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ancient mediterranean cultures Candle Dance by Puela Lunaris

Puela Lunaris was born Maria del Pilar Sanchez Herrera in Montanchez, a millenary village in Spain, considered in ancient times to be the Sacred Mountain of the goddess Ataecina, also known as Proserpina and Persephone. Montanchez has been a crossroads of cultures and civilizations since prehistory. Some of these cultures include: Iberian and Celtic; Phoenician, Egyptian, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman; Jewish and Moorish; Vandal and Visigothic; Gypsy and Afro-Caribbean. Each one of these historical and cultural influences plays a role in Puela Lunaris’s creative expressions, as a dancer, choreographer, spoken word artist, music producer, speaker and filmmaker.

 

Puela Lunaris grew up in the ruins of a Moorish castle, immersed in traditional Flamenco culture, but only realized her passion for Flamenco, much later in life, while working as an Entertainment Producer for Univision in Miami, Florida. She gave up a successful career in commercial TV to become a full time dancer in 1993. Soon after that, she decided to use her professional expertise as a producer in the service of promoting dance and cultural diversity. In 1994, she created Dances of the World Society as a network for individuals and organizations to Save Dances and Music in Danger of Extinction. Her main focus is in the realm of Flamenco through The Chanelar Flamenco Project.

 

A disciple of the legendary Maestro "El Farruco," Puela Lunaris has devoted her career to rescuing aspects of Flamenco that are in danger of extinction, including Zambra and Recitado Flamenco. She studied under the great Gabriela Ortega, inheriting from her the entire school of “Recitado Flamenco Culto”, reciting the poetry or major poets in Spanish literature, such as Lorca or Alberti in synchronicity to the passionate rhythms of the Flamenco guitar. Aware of the value of her work, the University of Sevilla in 1995 commissioned her performance En Busca de un Arte Perdido: El Recitado Flamenco.

 

 flamenco rap
recitado flamenco

As a filmmaker, Puela has also devoted many years of her life to documenting the “Recitado Flamenco Popular”, a spoken word oral tradition within Flamenco, which is akin to American Rap.  In 2004, the Consulate of Spain in New York and the Foundation for Ethnic Dance sponsored her documentary The Rap & The Cross, a vibrant film that explores the Flamenco oral tradition known as Sevillanas Corraleras from different historical and anthropological perspectives as a form of rap,  and in terms of its connection with the symbol of the cross. The Rap & The Cross has been featured at the Closing Night of the Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera Film Festival. It has also been presented at the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at NYU as well as at the Museo de Baile Flamenco de Cristina Hoyos in Sevilla

 

 

 

Passionate about making her culture accessible to international audiences by producing quality educational materials, Puela has created the Flamenco Caliente! Practice Music Trilogy, companion albums to the Flamenco Dance Trilogy (DVDs). She is the curator, artistic director and producer of the Legendary Gypsy Masters Anthology. Ms Lunaris is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

 

 Puela Lunaris

 

 

 

Puela is as well the producer, writer and director of The Dance of the Universe an interactive documentary about Whirling as a Moving Meditation, which has been distributed by One Spirit, a Time Life Company.

Puela has also written, produced and directed the educational video Zambra Flamenca, in which she teaches how to dance a rendition of one of Flamenco’s most ancient documented styles: Zambra, which is in danger of extinction.

 

 

Puela Lunaris TV appearances include those of Spain's national television networks (TVE, Canal Plus, Telecinco, Antena 3, Canal Sur), the R.A.I. (Italy) as well as Univision, NBC, CNN and PBS in the U.S.A

As a dancer, some of Puela Lunaris most memorable performances have taken place at the Teatro de la Villa (Madrid), Universidad de Sevilla and Teatro Central (Seville), The International Babylon Festival, at Alexander the Great's Throne Room, in the ancient city of Babylon (Iraq), the off-Broadway show Goddessdance (New York City). Members of the Royal Jordanian family were delighted by her performance in Amman. She has also performed for Former Vice-president Al Gore and Dr. Deepak Chopra at the Alliance for the New Humanity in San Juan (PR).

 

 fan flamenco dance

 

 

 

Ms. Lunaris has served as a consultant for the New York City Center Education Department to develop a curriculum to teach Flamenco in the schools.

Besides being a teaching artist at the New York City Center, Puela Lunaris has taught at Peter Gabriel's W.O.M.A.D. Festivals, The Performing Arts Network in Miami Beach, The Centro Andaluz de Danza in Seville, The Escuela Popular de Múscia y Danza in Madrid, The Juilliard School, The New York Open Center,  and The Instituto Cervantes in New York City.

 

 

teaching nyc
yoga

Interested in taking the benefits of the performing arts beyond the stage and into people’s lives Puela has created several self-development systems including:

Puela Lunaris holds a B.A. in Dance in Education and Spanish Language and Culture from the State University of New York. She is also a Certified Yoga and Qi Qong Teacher, a Modern and Sacred Belly Dancer, as well as a Certified Integral Yoga Stress-Management Consultant and a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner.
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