We are excited to announce our 3rd annual Valentine’s Day performance, to be held again at Umana Restaurant & Wine Bar on Sunday, February 14th from 6pm to 9pm. We had the pleasure of sharing our music to a packed house at Umana last year, and are thrilled to do it again. Make your reservations soon to dine on Umana’s delicious international cuisine and Valentine’s Day specials while you listen to our favorite Spanish love songs repertoire!

This Valentine’s Day, we were honored to partner with Umana Restaurant & Wine Bar for AMOR: Spanish Love Songs performance. Last year we premiered our new Spanish love songs repertoire at Tierra Coffee Roasters, and this year we added all new repertoire. The night was packed with folks celebrating love, including many folks we love. Umana’s Valentine’s Day special were incredible, as are their usual menu items. We look forward to next year’s performance!

We have a few special performances this fall that we are very excited about. On October 30th will be returning to the stage of Hudson Valley Community in Troy, NY, as a part of the Cultural Affairs Program, organized by Capital Region flamenco guitarist Maria Zemantauski. We will be performing a mix of our original music as well as covers of Latin American and Spanish folkloric music. This as an afternoon event, beginning at 12pm, and is free to the public.

We are also excited to be joining with New Orleans bassed cellist and vocalist, Monica McIntyre, this November for a series of performances. Monica seamlessly blends Blues, Soul, Classical, Jazz, Reggae and Middle Eastern sounds with the unique cello techniques of slapping, plucking and strumming, into an unforgettable musical landscape. We have be sharing performances with Monica McIntyre for over 10 years, beginning when Taina and Monica were both based in Philadelphia. This August, we had the honor to have Monica join us for a joint performance at our Philadelphia album release with Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde. In November, Monica will be joining us for a series of performances, beginning on Nov. 21st at The Steamer 10 Theater. The rest of the performances will be announced in the coming weeks, so stayed tuned…

We have three exciting performances and a flamenco workshop to check out on Valentine’s Day Weekend. On Valentine’s Day we will be performing AMOR: Spanish Love Songs, a special set of romantic renditions of songs from Latin America and Spain (we may even throw in one or two Italian and English songs!). Beginning at 8pm on Valentine’s Day (Fri. 1/14) this performance will be held at Tierra Coffee Roasters Cafe on Madison Ave. Albany (next to the Madison Theater), and will be FREE with organic wine, beer and desserts for purchase.

Then on Saturday and Sunday we will be working with two amazing flamenco dancers at The Flurry Festival of Music and Dance in Saratoga Springs, NY. If you have never been to this festival before you are in for a special treat. The festival features dance and musical performances and workshops from all over the world, with thousands of people in attendance, and inclusive of the whole family. On Saturday (1/15) we will be doing a flamenco piece with dancer Candace Burnham (who is currently teaching weekly flamenco dance at Lorraine Michaels Studio in Albany) as a part of a cabaret of performances at Saratoga Music Hall from 6-7:30pm. On Sunday (1/16) from 1:15-2 we will do a full flamenco performance at The Parting Glass Pub, and will feature dancers Nina Kunimoto and Candace Burnham. And shortly after in the City Center Room at the Saratoga Springs City Center from 3:15-4:14 we will offer a flamenco dance workshop taught by Candace Burnham, with live accompaniment by Asili & Vaccaro.

THIS CLASS HAS BEEN POSTPONED FOR THE WINTER SEASON. For many years now it has been our dream to have flamenco dance classes in the Capital Region, and now our dream has become a reality! Starting Oct. 6th we will be co-hosting a monthly flamenco dance workshop on the first Sunday of every month. The classes will be taught by Brattleboro, VT based flamenco dancer Nina Kunimoto (with live accompaniment by Asili & Vaccaro), and will be held at the Troy Dance Factory in Troy, NY.

During these introductory flamenco dance workshops we will listen to examples of the popular flamenco rhythms, and learn footwork and choreographic patterns to fit within these rhythms. Participants can expect to take away a basic understanding of how to hear and respond to flamenco music by identifying the pulse. ALL LEVELS WELCOME – please wear comfortable clothing, and if possible, closed-toe shoes with solid heels that can make sound. Come prepared to sweat and revel in the beautiful Andalusian tradition of flamenco! Class fee is $15, and participants MUST pre-register at http://www.troydancefactory.com/classes

Nina Kunimoto has been studying flamenco for eleven years and has performed in a flamenco dance company in Tucson, Arizona and danced solo in Tokyo, Japan. She has studied with Jose Molina in New York; La China and La Truco in Madrid, Spain; Patricia Guerrero Perez, Mari-Carmen Guerrero, Luis de Luis, Ana Calli, and Ester Marin in Granada, Spain; Mara Martinez, Ester Falcon, Mercedes Ruiz, La Marquisita, Miguel Angel Heredia and Manuela Carrasco in Tokyo, Japan. Currently she teaches at the Luminz Studio in Brattleboro, Vermont.

