Eva Lucena, Founder and Artistic Director of Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre, is to be honored at the Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts, Rahway on October 11th, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. Joining her on stage will be Alborada principal dancer Lisa Botalico, Alborada soloists Krystina Cardenas, Claudia Morena and Teresa Rodriguez with members of the company ensemble who have been taught by her for the past 17 years, accompanied by Flamenco singers David Castellano and Dominico Caro, guitarist Carlos Revollar, and bass guitarist/percussionist Sean Kupisz. Also joining her will be Chavela and Victorio (both of whom partnered her and were members of the company during the 80's and 90's), and Laura Castellano.The performance will feature highlights of her dance career, including her famous "Tangos de Chufla" with Lisa Botalico, her "Siguiriyas" with Chavela, and a short reprise of "Asturias" which she danced for years on stage in New York and in the Metropolitan area with Victorio. Members of the company will dance her choreographies for "Caracoles", "Guajiras", "Fandangos de Huelva", "Zapateado" (a dance she inherited from Sebastian Castro Vallejo - her former partner of the 1970's - to which she has added her personal flair), the "Tangos de Cadiz" (which she will dance with her protégé, Krystina Cardenas, who began studying with her at 11 years old) and a "Bulerias" finale. These choreographies have been a part of Alborada's repertory for the past 20 to 30 years and are still greatly enjoyed by audiences today.
Ms. Lucena began her career in the States in 1974 after arriving from Europe (her dance career In Flamenco and Classical dance began in Spain after visiting the caves of Sacromonte, Granada in 1954 and being told by an old Gypsy dancer that her destiny was to be that of a Flamenco dancer). In Europe she was well known on the London stage and its Spanish nightclubs, and toured England, Italy, Switzerland as a soloist and with Sebastian Castro Vallejo in Spain. So this concert is also a celebration of almost 60 years as a Flamenco and classical dancer.
In 1974 she became a principal dancer in the "Sebastian Castro Dance Company", and in 1980 a principal dancer of the "Maria Alba Dance Company", which she co-founded with Maria Alba, which later transposed into the "Spanish Dance Theatre". Upon the loss of Maria Alba in 1992 and Ms. Lucena's subsequent move to New Jersey, the company then became the "Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre". She is also a distinguished dance historian and educator, not only in Spanish dance but also in other world culture dances that show the cross-cultural connections of Flamenco – Jewish, Moorish, Latin American and more, which has served to fuel her creativity in developing annual new full-stage productions for the company. She served on the Board of Dance New Jersey for 10 years and was also a guest artist and judge for NJN's TV's "Hispanic Youth Showcase" at NJPAC for 12 years. Ms. Lucena was interviewed and featured in a full page preview by the New York Times in December 2010, and was interviewed and featured in 4 New Jersey Network (NJN) TV programs filming the company, two of which were Emmy-awarded.
The Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts is located at 360 Hamilton Street in Rahway, NJ. For more information visit www.ucpac.org or alboradadance.org
