” (pronounced /i-lui-ka-mi-na/) her middle name, to indicate her personal relationship with flamenco.
“I’ve watched my family dance, I watched my mother dance every day as I was a child,” she said. “Flamenco to me is a way of life; it’s what I do every day.”
She said working on the upcoming show has taught her to push herself as a dancer and as an artist. She said she will perform for an hour, with no exits or entrances. The show is split into several dance numbers, and Encinias said “Ilhuicamina” is more of a theatrical performance than a dance recital. She dances solo beside three accompanying musicians, and said the show is like a dialogue between herself and the musicians, making the show something akin to theater.
“Flamenco is already evocative — there’s a lot going on. … It’s powerful in and of itself, but so much can be done with theater and just playing with ideas and letting them evolve in a new way,” she said.
Jewell has helped choreograph and mentor Encinias’ upcoming show. Jewell said Encinias’ sophisticated approach to flamenco exemplifies excellence in New Mexico.
“The cultural heritage of the Hispanic culture in flamenco is part of New Mexico and that’s unique — that’s not happening in Boston or Chicago, not to the same sophistication,” Jewell said. “She’s studied with some of the best flamenco masters of the world. Students like Marisol are really ground breakers and, for the rest of her life, she’s going to have a direct effect on dance across the United States.”
Flamenco dancer and palmas performer Carlos Menchaca will be setting a rhythm for the show, clapping his hands and providing a percussive beat. Menchaca met Encinias while she was one of the lead performers at Yjastros: the American Flamenco Repertory Company in Albuquerque.
“She’s taking that as a chance to be really experimental and be unconventional and really hash out any idea that she has,” Menchaca said. “I think it’s going to be a very interesting and personal show, and I think Marisol as an artist is really putting herself out there and really opening herself up artistically.”
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“Ilhuicamina, Flechadora del Cielo”
A flamenco work created by
Marisol Encinias
Rodey Theatre
Friday, Saturday
7:30 p.m.
$12 general admission
$10 faculty and seniors
$8 staff and students