 
We are excited to return to The Gallery for a third time with our flamenco and Latin American folk performance on Saturday Sept. 7th. We are really developing quite a family of artists and art lovers in Stamford, NY and the Hudson Valley area. We will be joined once again by Brattleboro based Japanese-Spanish flamenco dancer Nina Kunimoto. Nina, who has studied with top notch dancers in Spain and Japan, most recently joined us for a beautiful performance at Flamenco On the River in Troy, NY. Check out a little video clip from that night here. We anticipate that this upcoming performance will be just as beautiful!

We are so excited to be joining once again with flamenco dancers Ryan Rockmore and Nina Kunimoto for our upcoming flamenco workshops series and performance Aug. 27th -30th, 2013. Ryan Rockmore has just returned from a year in Madrid studying flamenco and instructing youth. Nina Kunimoto is currently a flamenco dance instructor in Brattleboro, VT. The four of us came together last year for a beautiful performance at The Women’s Club of Albany, and what a beautiful night it was!. This year we are adding even more to the mix! Not only we will be offering a beautiful FREE flamenco performance on Aug. 30th along the Hudson River at Troy Night Out, but leading up to the performance we will be collaborating with The Troy Dance Factory to offer a series of flamenco dance workshops. Tues. Aug. 27 – Thurs. Aug. 30th Ryan Rockmore and Nina Kunimoto will offer 2-hour introductory flamenco dance workshops, with live accompaniment by  Asili & Vaccaro, each day focusing on a different rhythmic study. Slots are limited for the workshops so register today! Click here for performance details and workshop registration.

We are excited to once again join the stage with flamenco dancer for a beautiful new set of flamenco this First Friday May 3rd at The Arts Center of the Capital Region. The intimate black box setting will be the perfect setting for this potent flamenco show. If you have attended our performances in the past, you will be excited to hear some new songs we will be adding to the set. One of the songs will be the “guajira” a song brought to Southern Spain from Cuba, telling folkloric scenes of the Caribbean land and people of that time. Nina Kunimoto, based in Brattleboro, will be attending a special workshop on the guajira in Boston with a renowned flamenco dancer. We are excited to show off our new moves. You can find more details about the performance HERE

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting Brazilian bossa nova vocalist Eliane Pinheiro, who will be flying here from Melbourne, Australia and offering two special performances in the Capital Region. We met Eliane through her son Sean Muniz who is the bassist for Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde. All three of us will be accompanying Eliane for her performances.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Eliane Pinheiro came to Australia at the age of 19.  In 1993, Eliane went to live and work in an international township in the South of India. There, Eliane had the opportunity to work with several musicians from Europe and the USA. Their passion and interest in Brazilian music and jazz inspired Eliane to get back to her musical roots. Eliane lived there for 14 years and during that time, apart from singing in two choirs, she formed several bands and music groups, covering genres as diverse as pop, jazz, bossa nova, rock, and pop music a cappella. Developing her own blend of sensual Brazilian Bossa Nova, vibrant samba and soulful jazz, Eliane performed for 13 years both locally as well as in other cities in India. Eliane returned to Australia in 2008, and currently performs weekly in Melbourne with her Trio Bem Brasil.

Click HERE for show details

On Friday Sept. 14th we had a beautiful flamenco performance in Stamford, NY at The Gallery owned by painter Timothy Touhey. We had the privelege of being joined by flamenco dancer Nina Kunimoto. This is our third time performing at The Gallery, having performed there previously with flamenco dancer April Goltz, as well as with our Afro-Latin fusion ensemble Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde. Each time we visit we are welcomed by a warm community of art lovers ready to receive us with open arms. We walked into the venue on Friday to see a dozen red roses and candelabras adorning the grand piano set next to the stage, creating a romantic atmosphere to compliment the already colorful environment. The audience was a beautiful balance of folks new to flamenco as well as few who were avid flamenco lovers. The show was intimate yell full of energy fulled by the occasional jaleo from the audience. Afterwards,  Timothy presented us with the roses from the piano and thanked us, once again, for joining him at his gallery. It is was our pleasure and we look forward to our return.

Check out our photos of the event on Facebook!