I teach and rehearse out of my dance studio, FLAMENCO DANZARTE which is located at 2306- 4th Ave., between Bell and Battery Streets in Belltown, in downtown Seattle. I have classes for all levels, including the most beginning class level, starting from scratch! For a current class schedule check out my blog. I also teach private classes of course and sometimes teach children's classes.................... I also perform a lot in the Seattle area.... doing solo gigs, performing with a professional group, and performing with my company Flamenco Danzarte. Check out the Upcoming gigs blog. I am available to perform for private parties, receptions, and events.
Music
Flamenco of course! Cantaores (singers): Curro Fernandez, Camarón de la Isla, El Lebrijano, Juan Villar, José Anillo, Mayte Martin. Guitaristas (guitarrists): Tomatito, Felipe Maya, Chiquelo, Pepe Habicuela
Movies
Bodas de Sangre, Carmen, Amor Brujo, Sevillanas, Flamenco..... all by director Carlos Saura.
About me: I am a dancer in every fiber of my being. It is the fire in my soul. I knew it was my path in life since I was 4 years old.... There is nothing else I ever wanted to do or be. And I am blessed to be able to make my living doing only that which I truly love, performing and teaching flamenco dance. For me, dance is life. It is my great passion, my expression of everything that I am................. I have studied classical ballet since I was 5 years old, and I still take ballet class to this day!! I originally wanted to be a professional ballet dancer, but it wasn't meant to be, and as it turns out, flamenco is really my calling, and much more suited to my personality................. I studied flamenco in San Francisco with Rosa Montoya, in Madrid with some of the most famous maestros and dancers....El Ciro, El Güito, La Tati, Carmen Cortés, Manolete, Carmela Greco, Timo Lozano, and learning the folkdance La Jota Aragonesa, with Pedro Azorín............. In Sevilla I studied with José Galván, Juana Amaya, Angelita Vargas, and Manolo Valdivia Herrera..................... I performed in San Francisco with Rosa Montoya's Bailes Flamencos, and at the famous tablao The Spaghetti Factory...........At one point I left everything and everyone and moved to Madrid, making it my home base for 6 years, dancing in Ballet Español groups, performing in Spain, Europe and the states. In those groups we danced not only flamenco, but also Jota and spanish classical numbers............. I danced with Joaquin Ruiz, El Camborio, Fernando Romero, I even danced in the Circus Knie, the Swiss National Circus!................ Later I moved back to the states, and then worked in Mexico doing cuadro flamenco (the club setting type of flamenco venue, the kind you go to as a tourist in Spain). I finally moved to Seattle where I have matured artistically even more, doing cuadro flamenco in tablao settings, and in big theaters, mostly as guest artist with Carmona Flamenco............... Check out my website at www.ANAMONTES.COM !!!!
Who I'd like to meet: Wonderful new students, other dancers, musicians and artists!
