“She’s a Spanish Mary Poppins!”
– Teacher, Young Life Academy, Roswell, GA
New for 2020! Online programming for groups.
Berdolé is now booking pre-recorded and live online presentations. Here’s a preview of our newsest series, “Flamenco in a Flash.”
Scroll down to see all shows on tour. All are offered online and in-person.
Years ago, they were called “school shows”, and now the movement of bringing arts into schools is at a sophisticated level, where artists, as well as educators, are encouraged to find connections between cultural arts programming and standards. Assembly programs offer broad introductions to Flamenco, while students learn about their curriculum through the arts during workshops and residencies during the school day in the classroom.
FlamenQuillo is the creation of Julie Galle Baggenstoss, who works as a teaching artist using the art of Flamenco to teach lessons that support curriculum standards in literacy, social studies, mathematics, science, modern languages, as well as fine arts. She is the only flamenco artist in the Southeast vetted by the Georgia Council for the Arts Teaching Artist Roster, the Fulton County Teaching Museum (Fulton County, GA), Young Audiences Woodruff Arts Center (Atlanta, GA), and the Arts and Science Council (Charlotte, N.C.). She currently tours her original shows for kids, in addition to performing before audiences of adults in tablao and theater concerts.
Being a teaching artist is much more than performing a dance in front of students. It involves hours, and in some cases, years of research and first-hand experience to understand an art form – and the school standards – in a way that a connection can be made so that students experience learning in a manner that encourages them to think critically – while having fun and creating in the art form. This is at the core of the practice of flamenco for Julie, who has received professional training as a teaching artist, has worked in arts integration in schools for more than a decade, and has been on the flamenco stage for 20 years. She presents in-classroom workshops and residencies at schools, as well as traditional assembly programs, and each program provides educators with the opportunity to cross a method with a curriculum goal in a flexible process that can produce unique learning experiences for every school.
“We loved how the students engaged with the rhythm of the music, and it made them focus on the presentation”
-Spanish Teacher, Taylor Road Middle School
Flamenco is an ideal traditional practice to engage students in arts integration, giving kids the opportunity to stomp, shout, and dance, as they delve into a complex art form that connects the East and the West. The art form is wide and deep, providing multiple pathways for arts integration. Please visit FlamenQuillo for a full listing of shows on tour, information about study guides, and booking information.
Shows on tour
All shows are differentiated for various age groups.
Short Video Lessons to Connect to Any Subject
“Flamenco in a Flash” is a set of 15-minute videos that teach flamenco dance steps, emphasizing rhythm and movement. Special dance gear is not necessary, and you can dance these moves anywhere! For schools, students connect each dance lesson with fun facts outside of the arts, such as a lesson in math, history, geography, or Spanish language, supporting performance standards in 50 states.
Flamenco and Social Studies
“Thomas and Carmencita” looks at the parallel lives of American inventor Thomas Edison and Spanish dancer Carmencita Dauset. Edison filmed Carmencita in New York, creating the first moving picture of a woman. Carmencita danced flamenco! She also performed in other cities, including Atlanta, where Berdolé is based. This program focuses on STEM, targeting standards in Social studies, math, science, literacy, and dance.
The programs”Ultramar” and “Mapping Flamenco” demonstrate how the music of flamenco was greatly influenced by the dances and songs of the place that we now call Latin America. Celebrate the cultural expressions of the New World that traveled to Spain to become part of flamenco. Social studies and literacy standards are targeted by grade level through mapping exercises, critical thinking about migration and perception, and/or analysis of dance props, song lyrics, and musical elements. Dance and music standards are also targeted.
“Flamenco Framed” takes a look at historic paintings that feature flamenco dancers. Participants learn to dance the steps used by the artists on stage – in the paintings. And, they hear about the painter and the historic context of the painting. Social studies standards related to identity and European history are targeted in this program. Dances may be learned while sitting in a chair or standing.
Flamenco and literacy
We connect each dance lesson with a fun fact outside of the arts, such as a lesson in math, history, geography, or Spanish language.
Children’s story books and flamenco song lyrics (sung poetry) are the texts used to analyze character, setting, and plot. Then, in “Ferdinand por farruca” participants dance ideas about the stories and poetry. In “Dancing Stories,” children listen to readings of storybooks and then dance the steps of the characters in the book.
Flamenco Motion and Sound
A single video of approximately 25 minutes showcases a flamenco dancer and percussionist who explore the ways that dancers and musicians interact to create rhythm and melody in movement, including playing castanets and our box drum called the cajón. Students have an opportunity to play palmas (clap in rhythmic patterns) with the artists and they get an up-close look at the musical side of dance in flamenco.