The Flamenco Arts Festival will present its annual “Concierto Para Los Niños” at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21 at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, 721 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara.
Shirin Rajaee, anchor/reporter at KEYT, will serve as master of ceremonies in an interactive flamenco concert for children featuring six of the most prominent flamenco artists from Spain and the United States — Jesus Montoya, Yolanda Arroyo, Emilio Ochando, Paco Arroyo, Joey Heredia and Kai Narezo.
The program is free to children 12-years-old and under, and for many it is the child’s first exposure to international world-class artists and/or their first time in a major concert hall, the organization reported.
Concierto Para Los Niños was created and designed by the Flamenco Arts Festival and made its debut in 2001. It is an hour-long, interactive matinee performance, conducted in English and Spanish, that is designed to make the arts accessible to hundreds of children throughout Santa Barbara County. The concierto is also designed to encourage discussion of world cultures and cultural diversity, inspire creativity and expression, introduce the historic relationship between Spain and Santa Barbara, and present the emergence of flamenco as a major component of America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage. During the live performance, the guest narrator and professional flamenco artists from Spain and the U.S. make this program a rich cultural experience.
To enhance and illuminate the concert experience, the children are invited to enjoy fun and creative arts activities after the performance, and given the opportunity to meet the artists.
Concierto Para Los Niños is sponsored by the Santa Barbara Arts Commission, the Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara Entertainment, the Marjorie Luke Theatre, Drier Family Rend Subsidy Fund, Perry Ford, the Santa Barbara Daily Sound and Amigos805.
A free dance workshop — Flamenco Para Los Niños — will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Sunday, April 22 at Santa Barbara Dance Arts, 1 N. Calle Cesar Chavez, Suite 100, Santa Barbara.
Click here for a PDF on the workshop.
Tickets are $12 for adults, children 12 and under are free. Call 805-963-0761 or visit www.Lobero.com or www.flamencoarts.org
