Palmas” Dress rehearsal! We are ready!
Artist Melissa McGill invites Flamenco y Sol Ensemble to collaborate and create “Palmas” – a site specific project at Manitoga with live music, song and dance. Flamenco y Sol Ensemble consists of Artistic Director Sol “La Argentinita”, baile-dance/cante-song; Music Director Cristian Puig, cante/toque-guitar; Peter Basil Bogdanos, percussion; Isabel del Dia, baile; and Barbara Martinez, baile/cante.
Manitoga’s central Quarry Pool forms a natural amphitheater where moss-covered alcoves, rock ledges and tranquil waters will come to life with exhilarating music, song, and dance. Performers will enliven the water’s edge upon a temporary stage at the base of Manitoga’s waterfall and seemingly float on water from a central pier. Around the Quarry rim, specially designed resonant boxes will serve as acoustic platforms for Flamenco’s signature clapping and footwork, turning the central Quarry into an instrument of sound and human interaction.
“The sculptural quality of sound followed by its palpable absence enhances the experience and intimacy with nature, building upon Russel Wright’s original intention at Manitoga,” explains McGill. Palmas animates and activates the site aurally to invite a heightened sense of awareness of Manitoga’s landscape – its natural richness.
In naming the property Manitoga, Wright borrowed native Algonquin words meaning “place of great spirit”. At Manitoga, Flamenco’s duende – its spirit of evocation and heightened sense of emotion – finds a perfect home.