MISAEL Flamenco Guitar

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Presented in the heart of downtown Phoenix, Braided Roots comes to life in the intimate setting of the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center—inviting audiences into an experience that is as personal as it is powerful. Far from the grandeur of a large theatre, this space amplifies every breath, every stomp, every story.

In Braided Roots, elegance meets unrelenting rhythm. The performance crackles with energy—dancers carve through space with footwork that pounds the earth and whispers to the sky. Rich, expressive vocals span the emotional spectrum, while intricate guitar work weaves a soundscape as nuanced as the stories it helps tell.

This is flamenco in its fullest form: sweeping ensemble work and vivid costuming pay homage to the art’s theatrical tradition, while soul-baring solos illuminate the improvisational fire that burns at the heart of flamenco. The title, Braided Roots, reflects the complex beauty of legacy and change—Julia Chacón’s path as an American flamenco artist, flamenco’s deep cross-cultural currents, and the living conversation between lands, bodies, and histories.

This powerful evening of dance and music features new work by Julia Chacón Flamenco Theatre, offering fresh perspectives rooted in tradition and shaped by the evolving flamenco landscape.

Braided Roots is both a celebration and a reckoning. It honors nearly 100 years of Spanish dance in the Phoenix Valley and draws on flamenco’s layered origins and its evolving present to explore hybridity, cultural memory, and what it means to embody a tradition shaped by migration, resistance, and transformation.

Step into the story. Feel the roots. Witness the fire.

TABLAO ARTISTS Dancer/Director, Julia Chacón, directs Flamenco Theater, named “Best Flamenco Group in the 2021 Phoenix New Times. A finalist for the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award (2019) and Mayor’s Arts Award (2019 & 2020), Resident Artist at the Musical Instrument Museum (a Smithsonian Affiliate), Julia has a MFA in Dance, MA in Creative Enterprise and Cultural Leadership, and is pursuing a PhD at ASU. A former soloist with the Cuadro de José Galván in Seville, Spain, María Benitez Teatro Flamenco, and Flamenco Vivo, she currently teaches at ASU and throughout the Phoenix Valley. Julia Chacón Flamenco Theater was founded in 2008 under the name, Inspiración Flamenca in Santa Fe, NM. Julia believes in the power of dance to build bridges of connection, which she exemplifies through the expression, power, and art of flamenco.