This weekend the Harrison Festival Society’s is bringing Vancouver’s best Flamenco music in to Harrison to kick off the Harrison Season of Performing Arts.
On Saturday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m., the Harrison Memorial Hall will host festive guitar and dancing from Toque Flamenco, a group comprised of two talented musicians and two fiery Flamenco dancers.
The Harrison Festival Society describes the group as performing soulful, stirring dance pieces with passion, precision and fiery rhythm that gets the crowd on their feet.
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“Its an intimate performance and its a fun performance too,” says Harrison Festival Society Artistic and Executive Director Andy Hillhouse. “They give you authentic flamenco but they also do some Gipsy Kings songs and things like that that get the crowd going.”
The group started in 2014 when a chance meeting of musical talent brought a group of independent musicians together: Guitarist Pedro Mole, dancer and percussionist Marilú Vallejo and singer, guitarist and percussionist Mario Sota. In 2015 a second dancer, Karito Espí joined the group, putting a cherry on top of the four-person flamenco powerhouse.
As the main featured band at The Kino, Toque Flamenco has become a favorite in Vancouver and has had notable performances in festivals across B.C. and around the world. From headlining the Victoria Flamenco Festival to performing at the Vancouver World Music Festival and much more, Toque Flamenco has delighted crowds and critics looking for something lively, passionate and a little spicy.
Tickets for Toque Flamenco are $25.50 and can be purchased online now.
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The Harrison Season of Performing Arts has been making off-season months a little warmer for the last 27 years, bringing in local and world talent for monthly performances from September to May. This year’s lineup includes Swedish vocal group Kongero, transnational JUNO-nominated band Kobo Town, Appalachian folk and banjo performers The Lonesome Ace Stringband and many more.