Olas is a quilt. Each added square and patched tear has infused a greater richness, a true commitment to why we come together to make music and dance. We do it because it is based on love. Simple. This newest project was created within a very poignant, at times turbulent, at times beautiful, few years. There were travels rich with hard good-byes, letters, phone calls, and joyous reunions. We studied and built new muscle memory and courage. More of us became teachers, and simultaneously students once again. One of us found love on a small island in Greece and brought a new member to our family. Other loved ones left us, a sister, a father, a mother, passing like sudden and saddening gusts, held in memory, photos, lyrics and heart. And still others, Aleta Louise and Suzanna Rose, were born. Their brother and safe-keeper, Javi Lee, turned four and can tell you the history of dinosaurs, the geography of Western China, and can keep a syncopated beat like it’s no big deal. As life goes, hearts were broken and mended stronger. Illness came, descending with deeper appreciation and a nine-o-clock prayer. Each of these moments was shared, grieved, celebrated, because Olas is not a band of musicians and dancers, but a cooperative of threads holding together the fabric of the lives of its members, who are family. And the next generation is already learning to stomp, snap, clap, strum, and holler. For all of this and through the years, the warm words and gatherings, the wine and food we share, the practices and the collective creation of art keeps us whole and always in admiration of this beautiful and sacred quilt.
Olas is heavily influenced by traditional Flamenco, expressed through a musical blend of American folk, rock, Arabic and
West African sounds, palmas, original Spanish verse, and Contemporary Flamenco choreographies. Our work is all original and celebrates the power and importance of music and dance....more