Sizzling Ballet Flamenco José Porcel to perform at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts

October 20, 2005

Ballet Flamenco José Porcel brings its blend of precision, sensuality and joy to the stage of Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 8 p.m. Part of the Quick Center's Dance America series, the program features a post-performance Art to Heart Q&A with the company.

The evening's program features 10 dances, ranging from electrifying solos by Porcel to larger pieces for the company of eight men and women. In addition, the audience will be treated to live performances by a musical ensemble and traditional flamenco singers.

Born in Seville, Spain, Porcel began dancing Andalucian folkloric dances and flamenco in cultural centers in Valencia. At 16, he began formal studies with the master Martin Vargas and soon moved to Madrid to work with other top instructors in this expressive and exacting art form. In 1989, he made his professional debut with the Ballet de Valencia and was promoted to soloist the following year.

Porcel turned his attention to choreography in 1991, creating his first work, "te traigo al sur, Miguel," in the Teatro Principal in Alicante. He completed his first tour of the United States in 1993 and later joined the acclaimed Ballet Nacional de España, working with Spanish masters Javier de la Torre, Antonio Canales, Victoria Eugenia and many others.  As a premier dancer, he was a standout as Torero in "Carmen" during major tours of Germany and Switzerland.

Porcel has also danced solos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and in the Compañía Española de Antonio Márquez. He and his company are back in the United States after a critically acclaimed 2001-02 tour.

Tickets are $40, $35 and $30. For tickets, call the Quick Center box office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396. For more information, visit www.quickcenter.com .

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Vol. 38, No. 71

Fairfield University is a comprehensive Jesuit university that prepares undergraduate, graduate and continuing education students for leadership and service in a constantly changing world. In 2005, U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" ranks Fairfield third among universities with master's programs in the North and The Princeton Review named Fairfield one of the nation's 77 "best value" undergraduate institutions in "America's Best Value Colleges." Approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 34 states, 53 countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled at the University's six schools. The University was founded in 1942 in the scenic shoreline community of Fairfield, Connecticut.