When I started to prepare the introduction to my first book, The Golden Age of the Spanish Dance, I mentally hesitated. I expected to write about these acknowledged early artists from the viewpoint of an outsider looking into history. However, it became apparent to me that I had to fill gaps and include my thoughts, opinions, and observations within the historical storyline. This second book, Legends of Spanish & Flamenco Dance, includes individual encounters with Pilar Lopez and her stories about her sister La Argentinita and the artists that performed in their company. Then studying with Rosario Perez and meeting with Antonio Ruiz Soler added more history to the pages. Many dancers who crossed paths with these icons of dance are included in this chronology of Spanish dance. I originally arrived in Madrid to study Spanish dance, but I became so fascinated by my teachers and began making notes and asking questions with the idea of authoring books on the Spanish dance.

CARMEN - as the title figure of the opera of the same name, she has become a legend. Her name is synonymous with the self-assured, passionate Spanish woman, love and jealousy, Seville and ultimately with flamenco, which unites great emotions in music, dance and song. Heading away from the beaten tourist track, photographers Tina Deininger and Gerhard Jaugstetter have gone in search of the Carmen myth and have captured the authentic flamenco style in dramatic pictures. Vibrant flamenco guitars, Spanish orchestral works and music from the opera "Carmen" accompany these fascinating images and will take you on art enchanting journey to the roots of Spanish passion.

This printed material is a chronological history of dance, bringing together many different dancers and styles, a unification of Spanish art-forms. We have seen a handful of dance biographies always declaring the career of their subject as the most important. Let's place into perspective that we had many dancers during the same time frame and each one contributed, some more than others. Noting the artistic contributions made by these performers made it easier to review the period of Spanish dance as an 'era'. We took these performers and placed them into one account, foretelling how this style of dance contributed to the overall American style of the Spanish dance. Americans Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, La Meri, Carmelita Maracci and Ballet Russes Anna Pavlova, Adoph Bolm and Leonide Massine were all in some way affected by the Spanish dance. Even Hollywood and Broadway were instrumental in the birth of Hispanic culture in the country. In this first book I have highlighted the careers of two artists, La Argentina and Vicente Escudero, both worked together forming a part-time partnership important in this early era. Later Spaniards who exemplified the art-form in America were La Argentinita, Pilar Lopez, Rosario & Antonio, Jose Greco, and Nana Lorca whos reflections are mirrored within these pages and later editions.

This book also traces the evolution of the Spanish Dance technique, marked as it is by a turbulent history. Antonio Triana was a dancer of mature artistry, dignity and power. His physical and technical achievements went beyond what is generally known about Spanish Dance. His dance presented the essence of the Spanish character and, in his choreography, he used his traditional background for his brilliant inspirations. He partnered the legendary La Argentinita, Pilar Lopez and Carmen Amaya with spirit and gallantry. Over the years he developed a very distinct method of teaching and he became one of the foremost Spanish Flamenco dancers and teachers of his time. Rita Vega de Triana formed the Triana Ballet Español with her late husband. She currently teaches Hispanic dance and related subjects at the University of Texas at El Paso and directs her own school as well as performing around the United States as a guest artist and choreographer.

This analytical history traces representations of flamenco dance in Spain and abroad from the twentieth century to the present, using histories, film, accounts of live performances, and practitioner interviews. Beginning with an analysis of flamenco historiography, the text examines images of the female dancer in films by Luis Bunuel, Carlos Saura, and Antonio Gades; stereotypes of flamenco bodies and Andalusian culture in Prosper Merimee's Carmen; and the ways in which contemporary flamenco dancers like Belen Maya and Rocio Molina negotiate the stereotype of Carmen and an idealized Spanish feminine that pervades "traditional" flamenco. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Provides a history of flamenco by examining its myths, vocabulary, and traditions, and introduces dancers, guitarists, and singers association with this dance