Gary Lindsey Artist Services, Inc.

Paco Peña, considered one of the world's great flamenco guitarists, returns to North America next season with his Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company in a program called “A Compás!” (“Primal Pulse!”).  Highlighting the power and passion of Southern Spain's song, dance and music, this program of "pure flamenco" features three guitarists (including Mr. Peña), three flamenco dancers, two singers, and one percussionist. Next season the flamenco ensemble again returns to North America for its 8th annual tour under GLAS management.  Availability is during spring, 2009, starting late March and continuing through April. Over the past several seasons, the troupe has performed at Massey Hall, Toronto; Kimmel Center, Philadelphia; The Town Hall, New York City, Jackie Gleason Theatre, Miami, Bass Hall, Fort Worth; Latino Cultural Center, Dallas; Cleveland Museum of Art; Northwestern University, Evanston; the Overture Center, Madison, Stanford University; Scottdale Center for the Arts; Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland; and in Victoria, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, among others.  Many are repeat engagements.   Born in 1942 in Córdoba, Spain, Paco Peña began playing professionally at the age of 12.  In an illustrious career spanning over forty years, he has toured the world, appearing in such prestigious venues as New York's Carnegie Hall, London's Royal Albert Hall, and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw.  Recent outstanding collaborations include those with such renowned artists as John Williams, the Chilean group Inti-Illimani, Leo Kotke, and Eliot Fisk.  During much of the 1990's he toured his universally-acclaimed "Misa Flamenca," while his 1999 and 2002 productions, "Musa Gitana" and "Voces y Ecos" played multi-week runs at Sadler's Wells' Peacock Theatre in London.   Since 1985, Peña has held the title of "Professor of Flamenco Guitar," the first to be so honored, at the Rotterdam Conservatory.  He also heads his "Centro Flamenco Paco Peña" in the native Córdoba, where he also founded "Festival Internacional de la Guitarra."  For five consecutive years, he was voted 'Best Flamenco Guitarist of the Year' by readers of American Guitar Magazine. The New York Times proclaimed, "Mr. Peña is a genuine virtuoso, capable of dazzling an audience with technical abilities beyond the frets of mortal man."  And, in reference to the Company's Town Hall engagement in the spring of 2007:  "A reminder that great art can make a home for itself anywhere." “Paco Pena, unchallenged master flamenco guitarist, is now into his fourth decade of assembling groups of artists – guitarists, singers, dancers and percussionists – whose give-and-take is a joy to share.  The tradition is honoured, the improvisation convincing, the virtuosity dazzling, but the communication remains paramount.  Beautiful, powerful and expressive.” – The Wellington Post.   And from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:  "Simmered with a smoldering passion that reached the boiling point yet never erupted into self-aggrandizing showmanship.  Master guitarist Pena played with rich tone and virtuoso technique.  The capacity crowd responded with a spontaneous standing ovation.  Thrilling!" Read the recent reviews of "A Compás!": The New York Times, April 2, 2007:  "A Night for Breathing Fire Into Gestures of Flamenco" FlamencoBuzz.com, March 29, 2007: "Review of Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company, "¡A Compás!" VIDEOS:    "A Compás!"      "Flamenco in Concert"      HOME     TECH RIDER ¡A COMPÁS!     PHOTOS/POSTERS      AUDIO      TOUR HISTORY      REVIEWS       COMPANY LINK      INQUIRIES