Ana Montes & Flamenco Danzarte's Friend Space (Top 16)
HI ANA!! TODAY IS THE LUMINATION CEREMONY IN SEVILLA. HOW I WISH I COULD BE THERE TO WITNESS IT IN PERSON. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WON'T BE POSSIBLE THIS YEAR. NOT ONLY IS IT DUE TO MONEY, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY BECAUSE DAVID AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED THIS SATURDAY!!! YEEEEY!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!! THE DAY HAS FINALLY COME!! WE ARE SOOOOO OVERWHELMED WITH HAPPINESS THAT WE CAN'T WAIT FOR SATURDAY TO ROLL AROUND. I'LL BE ALONE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS WHEN DAVID LEAVES FOR MADRID ON WEDNESDAY. HE RETURNS ON THURSDAY NIGHT AND THEN FRIDAY AND BEFORE WE'LL KNOW IT, IT WILL BE SATURDAY. OHHHH MY DEAR FRIEND. IT'S SO WONDERFUL TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU. I HOPE YOU'RE DOING WELL AND THAT YOU'RE ENJOYING YOURSELF IN SEATTLE. STAY TUNED FOR PICTURES!! YAAAAAY!! KISSES AND HUGS!! - LOVE DEB
HI ANA!! I NEED YOUR HELP TODAY. PLEASE VOTE AND SPREAD THE WORD TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN...GO TO THIS SITE TODAY: http://www. ctv. ca/news AND ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE WHERE IT SAYS: TODAY'S QUESTION, CAST YOUR VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE ACTIVISTS. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! LOVE YA!! - DEB
Hey Ana! I'm sure you tore up the salsa dance floor at the Century. You are a spectacular dancer! I ended up going to a party with my friend Lisa. Going skiing this coming weekend. The following weekend I'm going to watch my friend do a tribal belly dancing performance in Seattle on the 12th. If you are not performing, let me know if you are interested in joining us! I will see if my friends wanna go salsa dancing afterwards! Look forward to seeing you soon! Leilani
Ana!! As you know it's Semana Santa here in Spain. I wanted to share this amazing video that my friend Monica from Sevilla recorded during one of the processions. Unfortunately, David and I won't be able to take a vacation until June due to his job. It would've been so nice to have seen this in person. Oh well, there's always next year ;-) I hope you enjoy it!! Big hugs to you!!
Aaaaana!! My dearest friend!! I have so much to tell you. Sorry to have you in the shadows my friend but we've been going through a lot here. I'll sum it up for you. Last week we went to Alicante to turn in all the paper work at the civil registration along with the two witnesses they had requested and it was a mess. Well...that place is a disaster!! Uhhh!! So much selfishness amongst the people and really bad treatment by the staff. Anway...they made our life impossible once we got our turn to go in. It was almost as if they had been programmed ahead of time to not allow anyone to marry. Due to the stress of they situation and the two hour wait outside in the cold, David came down with a cold and I got sick too. Since they turned us away and since David can no longer be taking days off work we've decided not to get married in Alicante. We've recently become residents of Vera (the town where we live) and today we will go to this civil registration to turn everything in and start the marriage process. It's so different here compared to the nightmare we experienced in Alicante!! They actually help and answer your questions here. So...to make a long story short, we don't know when we'll be getting married. We'll know after today :) We're both staying positive and optimistic and this weekend we had an amaaaaazing time together!! Here's a picture of one of our local beaches. It's a place called Mojacar. There's a lot to do here in the summer!! Many restaurants and shops..really cute location!! I'll keep you posted on what they say today. Big kiss and a hug 4 u!!
Hola Ana!! Happy Valentine..s Day. I hope you enjoy yourself greatly on this day. You are a incredible person and a great inspiration to many!! Thank you for being my friend and for all the support you..ve given me.
Hola Ana! How was your weekend? I hope it was full of fun and exciting events. David and I spent the entire weekend resting and enjoying the time together. My poor guy was really drained when he got home on Friday. The week really burnt him out, so as we cuddled on the sofa after dinner, I talked softly to him and encouraged him with a pep talk to remind him of all the wonderful abilities he has. He felt much better after that and we took a walk along the beach as the sun went down. It was great! Saturday we took our "pequeña" (the motorcycle) out along the coast and we had a refreshing beer at a place called, San Juan de los Torreros. I wish you could..ve been there! It..s a tiny town with a long board that along the way has little restaurants, and "cervecerias" so you can have something to drink and a snack as you enjoy the seaside. Next time we..ll take pictures and i..ll post them. Well sweetie. I have a busy Monday so I better get started. Here..s a little something for you to wish you a happy week!!
Hola Ana!! Thank you sooo much for being helpful and giving me that little push to get me back on my feet. I feel much better now and David and I talked through lunch about what..s going to work out best for us so we can enjoy every moment of our special day. We..re thinking that renting both a Tux and a Dress will work out well and it will allow us to us the cash on other goodies :-) We..re planning a trip to Mexico in the summer so this way we..ll be able to do it no problem :-) Here..s a beautiful angel I found that I inspired me to place it here. Receive from me a great big hug!! Love ya!! Deb
