Santa Fe Youth participate in Flamenco, Guitar, Percussion and Poetry
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| Fifteen students between ages 9 through 12 participated in this year’s two-week summer arts workshop. The workshop took place at our studios at Academy at Larragoite, where young participants enjoyed a variety of classes in Flamenco Dance, Flamenco Guitar, Percussion and Poetry (a first!). Another twenty students participated in a two-week flamenco intensive workshop for kids. Students were selected through the Santa Fe Public Schools as well
as the Boys and Girls Club. The workshop culminated
in a performance with an audience of 100 at the Alto Street Boys and Girls Club where students showed off
the skills and talents they had developed in the two weeks. At the performance, participants danced flamenco pieces, played instruments and closed with an emotive poetry reading.
| Flamenco Class  Students in Flamenco class with instructor Benigna Sanchez |
 Brianna Garcia working on her seasons Haiku. After the workshop Brianna (and friend Marian Juarez) joined our year round Flamenco classes.  Students wrote haiku poems outdoors with sidewalk chalk. | Poetry Class  Miranda Merklein, Poetry Instructor. The students learned how much freedom they have in creative writing as opposed to academic writing, and I found that they had so many ideas and emotions that needed to be expressed artistically. There was so much bottled inside every student, and it needed to be expressed. This proves the necessity of poetry in my opinion, in addition to the other arts. They were so brave in confronting and revealing heavy themes and experiences, which led to a sense of relief and comfort for them, and this took a lot a guts and the acceptance of vulnerability. The students really put their hearts and souls into their poetry.
-Miranda Merklein, Ph. D, Poetry Instructor
|
Click a student's name to see their picture and one of their poems:
Thank you for making this possible!
 Lunch was provided in part by the Santa Fe Public Schools Nutrition program. |  Percussion Instruments were provided by the music program director at Acequia Madre Elementary. |  Our friends from the Boys and Girls Club (Alto St.) collaborated with us to select students for the program. |
The workshop culminated in a final community performance at the Boys and Girls Club on Alto Street.
Lead by Institute for Spanish Arts instructor, Emmy Grimm, students participating in the After School Program at Ramirez Thomas Elementary participated in a delightful presentation of Flamenco last Friday. These fifteen public school Flamenco students opened performances at this evening presentation for parents that included other dance numbers in Hip Hop and a "Sock Hop". The students presented themselves in a very professional demeanor, all in flamenco attire and shoes from the ISA studio. Teacher, Emmy Grimm and volunteers helped get students made up for the event that impressed over 40 parents, relatives and Santa Fe Public School staff members in the Ramirez Thomas cafeteria.
This event was possible as a result of a new partnership between the Institute for Spanish Arts and the Santa Fe Public Schools. The program included 2 classes per week for 3rd-6th grade students in after school programs at Ramirez Thomas and Nava Elementary. Students from both schools also attended the sold out Institute for Spanish Arts "Student Flamenco & Guitar Recital" held at the Lodge at Santa Fe on Sunday May 20, 2012.
This Spring 2012 Semester, the Institute for Spanish Arts was able to expand its Spanish/Flamenco Dance program into the school systems of Santa Fe and surrounding Northern New Mexico areas. One of the schools to receive Flamenco instruction was Velarde Elementary in Velarde, NM (just north of Española, New Mexico). Forty-five boys and girls, in grades 5th and 6th, spent four months learning the choreography of a Tangos de Triana from ISA Instructor Emmy Grimm. On Thursday, April 19th, students performed, lead by Emmy Grimm. The groups were accompanied by professional Flamenco musician Jaime Martinez, who both sang and played guitar for the recital. The audience was astounded by the professional attire of the students; each student had their own Flamenco shoes, girls wore shawls, leotards and placed flowers in their hair. Boys wore black pants and white shirts. Instructor Emmy remarked: "The show was a lot of work for all students but it paid off during the performance, ending with their big shinning smiles during the last bow".
 ISA Instructor, Emmy Grimm, with 6th grade Velarde Students. | |
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