Feeling the flow of Flamenco

KU dancers catch Spanish rhythm of visiting artists
By Jonathan Kealing (Contact)

Niurca Marquez is a flamenco dancer from Miami, in Lawrence to teach KU dance students her moves - and her culture.

Spanish guitarist Jose Luis Rodriguez plays as Kansas University student dancers practice flamenco dancing. Rodriguez and Miami-based choreographer Niurca Marquez return home today after a weeklong residency at KU.

Niurca Marquez is a flamenco dancer from Miami, in Lawrence to teach KU dance students her moves - and her culture. Watch »

A musical rhythm, accompanied by the pounding of 24 feet against a dance floor, fills the hallways of Robinson Center on the Kansas University campus.

Passers-by press their nose to the glass windows of the studio where the sound is coming from. The music and dance are in a style known as flamenco, characterized by an intense, fast pace and a passionate beat.

KU professor Michelle Heffner Hayes, whose doctoral dissertation was on flamenco, is working with 10 students in the University Dance Company and two professional artists who specialize in flamenco to set a series of dances for the company to perform in its April concerts.

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tags: flamenco, baile, cante, flamenca