For flamenco dancer Samantha Fuentes, one of the most important undertakings in life is staying true to oneself.
However, Fuentes said that this was difficult while she was growing up.
A Seattle native and the daughter of a man born in Puerto Rico, Fuentes said she felt a connection with Latin American culture, even though her father had grown up in Germany.
Fuentes said she made the effort to connect with her ancestral heritage on her own, teaching herself Spanish as a young child and learning a Spanish dance she saw on television – the Flamenco.
Funetes said she has now been Flamenco dancing for almost 17 years.
“I am first and foremost a Flamenco dancer,” Fuentes said.
Her latest performance, “Northern Lights,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday in the Forge Theater.
Moscow is one of the many locations that are a part of a tour around the western region of the U.S. that also includes places such as Tuson, El Paso and Fresno.
Fuentes said this is an incredible opportunity for people in the United States to experience the dance and the music.
“Flamenco isn”t really part of our American culture,” Fuentes said.
It is because of this, she said, that she has tried to do so many performances in areas where people have had little or no exposure to the art form, especially the younger crowd.
Flamenco, Fuentes said, is a unique dance.
She said it is more serious than many other dances, such as the salsa, and it is extremely emotional.
“Sometimes people cry,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes said although Flamenco tends to draw an older crowd, her target audience is younger people. She said she enjoys being the one to expose adolescents and children to something they are unfamiliar with.
She said she hopes that through these performances, Americans will become more interested in Flamenco.
Fuentes said with the Internet and websites like Youtube, it is not too difficult to access more information about it, either.
She said that traditional Flamenco has failed to adequately express who she is as a person, because her culture is not exclusively Latin.
Unlike other Flamenco routines, Fuentes said “Northern Lights” is also Americanized, in a way.
Fuentes said with this performance she tried to incorporate her American identity into the Spanish dance. Still, she said “Northern Lights” is distinctly Spanish.
Fuentes said she studied in Spain for a few years and the experience of studying under professional Flamenco dancers contributed to her current performance style.
“Just being in the presence of those amazing artists,” Fuentes said. “There”s nothing like it.”
For “Northern Lights,” Fuentes said she has, by “pure luck,” managed to get a genuine Spanish Flamenco singer, Juan Carrasco Soto, to perform with her.
“One can learn to be a good Flamenco dancer or guitarist,” Fuentes said. “But one is born with the ability to sing Flamenco.”
Soto, Fuentes said, is one who she believes fills the latter. Fuentes said Soto has been singing since the age of twelve and has since toured in Asia, South America and many other places.
In addition to his travels, Soto took third place on “The Voice” in Spain.
Fuentes said Soto”s music adds a rare element to “Northern Lights,” as it is usually too expensive to ask a foreign Flamenco artist to participate in an American tour.
However, Fuentes said it is important for young people to know what real Flamenco is, which can only truly be achieved with an artist like Soto.
Nina Rydalch can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NinaRobin7