Flamenco Pittsburgh is dedicated to teaching flamenco art and culture in the Western Pennsylvania area through ongoing classes, outreach, and performances. The professional ensemble, Alba Flamenca, performs regularly in various venues around Pittsburgh.
Started in 2002 under the name Centro Flamenco de Pittsburgh, by partners Rocio Nogales and Carolina Loyola-Garcia, the organization has evolved over the years to be an all encompassing flamenco cultural center for classes, community events, theatrical shows, and outreach programs. We offer ongoing seasonal classes for beginner and intermediate students.
The ensemble Alba Flamenca was founded by Carolina Loyola-Garcia, Jon Bañuelos, James Bond, and Barbara York in 2010. It has expanded to include up to nine musicians and dancers with special guests joining us for our regular Tablao Flamenco shows. Besides the founding members, the ensemble also includes dancers Flor Isava-Machi, Maria Nuñez, and Hansel Correa; and musicians Luke Savage and Guillermo Rodriguez.
ABOUT OUR TEACHERS
Carolina Loyola-Garcia, Director & Instructor
Carolina Loyola-Garcia is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and educator. She works primarily in media arts, including single-channel video art, video installations, video design for theater, digital printmaking, documentary, and has ventured into performance through theater and dance.
Her work has been shown in the United States and abroad, and has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pittsburgh Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, among others.
She has been studying flamenco since 1996, in Chile, the U.S., and Spain. She has taken classes with Carmela Greco, La Tati, Amelia Vega, Angel Atienza, Rosario Toledo, Belen Maya, Pastora Galvan, Antonio Vargas, La Uchi, among others. She started the flamenco community in Pittsburgh in an attempt to create awareness and further expand her love and passion for the art form.
She received her MFA from Carnegie Mellon University and is currently Professor of Media Arts at Robert Morris University.
Flor Isava-Machi, Instructor
Flor Isava-Machi began dancing ballet and playing piano at an early age at the Colegio Teresiano in Caracas, Venezuela. She continued her dance training at the Keyla Ermecheo Ballet, where she studied ballet, tap, and Spanish classical dance. Meanwhile, she got a scholarship to study at the Lino Gallardo music school.
For several years, she participated in productions like The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty in divers
Theaters like: Teresa Carreño, Nacional, Municipal, La casa del Artista, among others. In 2002 she met the Director and Choreographer of Flamenco del Sur, Daniela Perez Vallenilla, where she took classes with a variety of flamenco dancers like Chachy Peñalver, Silvana Amati, Gaby Reyes, among others.
In 2010, she moved to Boston and took classes with The Master Ramón de los Reyes. Currently, she performs with Alba Flamenca in Pittsburgh, directed by Carolina Loyola-Garcia, and has taken classes with Elba Hevia y Vaca (Philadelphia), Sara Castellanos (Washington, DC) Esther Pardo (Miami), Fanny Ara.
In addition to her history with dance, she earned a Law degree and Master’s degree in Civil Law in Caracas, Venezuela, her home town.
Maria Nuñez, Instructor
María Núñez was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She began her flamenco studies at an early age at “Difusion Cultural de la Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi” and continued studying at "Centro de Arte Luna Cabal" under the direction of Lizette Barrón. She also performed in the school's company “Luna y Cantera Flamenco”.
She has studied with Isabel Triviño, Mercedes Amaya, Karime Amaya, and Marcela Morín. In July 2011 she attended the 3rd International Contemporary Dance Festival Ibérica, celebrated in Querétaro, Mexico and continued her studies with Manolo Marín, Ángeles Gabaldón, “El Junco”, Adrián Galia, María Pagés, Mariano Bernal, and Juan Paredes.
She currently lives in Pittsburgh PA, performing with the group “Alba Flamenca”, where she has taken classes with Fanny Ara and Alice Blumenfeld. She was awarded second place in the Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana International Contest 2016, in New York City.
Maria holds a B.A. in Industrial Design.
Hansel Correa, Instructor
He began his ballet studies at the age of nine. Graduated with honors from The National School of Arts in Havana, Cuba, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Spanish Dance on 2011. His professional career began at the Ballet Español de Cuba Company and continued at Irene Rodriguez Company. He has shared the stage as principal dancer with Francisco Nuñez, Jose Manuel Carreño, Antonio el Pipa, among others. His performance includes the most important Spanish Dance repertoire, including the shows Sevilla en el Tiempo, Homenaje a Martin Vargas, The Phantom of the Opera, Carmen, Romance Bacalice, Romance in B, Las Bodas de Luis Alonso, Asturias, Emigrante, Gitanillas y Toreros, Sombrero de los Tres Picos, Al Andaluz, among many others.
Hansel now lives in Pittsburgh PA, where he has been teaching and performing with Laurel Ballet, West Point Ballet, Broadway Dance Studio, Laura Lynn´s School, Flamenco Pittsburgh Studio, and Alba Flamenca.
