student, family, & COMMUNITY testimonials

Flamenco has been a very important part of my life since I was 3 years old.  I have been dancing for 14 years, and I do not plan on slowing my passion.  Flamenco has not only made me feel more connected to my body and feelings, but also my family and culture.  My family has been in New Mexico for 14 generations and many of my family members have danced flamenco including my great grandma named Vidalia.  It has been so enriching to my artistry to work with the Spanish flamenco dancers and musicians through the National Institute of Flamenco.

-Sofía Chávez, NIF Student since 2009

I definitely have to stay focused, and you have to be able to take feedback without getting mad. I mean, I used to do that a lot. Starting in 6th grade, I used to talk back a lot, but with flamenco it has improved. Where I am just like I have to accept it. It’s part of my life. I use flamenco to get my stress out and my anger too. When I’m mad that’s when I dance the best.

-Vaiah Flores, NIF and TANM student since 2017

I have been studying at the Conservatory and TANM for the last 6 years, 3 of which I danced and all of which I played guitar. I really liked the After School program because it gave me different teachers and a chance to learn different repertory, even to play for different dancers. Playing for dance is my favorite as opposed to solo guitar. It’s a lot different. You really get to connect to somebody, to connect to different dancers and singers. It makes you a part of something bigger than yourself. You look at someone like Eloy (Gonzales, one of Isaac’e teachers), and he came from NIF and TANM. And he’s now playing professionally and teaching in the Conservatory and After School. I think someday I could do that. The Conservatory and TANM have prepared me for that.

Isaac Pedroncelli, NIF and TANM student since 2017

One of the Institute’s graduates is Eloy Gonzales, a young gentleman who is half Hispanic, half Native American.Because of the Institute’s location in proximity to his home, he was able to attend the Institute’s partner charter school, Tierra Adentro, for middle and high school, where he first encountered flamenco music and dance, as well as studying made possible through scholarship awards at the Conservatory of Flamenco Arts after school. Through Institute Educational Programming targeted to New Mexico school children, Eloy encountered and was mentored by master flamenco artists at a turning point in his life. He has stated many times that the arts saved his life. Because of his education and support from the Institute, this young man is now a Junior at the University of New Mexico, the first person in his family to attend college. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Arts with a focus on flamenco guitar. This young man also works for the Institute, playing flamenco guitar in performances around Albuquerque as well as working as a teacher in the Institute’s After School program, where he in turn mentors young students. His job with the Institute is not only his first job, but also his first job as an artist.

The Westside Community Center afterschool flamenco program has really helped develop confidence in several of the children who have struggled with that. I have seen a Major difference in the outlook of the children who have participated in the flamenco class.

—Marica Romero, Westside Community Center Assistant Manager

What I love about flamenco and my boys studying flamenco is that I see that they are gaining a underlying strength in their personality and a confidence through a beautiful art form verses something else. They are learning control, self-confidence, and strength through something so beautiful.

-Emily Bharatiya, mother of Odilon and Sobian. Emily, and sons Odilon, Sobian, and Lumin all study at NIF.