Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Show is no small feat
Flamenco performers to dazzle at Arts Garage.
Celia and Paco Fonta want their audience to see gnomes in their newest flamenco show, “Duende.”
In Spanish, “duende” means gnome or elf, but in the world of flamenco, it implies so much more.
“It’s most often used in flamenco when we’re talking about that mystery, that moment where you could become entranced,” says Celia Fonta, 57, dancer and co-owner of the Miami-based performing arts company, Siempre Flamenco. “I know that I’m seeing duende if I’m watching a performance and you have that moment that you get goosebumps. We’re hoping this show is going to be filled with duende.”
The show — set for 8 p.m. Friday at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach — is a collaboration with Nu Flamenco, a Miami company owned by husband and wife, Jose Luis de la Paz and Niurca Marquez.
Celia Fonta will dance traditional flamenco while her husband plays the guitar. La Paz and Marquez will present a contemporary style.
“The collaboration is interesting, because it’s the coming together of two different parts of flamenco, and they’re both equally important,” Celia Fonta says. “It’s kind of the old meets the new.”
Celia Fonta discovered the world of flamenco music while learning to play the guitar at age 12. It took her a decade to find her duende in flamenco dance, however. During a trip to Spain, she met Paco Fonta and was introduced to flamenco dance at age 23 during one of her husband’s performances.
“I said to him, ‘Do you think it’s too late for me to learn how to do that?’” she recalls. “And he said, ‘Absolutely not.’”
She dropped the guitar and picked up her dancing shoes. Her knowledge of the instrument helped her learn the new steps.
“I already knew all of the rhythms. That’s one of the hardest things, especially for westerners and Americans, to learn because the rhythms are very complicated in flamenco,” she says. “So I picked the steps fairly quickly.”
The Fontas came to Miami in 1986. They worked in a local flamenco venue for six months, but the gig turned into a fulltime job. In 2002, they opened Siempre Flamenco. In 2006, they started Cante Flamenco, Miami’s festival of flamenco singing. They debuted “Duende” in November at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center.
“Duende” will take place at 8 p.m. Dec. 30 at the Arts Garage, 94 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach. Admission is $30-$45. Call 561-450-6357 or go to ArtsGarage.org.