Niurca Márquez has an extremely wide range, as a creator and performer in flamenco and other contemporary dance forms. In 2009 she became part of an international movement that is addressing extended forms in flamenco and reclaiming the art form’s liaisons with political and social discourse. She possesses a rare combination of physicality and intellect and a deep understanding of her work’s historical placement and potential implications within a contemporary dance setting. The ease with which she inhabits undefined spaces allows her to create a world that goes beyond the movement to a place of essence where art is not separate from life.
For the past four years she has been working tirelessly on presenting new works that shed light on the female body and its links to notions of beauty and sensations in flamenco within a contemporary framework including a collaboration with a visual artist that examines the resilience of women after abuse, a site-specific work on a staircase that centers around preconceived notions and stereotypes surround the traditional “bata de cola” in flamenco and a piece commissioned for contemporary dancers with no prior flamenco training based on the importance of language, particularly popular sayings and how these shape our cultural frameworks.
Her work while at the Atlantic Center for the Arts centered on an exploration of cultural memory and how it is passed down from one generation to the next. She will immerse herself in our community and draw out stories and legends, habits and happenings, symbols and landscapes that define our community, both as separate pieces and as a whole. There were a number of opportunities to participate in the process including but certainly not limited to open studios, workshops and community engagement activities that respond to what she finds once the work begins. The materials collected, both physical and not, will be incorporated into a erformance/installation at Harris House, turning it into New Smyrna’s History House. Composer and guitarist, Jose Luis Rodriguez and filmmaker Dinorah de Jesus Rodriguez will collaborate on the project.
Free Community Events held:
Meet the Artist: Oct. 4, Nov. 1, Dec. 6, 4 – 7 PM. ACA at Harris House, Free
Flamenco Performance: Oct. 3, 7:30 PM. Deltona Public Library, Free
Flamenco Fun Dance Class: Oct. 5, Oct. 19, Nov. 2, 3 PM. Beginner Level-open to teens to seniors. ACA at Harris House, Free
Niurca & Jose Luis will talk and perform: Friday, Oct. 10, 6 – 9 PM. Artists will talk about the origins of Flamenco and their more progressive take on Flamenco. They will showcase traditional flamenco and their style of flamenco. The Hub on Canal, Free
Artist Talk & Performance: Saturday, Oct. 25, Noon. Gallery at Avalon Island, Orlando, Free
Post-Franco & Development of Flamenco: Tuesday, Oct. 21, 4 to 5:30 PM. Lecture Demonstration. Studio 1, UCF Performing Arts Center,
History House performance: Dec. 6,7, 12, 13, 14, 6 – 8 PM, ACA at Harris House, Free