Flamenco straight from the motherland

By Alex Rush

This flamenco show’s got it all.

Noche Flamenca brings movement, music and even a lesson in the art of the expressive dance to Kingsborough Performing Arts Center on Friday when it performs its new piece, “ALBA.”

“We have a very tragic piece about loss, a comedic number, a piece about man’s virility and an alegrias – a duet – about the joy of love,” said Martin Santangelo, artistic director of Noche Flamenca, which is based in Spain — the birthplace of the dance form.

Santangelo founded the Madrid-based troupe with his dancer wife, Soledad Barrio, in 1993, and today it consists of three dancers, as well as two guitarists and two singers, the latter of which bring real depth to the performances. In “ALBA,” for instance, vocalists sing from a poem about the Abraham Lincoln Brigaders, who battled Fascism in Spain in the 1930s.

“Flamenco’s function is to express what the singer is singing,” Santangelo said. “We have three dynamite singers and when they open their mouths, they catapult the show.”

For flamenco fans who aren’t content to just watch others perform, Santangelo is hosting a free dance lesson an hour-and-a-half before the show.  But space is limited, so don’t waste any time reserving your spot!

Noche Flamenca at the Kingsborough Performing Arts Center at Kingsborough Community College [2001 Oriental Blvd. at Decatur Avenue in Manhattan Beach, (718) 368-5596], April 29 at 8 pm. Tickets $30. For info, visit www.kcckpac.org.