I’ve been admiring Karen Lugo from afar for years. I first saw her perform live at the Jerez Festival in 2011 where se blew the audience away as the protagonist in Javier Latorre's El Duende y el Reloj. She came to Portland earlier this week to give a workshop and we all fell in LOVE with her. You will too (if you haven’t already) when you watch her interview.
In it Karen talks about her beginnings in Guadalajara, her obsession with rhythm that drove her to move to Spain (and how she’s really a “frustrated drummer”), her influences, how she uses improvisation, her creative process, what she enjoys about teaching, advice for students, how she decides what to wear on stage, and what inspires her.
Enjoy!
Topic Breakdown:
Beginning How she got started
1:30 The decision to travel to Spain
2:15 Moving to Spain
4:00 Artists who have influenced her
6:30 Improvisation
10:30 How she decides what to wear on stage
13:45 Views on teaching
16:15 Views on art
As you can see, Frances the Cat couldn’t stand to be left out of the action and decided to insert herself into the interview …
If you haven’t seen Karen dance, check this out and this.