“... Briseyda Zarate scorched with her feline presence, a firestorm of filigreed fingers and fleet footwork ....Connecting to the music and the wailings... the no-nonsense Zarate skittered as if possessed.....” - THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
She has performed as soloist and with her company at all significant flamenco venues in Los Angeles, New York and through-out California including the Fountain Theater, El Cid, the John Anson Ford Amphitheater and this past spring inaugurated the first annual Los Angeles Flamenco Festival, sharing the bill with La Tania and Omayra Amaya. She has toured Mexico with the most memorable performance at the Festival Internacional Cervantino. In the fall of 2010 she performed for the Los Angeles Opera at the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion in the production “The Barber of Seville”/ “El Barbero De Sevilla”. Briseyda was chosen as dance captain for this production and assisted noted Spanish choreographer Nuria Castejon. In 2008 she was one of eleven in the US awarded a scholarship to attend master classes at Jacob’s Pillow cultural traditions program with Soledad Barrio and the company Noche Flamenca. In 2006 Briseyda was awarded first place for her performance at the prestigious “IV Concurso Naciónal de Flamenco” held in Albuquerque, NM, with Juana Amaya, Isabel Bayon y Javier Baron as her judges.
Como Buena Aficionada (Like a true flamenco lover) Briseyda has lived, performed and studied in Spain. She has learned from the best at the “Centro de Arte Flamenco y Danza Espanola, Amor de Dios” in Madrid with her main influence being Manuel Reyes Maya. She’s also taken master classes through-out Andalucia with masters Juana Amaya, Manuela Carpio, Ana Maria Lopez, Javier LaTorre, Torombo, La Farruca y Manuela Carrasco. Her performance credits abroad include the Madrileno Tablao’s “El Cafe de Chinitas”, “Al Andalus” , “Pena Flamenca Los Cabales” and “La Pena Los Cernicalos” in Jerez de la Frontera.. She has shared the stage with great artists, Manuel Malena, Juan Ogalla, Jose Fernandez, El Ciervo, “La Chungi”, Antonia “La Pescailla”, Nino de los Reyes, Leo Trevino, and many more. Currently Based in Los Angeles, CA., Briseyda teaches master classes throughout California and the US and performs and artistically directs her company, the “Briseyda Zarate Flamenco Dance Company”.
Briseyda Zarate has inspired and captivated audiences both at home and abroad with her authentic and emotive artistry. Flamenco dancer, choreographer, teacher and artistic director, her style is emotional and improvisational, infused with “aire” (spirit) and impeccable rhythm and technique. Born into a family rich in the traditions of music and dance, Briseyda began performing at the age of 5. Her love of dance and rhythms led her to flamenco, an art form she has devoted herself to for over a decade.
”She is among the few in the top-most level of those practicing this traditional art form in the United States. She dances with impeccable technique and great sensitivity and intensity of feeling..Briseyda has a role to play in keeping the essential Flamenco alive. She has earned the acclaim she now enjoys as a performer and as a teacher, and she is sincerely committed to transmitting her understanding of this extraordinary art form to the next generation of dancers.
-Deborah Lawlor (Producing Artistic Director, “Forever Flamenco” and “Sonidos Gitanos”)
"I have had the privelege of working with Briseyda and I can personally attest to the passion, dedication, and creativity with which she approaches her work. A true artist and professional...she has my highest respect and admiration, as she is truly one of the best."
--Debbie Allen (Founder/Artistic Director-- Debbie Allen Dance Academy)
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@briseydazarateflamenco 2010