Rosario Ancer

Rosario Ancer (aka Rosario Kolstee) Artistic Director, Dancer, Choreographer, Mentor, Teacher, Creator. As a Co-founder of the Rosario Ancer Flamenco Arts Society, Flamenco Rosario, and The Vancouver International Flamenco Festival, Rosario has made it her mission to share with others the raw power of Flamenco to heal, connect, and communicate.

I am grateful to live and work in the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish Nations. I have made it my mission to share the power of Flamenco with others. At the heart of flamenco’s traditions and soul is an openness to change and a cross-cultural dialogue, a way of interpreting and interacting with the world in which the form lives. This is at the core of its enduring popularity and continued relevance within a contemporary and multicultural society.

Photo:Victor Kolstee

Image description: A portrait of Rosario from the shoulders up. Rosario is gazing into the camera and is wearing a black and white pattern button up shirt under a black cardigan or jacket. She has shoulder length grey/white hair in waves around her face and she is wearing black eyeliner and white earrings.

Finding One’s Power

Lead Artist: Rosario Ancer

Key Artistic Collaborators:

Audience type: General

Length in minutes:

Space required: Wooden floor, Four armless chairs, Dressing room – green room

Preparation required:

Minimal on-site technical requirements: Sound system

Number of performers on tour: 4 (Rosario, Singer, Guitarist, Dancer)

Number of support staff on tour:

Finding One’s Power at the heart of flamenco’s traditions and soul is an openness to change and a cross-cultural dialogue; a way of interpreting and interacting with the world in which the form lives.

Flamenco is non-gender and applies to everybody, it’s a personal expression. In this way, Flamenco speaks to identity. My artistic and my personal life have been shaped in parallel. My personal growth and evolution informed my artistic transformation and vice versa. I can’t separate one from the other. As an immigrant to Canada, I have experienced the power of dance to heal, communicate, and engage when everything around me was new and unknown, including the inability to speak and understand the English language. Flamenco gave me a voice; it healed my hurt and transformed it into power. It sustained me and channelled that energy. Reflecting and looking inward, Flamenco saved me in my darkest moments and still gives me a safe place in which I can lose myself. It connects me to a higher force, and it remains a vehicle through which I channel my passions, pains, and joys.

Compás is the backbone of flamenco music. The English translation of compás is compass, giving direction to the artist in executing their dance and helping the communication with other participating artists: guitarist, singer and percussionist (palmeros). Through this connection, a flamenco dancer becomes a musician.

Flamenco through dance and music speaks to our humanity. It is a primal cry and carries a universal message that everybody can relate to. Some people see it as a folk dance, a dance that does not change, but it is the antithesis. Flamenco changes and adjusts to social movements and is reflective of the times making it relevant to the present day. Flamenco allows for change and must evolve to survive. We can all learn to express ourselves through Flamenco. Above all, to be a good flamenco artist you must be true to yourself.

The residency invites First Nations youth (teens and early twenties) in particular and can be tailored to the needs of the community.

Syilx/Okanagan homelands/Kelowna, Wet’suwet’en Territory/Smithers, Secwepemc homelands/Revelstoke

There are two components:

1) Introduction to Flamenco Technique:

Including arm work (braceo & floreo), hand clapping (palmas) footwork (zapateado) and rhythms, followed by a short dance and short song.

2) Choreography: Finding Your Voice.

In addition to learning flamenco technique, the mentorship provided in the workshop will evoke your story, and also help you draw on your own heritage in order to develop your own personalized creation based on the form. During this time, we’ll be working on movement and the flamenco rhythms that are friendly to novices. The aim is to channel flamenco qualities when reflecting and revisiting your heritage, culture and experiences, to help you turn this into your power.