Welcome to the official site of Alegria Flamenco

Alegria Affiliations

“Comunicacion con Alegria” (communication with Alegria) is largely what we stand for and no better way than to have close alliance with kindred organisations; be they for education, life enhancement or charity.

Alegria therefore have made ties with Alianza Flamenca who provides an excellent method of Flamenco dance study. We have been associated with Alianza Flamenca since our inauguration in 1999.

Besides providing a link with the root of Flamenco in India, Sabrang also injects a vast range of subjects into Alegria, from the physical to the metaphysical, linking the apparent gap between the ‘worldly’ and the ‘spiritual’ in a uniquely modest yet highly advanced, scientific way.

Jikeleza is an African empowerment project initiated by an empathetic, highly motivated individual, Edmond Thwaites. The project has grown into a skilled team of learned persons who have dedicated their time, free of charge, to empower, through dance, those seriously underprivileged. Alegria both sponsor a child and send useful dancewear to the organisation.

Alianza Flamenca

Alianza Flamenca is a non-profit association, which has been formed to develop and encourag a broader understanding of the art of flamenco, particularly flamenco dancing.

In order to do this, a flamenco dance syllabus has been formed. It consists of seven courses in ascending order of proficiency plus two courses for beginners. There is also a teaching assessment for those wishing to teach the syllabus.

The aim of this syllabus is to prepare students to go to Spain and enable them to join master classes with the maestros of flamenco, armed with a sound knowledge of all the rhythms, styles and techniques of the art of flamenco dance.

Students learning the Alianza Flamenca syllabus are assessed at the end of each course and awarded a diploma on success completion. They will then be able to proceed to the following course.

The syllabus has been devised to promote the highest possible standard of teaching and dancing outside of Spain.

The designers of the syllabus have all learned and danced extensively in Spain and continue their studies by attending master classes with leading exponents of flamenco to keep abreast of the latest developments in this art form. They have pooled their knowledge in order to train dancers and teachers.

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Jikeleza - A Chance to dance!

Background
During the apartheid-era little, if any, funding was allocated to recreational facilities in "non-white"
townships. This has led to a huge amount of juvenile delinquency in these areas. The Jikeleza
(Xhosa for "turn around") Dance Project was established to address this problem and has been
operating since April 2002. The project currently has two areas of focus: the historically
disadvantaged communities of Hout Bay and the rehabilitation of street-children in Green Point,
Cape Town.

Why dance?
· Dance promotes both physical and mental discipline as it requires concentration, balance, co-ordination and rhythm.
· Children lack the verbal vocabulary to express complex emotional issues, but are able to do this through movement and dance.
· Dancing is a natural expression of joy and serves to uplift the spirits of even the most impoverished life.
· Dance is a universal language that cuts through social, racial and cultural barriers and therefore should be promoted as a means of opening up dialogue in a multi-cultural society.
· Children improve their self-esteem through mastering their physical selves.
· Dance is a perfect form of exercise as it requires and develops muscular strength, aerobic fitness and flexibility without placing excessive stress on any single part of the body.

Street-children
The Jikeleza Dance Project is working together with the "Learn to Live" project at the Salesian Institute in Green Point. This project aims to rehabilitate former street-children and educates them in a range of subjects and also provides support and counselling. 30 children, mostly boys, attend African Dance and movement classes twice a week. The undisputed highlights at the "Learn-to-Live" 2002 Christmas concert were the two African dance numbers performed by the boys. A group of boys who have shown commitment and talent are taken to the Hout Bay studio regularly where they have the opportunity to interact normally with other children. A family in Hout Bay has expressed their intention to provide a foster home for two of the boys and the Jikeleza project is assisting this process wherever possible. One of the primary aims of the project for 2004 is to find foster accommodation for the street-children attending the project.

They are currently accommodated at the Homestead shelters. Workshops for marginalized youth and street-children have also been initiated in Darling at the request of Pieter- Dirk Uys. It is hoped that these will continue in 2004.

Contact details
Contact persons: Edmund Thwaites /Atholl Hay
Website: www.jikeleza.co.za
E-mail: jikeleza@ananzi.co.za
Tel: 021 434 3100

Sabrang Organisation

Sabrang is an organization that seeks to demystify the classical arts.

It started off in 1992, as an effort to make up for a lapse in the education system, which deprives us of that insight into the classical arts whereby we can become enlightened members of an audience, confident that we can meet the demands that a classical art form would make on our intelligence and sensitivity.

Sabrang wanted to create audiences for the classical arts.

Since then we have grown. From 4 people in 1992, we now have a faculty of 9, but more significantly from 8 workshops in 1993, we have completed 174 in 1999, 160 in 2000 and 169 in 2001!

I am happy to inform you that we are now a floating university offering initiatory modules into the arts, covering mythology, aesthetics, philosophy, sociology and anthropology. We offer workshops on the appreciation of the following art forms:

1. Classical Music (Hindustani, Carnatic, Western)
2. Indian Classical Dance
3. Ballet
4. Opera
5. Mythology (Asian and European)
6. The Baroque, Classical & Romantic Periods in Painting, Architecture, Philosophy and Music
7. A comparative study of Hindustani, Carnatic & Western Classical Music
8. Impressionism in Painting and in Music
9. Know Yourself Through Theatre

At the risk of sounding immodest, I would like to point out that Sabrang is now a social entrepreneur, changing society through its workshops. We are the only professional organization in India that is wholly involved in arts education where the principal purpose is to use the arts to serve the needs of society.

How does Sabrang add value?

Along the way we have evolved a set of objectives, which would make us useful to a cross section of society in India. They are:
· To use the arts for cross-cultural sensitivity. We show how India and Europe think as civilizations and    how this influences us in our everyday lives
· To impress upon the participants that a little bit of initiation will allow them to enjoy an intimate    relationship with a classical art form
· To show how societies, periods and civilizations have worked on a brief and how these solutions are    manifested in dance, music, painting and architecture
· To represent a composite view of mankind's perspective on creative endeavours in time and space
· To help the participants form a new relationship with pleasure and beauty
· To allow the Indian to feel comfortable in the culture of the western hemisphere while also making him   an ambassador our ours
· To sum up: we deliver a transformation

SABRANG FLAMENCO WORKSHOPS: INDIA, JULY 2003
Rosanna Maya most recently completed four highly successful summer workshops in Mumbai and Rajkot India. The events were organized by Parag Trivedi of the Sabrang organization who seek to " Demystify the Classical Arts" by giving a series of workshops in all classical art fields.

The Flamenco workshops aimed to give an introduction to flamenco dance in practice with lecture demonstrations at various notable organizations in the places visited. These covered an historical and philosophical outline of Spain related through their vast cultural heritage in dance, song and music.

The numbers were limited to 30 students per class and were filled beyond capacity due to public demand. Over 400 calls were received for the workshops in Mumbai alone. Ms Maya was overwhelmed by the response and aptitude experienced from all those who attended. A performance was given in culmination to the course at the Prithvi Theatre in Juhu, Mumbai in which the students performed what they had learned and a further demonstration was given by Ingrid Sciberras and Ms Maya herself.

In follow-up to this event Mr. Trivedi and Ms. Maya are planning future activities to be held through the Sabrang Organization.