American Bolero Dance Company

Specialties

American Bolero Dance Company (ABDC) is a nonprofit arts organization devoted to the performance, teaching and preservation of traditional Spanish dance styles. The Company’s repertory encompasses classical and folkloric Spanish dances, 18^th-​century Escuela Bolera, Zarzuela and Flamenco. ABDC’s productions foster collaborations among dancers, singers, musicians, and choreographers of diverse training and backgrounds, and are noted for their integration of theatricality, imaginative choreography and authentic costuming.

American Bolero Dance Company’s primary goal is to present performances in the United States that accurately represent the music, history and the traditional dances of Spain and Latin America. Its secondary goal is to educate aspiring dancers and musicians in the United States by providing workshops and lecture/​demonstrations, and a complete curriculum within its affiliated Spanish Dance School to pass on the rich traditions of Spanish dance and music.

History

Established in 1996.

Incorporated in 1998, American Bolero Dance Co. performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in Carnegie Hall in 1998. ABDC presented signature productions in the U.S. and Europe, including Olé Olé Fin de Siglo (INTAR Hispanic-​American Arts Center, 1998 and Danny Kaye Playhouse, 1999), and Spanish Gems (Flushing Town Hall, 2005). Its current production, Tablao Flamenco, has been taking place in Astoria, Queens since 2008.

ABDC has appeared with renowned opera companies (Baltimore, Orlando, DiCapo, and Mannes) and orchestras (Queens and Bronx Symphonies, The Sherman Ensemble). In 2008, Artistic Director Gabriela Granados and company members performed at a fundraising gala honoring tenor Plácido Domingo at Metropolitan Opera in Lincoln Center.

ABDC’s educational activities since 2002 have included an apprenticeship program, created with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and its Spanish Dance School, providing instruction for students ages 4 to adult, and yearly recitals.

Meet the Business Owner

Gabriela G.

Business Owner

Gabriela Granados studied a wide range of classical and regional Spanish dances, Flamenco, Ballet, Character Dance and Latin American folklore. She trained with master teachers Cristóbal Reyes, La Tati, José Molina, Maria Alba, La China, and Orlando Romero.

Ms. Granados performed in Madrid’s Tablaos Flamencos: Los Canasteros, Las Brujas and Zambra. She appears with, and choreographs for, orchestras and opera companies such as, Virginia Opera’s La Traviata, Orlando Opera’s Carmen, DiCapo Opera’s La Vida Breve, Bronx Symphony’s Goyescas, Wesleyan University Ensemble of the Americas’ El Amor Brujo, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s in Carnegie Hall. She was a member of María Benítez, Carlota Santana and Andrea del Conte flamenco companies.

In 1996, she founded American Bolero Dance Company, producing critically acclaimed signature works. In 2002, she opened ABDC’s Spanish Dance School.

The NY Times calls her productions «exuberant and stylish» and her solo work «stunning…a tour de force».

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Gabriela G. says,

«American Bolero Dance Company’s Spanish Dance School holds its Flamenco and Spanish dance classes for children and adults in this studio»