photos: Ed Reyes
Ensemble Ibérica Youth Outreach Program, led by Director Norma Pacheco O’Neil, engages Kansas City students through presentations on Spain’s history, its ties to Kansas City, diverse regional dance styles, and the evolution of guitar-dance relationships in Spain and the Americas. Our “Mexico Lindo” program explores Mexico’s rich history, food, and culture through music, song, and dance. Thanks to dedicated donors, we offer these programs to underserved schools at no cost. Our outreach has impacted over 11,000 children, featuring experienced professional artists in live performances for audiences of all ages.
All performances feature live professional artists with years of experience performing for young audiences.
Norma Pacheco O’Neil – dance
Beau Bledsoe – guitars
Fedra Cooper Barrera – vocal
Feel free to contact us if you would like Ensemble Ibérica to visit your school.
Norma Pacheco O’Neil
Youth Outreach Director
(913) 850-0818
email
Online presentation now available
We are now able to livestream our outreach program “Vamos a España – Introduction to Spain through Dance and Music” to online classrooms via Zoom, YouTube and other platforms. This presentation includes a live presentation with Norma and Beau, performance videos, engaging graphics and a live Q & A at the end. Contact us for more information.
Here’s a sample video of our online presentation.
Vamos a España - Introduction to Spain through Dance and Music
The interactive and highly engaging Introduction to Spain program incorporates elements from various school subjects including: Spanish, music, art, geography, world history, drama and dance.
With live music accompaniment, the program will introduce the geographic location of Spain and a brief history leading up to the inception of the Flamenco Art form. The discussion will include: rhythm, tempo, mood and timing. Nonverbal communication is also included to explain the dancer/guitarist relationship. With the use of props, the program introduces the audience to the Spanish guitar, fan, flamenco shoes and the use of the castanets (a percussion instrument used exclusively in Spanish dance). Spanish words will be peppered throughout the program along with Flamenco Jaleo (a form of shouting and encouragement provided by the audience to inspire the dancer and guitarist).
This program can be customized for various age levels, group sizes or other unique audiences.
Mexico Lindo - Introduction to Mexico through Music, Song and Dance
The interactive and highly energetic Mexico Lindo “Beautiful Mexico” program incorporates elements from various school subjects including: Spanish, music, art, geography, world history and dance.
With live musical accompaniment along with a singer and a dancer, this program will introduce the geographic location of Mexico and a history of its colonization. The discussion will include a brief history of the indigenous people, as well as the traditions, food and culture brought by European settlers. The program will then introduce a map of the 31 states in Mexico and highlight two of the states: Veracruz and Jalisco. Traditional songs, music styles, musical themes and dances from these two states will be performed.
This program can be customized for various age levels, group sizes or other unique audiences.
