Description

Yaelisa is one of the most gifted Flamenco artists of her generation. Raised by a Spanish flamenco artist, she was surrounded from birth by the rhythms, gestures and vocal laments of the art in its purest form, where her unique improvisational abilities began to flourish. At the age of 4 she danced on the stage of the famous Casa Madrid, and her immersion in flamenco culture became a part of her life because of her mother, the renowned singer/dancer Isa Mura. She has performed with many of SpainÍs finest artists, including Alejandro Granados, Antonio ñEl Pipa,î Manuel and Antonio Malena, Domingo Ortega, Enrique ñEl Extremeno,î Yeye de Càdiz, Mateo Soleà, El Junco, Juan Ogalla, Geronimo, Felipe Maya and others. Since 1986, Yaelisa has spent extensive periods of time living and performing in Spain, presenting her choreography there and in the U.S. Her choreographies have been commissioned by several modern dance companies, including John Malashock & Company, Rose Polsky and Collage Dance Theatre, and she choreographed and performed in the San Jose Repertory Theater production of ñTwelfth Night.î In 1995, she was one of eleven international choreographers in Spain invited to present her choreography at the prestigious Certàmen de CoreografÕa in Madrid, and the only American choreographer chosen among them. In 1996, she returned to the U.S. where she continues to develop and train dancers for her company. She has choreographed and appeared in several feature films and music videos. Internationally recognized as a master teacher, Yaelisa has developed a teaching style that emphasizes cultural understanding and knowledge of the cante. Her unique improvisational knowledge and history lend an authority to her workshops and classes, and many of her students and dancers have gone on to study and perform in Spain and the U.S. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award for Choreography in 1993 for the PBS program, ñDesde Càdiz a Sevilla,î and an NEA Choreography Fellowship. In 2005, Yaelisa & Caminos Flamencos received an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for excellence in the category of ñBest Company Performance,î and in 2006 she was chosen as one of ABC-7Ís ñProfiles in Excellenceî Hispanic leadership awardees. In 2007, Yaelisa choreographed and consulted on a production of Garcia LorcaÍs ïBlood WeddingÍ for Shotgun Players Theater group. In recent years, Yaelisa and her Company have worked in film, music video and television, and also as guest artists for the Pacific Symphony and the California Symphony orchestras. Yaelisa is the co-founder and artistic director of the New World Flamenco Festival held at the Irvine Barclay Theater in Irvine, California.