March 10 - 19, 2017 - Ricardo López in Portland

"Ricardo López is an amazing dancer and teacher with a generous heart. We are lucky to not have to pay to fly and stay in Spain... to say the least." - Diana Bright

It is not often we have someone of Ricardo's caliber here in Portland, especially for this amount of time. I hope you are able to take advantage of this opportunity to find out what an experience like this can do for your dancing, palmas, and understanding of this art form. Get up close and personal with Ricardo.

“Ricardo’s workshops are amazing! He’s such an attentive teacher – very exacting and will break everything down clearly and slowly, always checking in to make sure everyone is happy and understands everything “in our head”. Besides being a phenomenal dancer he’s encouraging, professional, respectful and incredibly patient. Laura has… been very kind in translating his Spanish so we understand his most salient points. Everyone at the workshop has soooo friendly and helpful. We love Portland Flamenco and hope we can come back soon!” -Cyrena, Vancouver, B.C. (Hear what other students had to say here.)

Some of you have experienced him before, some of you have not. This time, we have Ricardo here for TWO WHOLE WEEKS! 

Why would I want to do this? I'll let words from some alumni, his bio, and some video clips which you can see below speak to that.  

“The most riveting moment of the evening came at the beginning of 'Playas del Alma.´ A phalanx of dancers stomped a repeated series of rhythmic patterns as a backdrop for a dynamite solo by Ricardo López. Graceful, charismatic, but completely devoid of the kind of dramatic angst some of the other dancers pasted on, López maintained an elegant carriage as he unfurled spectacular footwork accented by sharply angled kicks. It was a simple idea, powerfully executed and rhythmically thrilling.” Karen Campbell, The Boston Globe

I'm scared to study with a top professional flamenco from España. Can he meet me at my level?  Will he get mad at me for not being good enough? The answers are Sí and No respectively. Yes, he will attend to you, whatever your level may be.  Ricardo is an extremely experienced teacher. Not only is he skilled at diversifying for the different students he is given, but he truly enjoys doing so. Ricardo has choreographed and taught both professionals from Spain and people who've NEVER had a flamenco class in their lives. Ricardo is very kind and approachable, and No, he will not expect you to be anyone other than who you are. Perhaps the best piece of advice he has given me is that it is about having fun. Hay que pasarlo bien. Yes, we work hard, but we enjoy ourselves while doing so. So, you will be challenged, yes, but it will be a doable and fun challenge. Also, he's open to questions, so just ASK! Take a look at this post with video outtakes and lots of examples of Ricardo being just a regular guy...

We're Excited, He's Excited! Ricardo especially loves being here in Portland and loves us! He always comment on the nice feel of our workshops and the sense of community here. Thank you everyone for being so kind and receptive.  

I am from out of town. ¡Muy bien!  We love having guests from outside of Portland. We have a variety of offerings, allowing for you, our out of town guests, to fit this into your schedules with greater ease. If you are in need of a place to stay, many of our students and friends have spare rooms to offer, contact us to inquire or post an inquiry on the facebook page. Finallly, Portland is a wonderful place to visit. We are known for our good restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores...and interesting people.

What's this thing you keep saying about and energy that he brings? I can't really explain it well with words.  I think you just have to come and experience this for yourself to know what I mean.

But I don't speak Spanish. No problem. (Though you'll learn some during the workshops whether you mean to or not.)  Ricardo speaks English and Spanish, so you'll hear both. And I'm present in all of the classes to interpret when necessary. Feel free to ask if ever you don't understand.

Tell me something funny about Ricardo He still wears the same clothes he has since I met him seven years ago. I am not joking. In class, to go out, to perform. Let's just say he takes good care of his stuff. You can read more here and here.

“As for López, his elegance was commanding and his technique matched the visual impact, whether his taconeo was resounding like an automatic, his dime-placed tours broken by lighting accents to the side, or a promenade preceding pitos or palmas. The tautness of his delivery took care of the snootiness frequently seen in the flamenco artist, and permitted him to register how much he enjoyed dancing. López is a visitor one likes to see return.” Renee Renouf Hall, Ballet.co

But I don't want to dance, what's in it for me? PALMAS! These classes are, in my opinion, the most fun of all. They are for EVERYONE. Percussionists, singers, dancers, aficionados. Ricardo is not just a dancer but a palmero. He is well seasoned having accompanied some of the greatest dancers with palmas, providing a rhythmic base for their dancing. (And it's crazy cool!)

