Zambra Mora (2003)

4 minutes • Andalusian Gypsy Dance • Choreographed by Sherry Rose
Music: Traditional, arr. Amaya Gypsy Family

The Rom Diaspora, the migration and scattering of the gypsies from India, found its way across Europe, and perhaps the Isthmus of Gibraltar, into the Iberian peninsula and finally into Andalusia. Here, for 800 years until their expulsion in 1492 lived the Moors, whose last stronghold was the Province of Granada. From this fertile intermingling of three great cultures — the Andalusian, the Moorish and the gypsy — was slowly born the passionate and fiery Flamenco. Zambra, meaning Moorish festival, is a rare form of music played and danced to a 2/4 rhythm, and shows the imagined beginnings of Flamenco from its Mozarabic roots. — Sherry Rose

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Photograph by Lina Jang

Ahla Nar (2011)

4 minutes • Flamenco/Arabic Fusion • Choreographed by Samara • Music: Ragheb Alame

An increasingly familiar trend in the world of contemporary pop world music is the fusion of sounds and sensibilities. What could make more sense than a fusion of Flamenco and Arabic music and dance? This piece adds a full skirt with plenty of ruffles, a fan, and flamenco moves to reflect the gypsy sounds in this popular Arabic song.

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The Three Princesses of the Alhambra (2003)

18 minutes • Story Theater/Dance Adaptation • Adapted and Directed by Morgiana Celeste Varricchio
Choreographed by Samara • Music: Luis del Gado; Traditional Spanish

This poignant tale of three identical sisters, imprisoned in the Alhambra by their superstitious father, appears in Alhambra, Washington Irving’s travelogue and journal of his tour to Spain in the early 19th century. The characters in the story are real, and lived about 800 years ago, in Moorish Granada. Muslim and Christian cultures intertwined to produce the Spain of today, and that remarkable relationship is clearly evident through the artistic choices of music and choreography.

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