Flamenco history conference

Abstract

The first conference in the United States to be devoted exclusively to flamenco was held June 13-15 at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque.1 As the culminating event of UNM's tenth Festival Flamenco Internacional, the conference was organized by Larry Lavender, head of the UNM Dance Program, and Eva Encifiias-Sandoval, director of the flamenco focus within that program. The Congress on Research in Dance (CORD), the newly established Instituto Flamenco of Albuquerque, and the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities co-sponsored the conference. The University of New Mexico is unique among academic institutions in its development of a serious curriculum in flamenco dance2 and related studies. Encifiias-Sandoval, who comes from a family of flamenco artists, began teaching at UNM in 1976. Since the early 1980s the program (now offering the B.F.A. degree) has developed to include three levels of flamenco technique, flamenco repertoire, Spanish classical dance,3 escuela bolera,4 and the history of flamenco. As an adjunct to the academic year offerings, the Festival Flamenco Internacional is an intensive two-week summer program with classes and performances in dance, song, and guitar by leading flamenco artists. Until this year the festival has focused on training and performance. With the addition