“Ricardo exceeded my expectations. I’ve been dancing for over 10 years and still picked up some breakthrough tips in the 3 days of workshops. He takes the time to go through fundamentals and also has challenging but fun choreography. I’m impressed at how patient and encouraging he was. His classes were well structured, had a good pace, and he was a top notch (and nice!) teacher. Since I can’t go to Spain, this is Spain coming to me. The Portland Flamenco Events dancers were very welcoming…thanks to Laura for translating and more importantly for making this happen. I only wish I could’ve stayed longer to see the show and learn more but there’s always next time. I’m definitely coming back!” -Shyiang, Vancouver, B.C.

Do I need to do something special to prepare? No preparation is necessary.

And parties? Fiestas.  We like them.  Workshop participants will be invited to at least one hang out with our dear guest artist, because, hey social events are fun. And we like to see what Ricardo is like outside of class. Details will be announced during the workshops.

When is he performing? Two shows! March 11 & March 18. Get the details here.

What are the class offerings, when are they happening, and what is the cost? View schedule and pricing here.

But I don't speak Spanish. No problem. (Though you'll learn some during the workshops whether you mean to or not.) Ricardo speaks English and Spanish, so you'll hear both. And I'm present in all of the classes to interpret when necessary. Feel free to ask if ever you don't understand.

What about private classes? Yep, he's available for privates and semi-privates if you'd like special one-on-one time or to focus on a special skill.  Contact me  if you're interested.

I want to know about Ricardo's professional career. See below for more on Ricardo's career.

More About Ricardo

Ricardo López of Madrid, Spain has been dancing professionally since the age of 17 and performs across the globe in Spain, North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America with many of Spains most celebrated artists, including Antonio Canales, María Pagés, Rafaela Carrasco, Rafael Amargo, Rafael Aguilar, Manuel Liñan, Marcos Flores, Angel Rojas, Carlos Rodriguez, Rocio Molina, Olga Pericet, Concha Jareño, and Daniel Doña. He has danced in the finest tablaos in Madrid such as Casa Patas, El Corral de la Pacheca, El Corral de la Moreria, and Café Chinitas. and in prestigious festivals throughout Europe and abroad including the Festival de Jerez, Madrid en Danza, USA Flamenco Festival, and the New World Flamenco Festival.

In 1997 Ricardo joined Rafael Aguilars company performing as a company dancer and as a soloist. In 2002 he began dancing with Rafael Amargo where he shared the stage with artists such as Montse Cortéz and Rafaela Carrasco. He then went on to dance with the Compañia María Pagés in 2003.

In 2002 he began dancing as a soloist for the Nuevo Ballet Español of Madrid. In March 2004 he danced in the prestigious Festival de Jerez in Romeo y Julieta. In 2006 he toured in the USA Flamenco Festival dancing in Flamenco Directo. In addition to choreographing and directing for the company, he assumed the role as first dancer for Angel Rojas and Carlos Rodriguez.

Ricardo choreographed for the Madrid based company Macadanza with Concha Jareño and Gemma Morado for the 2008 production, Jazz Flamenco. In 2009 he shared the stage with Lola Greco, Alejandro Granados and Amador Rojas in Miguel Narros's production of Fedra to the music of Enrique Morente and choreography of Javier Latorre performing in such important theatre festivals such as the International Festivals of Merida, Almagro, and Peralada in Spain and Napoli Danza and the 2009 Biennial of Venice, Italy.

From 2004-2014 Ricardo danced as a soloist with Compañia Rafaela Carrasco performing in such productions as La Música del Cuerpo and Una Mirada al Flamenco sharing the stage with Manuel Liñan, Marco Flores, and Olga Pericet.  In August 2006 he danced with Carrasco in the New World Flamenco Festival and again in 2007 in the USA Flamenco Festival. He joined her in in 2007 in Del Amor y Otras Cosas in Madrid, and In 2008 he performed in the Bienal de Sevilla with Carrasco in Vamos al Tiroteo along with Pedro Cordoba, Jose Maldonado, and David Coria. He performed with Carrasco at the 2010 London Flamenco Festival as well as the 2010 Festival de Jerez, and in 2011 he performed at the 2011 Bienal de Buenos Aires.  Recently he performed at the IX London Flamenco Festival and the Flamenco Festival de Nimes in France.  In 2013 he returned to the USA Flamenco Festival, with Carrasco to perform in New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Miami after performing with her at the 2013 Festival de Jerez.