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PUBLISHED JUNE 20, 2004 |
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Moving OnUlrika Frank leaves Atlanta for a new home.
Frank moved to Atlanta in 1999, at a time when flamenco dance class attendance and class offerings were low. Her first teaching assignment at the Atlanta Ballet drew new students and increased the number of men and women interested in flamenco dance, music and singing. Since then, she has taken more and more adults down the exciting road of flamenco learning in dance classes at Emory University and her own dance studio, Casita Flamenca. She spread flamenco through the city by hosting Spanish dancers to teach workshops in Atlanta, training new teachers, and instructing guitar players in addition to dancers.
In addition to teaching, Frank raised participation in flamenco in Atlanta through performances. In 2001, she founded Perla Flamenca dance company, giving her most talented students an opportunity to perform. She led the group in scores of shows at festivals and corporate events, and two major theater productions, the latest of which was a sell out at Emory University. Frank herself took the stage with Pasión Flamenca, a group she helped found shortly after she arrived in Atlanta. For its regular show at Andaluz Tapas Bar, the group of musicians, a singer and Frank, was awarded "Best Entertainment in Atlanta" by Creative Loafing. Frank met great success in producing two spectaculars in which she appeared in Atlanta theaters. She performed in several Georgia cities in Pasión Flamenca's ˇVivir! in 2001 and 2002. In March of this year, she invited musicians and singers from Spain and around the United States to perform with her in Flamenco Con Gusto in Atlanta.
Though always entertaining, it was in the theater that Frank unleashed her finest flamenco talent. She successfully combined influences of contemporary dance and traditional flamenco. She layered dark emotion with intricate footwork, humor and elation, leaving audiences begging for more. Atlanta will dearly miss Frank's flamenco, but the city says goodbye with mixed emotions. After all, it's impossible to hold back wishes of good luck for a woman that has brought so many great things to Atlanta. A wave of questions about the future of some of Frank's great things followed her announcement that she would leave Atlanta. For the moment, there are no answers about what will happen with Perla Flamenca and the students under Frank's tutelage. We can only be assured that she is hatching a great plan to keep flamenco thriving long after the moving truck has pulled away. Something DifferentTeo Morca has people wondering: What are polo and colombiana?Martha SidAhmed and Teo Morca have the Atlanta flamenco community buzzing about two little-talked-about palos: the polo and the colombiana. Morca will teach both when he comes to Atlanta later this month for a workshop presented by SidAhmed. The Columbiana has a lyrical, somewhat driving rhythm similar to tangos. It is derived from folk music of Columbia as its name suggests. It is often classified within the cantes de ida y vuelta. Cantes de ida y vuelta (songs that left and returned) were created in Spain, traveled to the Americas, where they were influenced by local music, then returned to Spain, where they were again influenced by flamenco music. The Colombiana was popularized by Sabicas and Carmen Amaya. The polo is said to pre-date soleá, which many consider the mother of all flamenco palos. The compás of the polo is similar to that of soleares, with 12 counts. But, musically it sounds different. Rather than verses, the cante (singing) is characterized by a lamento, with repeating themes, like a chorus. Carmen Amaya is also tied to the polo. According to some, she pioneered the dance for the palo in the 1930s. Others say the polo was danced prior to Amaya, although there is no documentation of it. Morca's workshop happens June 24-27 at the Decatur School of Ballet. |
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