Flamenco del Encuentro
Flamenco del Encuentro is a flamenco troupe of traditional flamenco musicians and dancers based in the Philadelphia area. The group is under the direction of Pew fellow and master flamenco guitarist, Tito Rubio. Flamenco del Encuentro headlines shows in the Pennsylvania & New Jersey area, as well as performing in flamenco festivals throughout the east coast of the United States. They also have been involved in working with inner city children and giving workshops in area public schools. Once current project of note is the Herencia Arabe Project. The artists of Flamenco del Encuentro are all accomplished flamencos whose careers have followed varied paths. The members of Flamenco del Encuentro each maintain an international performance presence, in addition to continued study of the art form in Spain and in the United States. Flamenco del Encuentro has gone through many incarnations. What follows are the biographies of some of the regular participants.
Biographies
Tito Rubio was born in the tiny village of Monsagro, Spain. At the age of 8 years old he was given his first guitar on the airplane as his family immigrated to Australia. He performed into the 1980 s throughout Melbourne with various groups from Spain. Tito returned to Spain in 1986 and continued his studies with Merengue de Cordoba. In 1989 Tito moved to Madrid to continue study with Juan Maya Marote. During this time Tito practiced his craft in the studios of Amor de Dios as accompanist for the great maestro Ciro, and the dancers such as Belen Maya and Belen Fernandez. Tito appeared in the Festival de la Ville in Madrid in1989 as part of Juan Maya Marote’s Danza Espanola Contemporanea and performed in the Royal Palace of Morocco for Prince Felipe of Spain and King Hussein of Morocco. In 1995 he toured the United States with Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco. In addition to the US, Tito has performed throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In 2004 Tito became the first flamenco artist to be receive a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. He also received an Artistic Fellowship for Folk and Traditional Arts by the PA Council for the Arts in 2004. He is currently the musician-in-residence at the Philadelphia Folklore Project and directs and plays in several ensembles including Flamenco del Encuentro and teaches aspiring flamenco guitarists.
Joseph Tayoun is Philadelphia’s premier Middle-Eastern and Flamenco percussionist. Joseph is a member of a large Lebanese musical family and from a very early age performed in Philadelphia s legendary Middle East Restaurant with his father Edmund Tayoun on the Oud. He played for two years in the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City and the Foxwoods in Connecticut. He collaborated in two residencies with world famous tabla player Zakir Husain and also plays with the musical group Atzilut. Carlos Revollar was born and raised in New York City, studied Classical and Flamenco guitar with Dennis Koster, Antonio Canito Suarez, Manuel Perez, Jesus Torres, and Luis Heredia. He has performed with many dance companies including Eva Lucena’s Alborada Spanish Dance, Carlota Santana’s Flamenco Vivo, Andrea del Conte’s Danza España, Flamenco Latino, La Conja’s Mimbre y Vareta and Elena La Comadre in Toronto. Mr. Revollar has also worked with various singers and dancers from Spain such as Elena Andujar, Soledad Barrios, Jesus de Utrera, Silverio Heredia, Antonio Vizzaraga, Paco Ortiz, Chuscales, Repompa de Malaga and Olympia Estrella. Carlos worked with Two River Theater Company’s production of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding and with Noche Flamenca’s Martin Santangelo. He has also performed with Shugeko Suga’s production of Satoba Komachi in La Mama Theater in NYC. Carlos performs regularly in New York wherever flamenco can be found.
Antonia Cruz Arias, daughter of Anna Rubio was immersed in flamenco since from before her birth. She has studied voice at the Catholic Institute for Evangelization and cante flamenco at the Fundación Cristina Heren de Arte Flamenco in Seville, Spain and flamenco dance in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
Anna (Arias) Rubio began her training in dance in ballet and modern dance. In the early 1980s she moved to San Francisco continuing her dance training, and began Flamenco with Rosa Montoya and with the late Maestro Cruz Luna. By 1986 she was a member of Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco, performing throughout the Bay Area. In 1991 she returned to Philadelphia and danced with the Flamenco Olé company for six years. Anna continues her studies in New York with Nelida Tirado and in Spain with La Chiqui de Jerez, Juan Polvillo, Pastora Galvan among others, and recently with Inmaculada Ortega. Anna was awarded an Artistic Fellowship for Flamenco Dance for the year 2001 from the Independence Foundation and a Leeway Foundation grant for 2004.
Liliana Ruiz was born in Mexico City. She started her studies with ballet at the age of six. She later began her studies of Spanish and Flamenco dance with such masters as Milagros Rioja, Christina Aguirre, Chunny Amaya, Winny Amaya, Cristobal Reyes, Mario Maya and 'La Tati'. She has danced with groups such as 'El Camborio' and De Jerez Andalucia in Mexico City and performed in various venues throughout Mexico City. She directed the folkloric group of Centro Asturiano de Mexico and performed throughout Mexico for ten years.
Mariah del Chico a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, began dancing flamenco in 1998 with Eva Enciñias Sandoval at the University of New Mexico. In 2000, after spending a semester in Spain, she joined the National Institute of Flamenco’s dance company Alma Flamenca under direction of Joaquin Enciñias and Omayra Amaya.