Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre's "El Sueno" (The Dream)

The Hispanic traditions of celebrating Three King’s Day or “El Día de Los Tres Magos” on January 6th are rooted in Christianity. According to the Bible, three Kings followed a star that foretold the birth of the Christ child. A variety of traditions celebrate this special day. On January 5th, children prepare a box and place it near or under their beds to symbolize the manger for the baby Jesus. When they wake up in the morning of January 6th, they find 3 presents in the box, symbolic of the 3 gifts that were given to the baby Jesus by the Magi. Some families also make a “King” Cake, a special cake within which is hidden a plastic baby Jesus.

Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre, New Jersey’s premiere Flamenco and Spanish Dance company, celebrates this wonderful tradition with its own unique take on the “Nutcracker” story - “El Sueño” (translated as “The Dream”), conceived and directed by Alborada’s Associate Artistic Director Lisa Botalico. As noted by Alborada’s Executive Director Eva Lucena, “this cultural experience is designed to reach out not only to the growing Hispanic population in New Jersey, but also to non-Hispanic audiences with a new interpretation of a cherished holiday classic”. “Alborada’s tapestry of dances and music from both Spain and Latin America gives the general public the unique opportunity to share a little girl’s dream from a different cultural prism”, according to Lisa Botalico.

After standing ovations last year, the show is returning to Mercer County’s Kelsey Theatre (West Windsor, NJ) for its FIFTH YEAR on Saturday December 13, with a matinee and evening show for the public, as well as a morning show for K-12 schools on Friday December 12. “El Sueño” will return for its second annual performance at Rahway’s Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts on Sunday January 4, also followed by a show for local K-12 schools on Tuesday January 6. Being able to perform this vibrant show so close to the actual Three Kings Day is especially exciting for the company. The educational value of this show is exemplified in the associated K-12 school assemblies – these special presentations include major elements of the public show, along with demonstrations of the elements of Flamenco and Spanish Dance – footwork (escobilla), rhythmic clapping (palmas), movement of the arms (braceo), the traditional proud upper body carriage and use of the percussive musical instrument castanets.

The “El Sueño” storyline loosely follows the “Nutcracker” theme, while bringing the cultural traditions of Spain and other Hispanic cultures to life for the audience. The show opens with Clarita and her family and friends as they celebrate Three Kings Day in a typical plaza in Spain (with a set showing traditional Spanish architecture authentically created and fabricated by Alborada’s set designer Charles Seal). After they dance, they get to see the Three Kings - dressed in elaborate robes and masks - give gifts to all. Clarita’s aunt, Tia María (the Spanish version of Drosselmeyer) gives her a matador doll (instead of the Nutcracker doll). When the doll is broken, Tia María uses her magic to repair the doll, and also sends Clarita into a dream. Clarita dreams of her doll – who magically comes to life as the young Matador – as he bravely fights the King “Toro” (the great bull, which replaces the Mouse King) and his picadors (instead of the mice). When Clarita helps the matador defeat the bull, the Queen Maja whisks her away to the Land of the Majas (the Spanish version of the Land of the Sweets), where she is rewarded with a display of colorful and exciting flamenco and folkloric dances from Spain - performed with live guitar music and singing - along with fusion dances with Spanish and Arabic movements, and folkloric dances from Mexico and Ecuador. Every year, Alborada changes some of the dances seen by Clarita during her dream, so new, exciting choreographies will always be seen.

A wonderful aspect of this production is its talented young artists. Students of Ms. Botalico are trained by her starting in the early fall and auditioned for the production. Especially gratifying to her is the growth of students in one particular family – the Baum family of Hopewell, NJ. Their son Navruz, now 16, has danced as the young Matador since this show premiered in 2007. His sister Quetzal has also performed in the show since its inception and played the lead role of Clarita in 2013; their younger sister Paz joined the show in 2008. Like traditional Nutcracker ballets, the students benefit from gaining performance experience on-stage with the Alborada company’s professional artists, including learning how to dance with live accompaniment - guitar music and singing (a feature of all Alborada full-stage productions and K-12 school assemblies).

Two of the professional dancers include guest flamenco artist Peter Suarez, who has traveled from Florida annually to dance as the King Bull, and Alborada principal dancer Ricardo Santiago dancing as the adult Matador. Alborada principal dancers Lisa Botalico as the Queen Maja, and Eva Lucena as Tia María round out the principal artists of this production, together with Sarah Cruz and Sarah Yashar Gershman as the young girl Clarita, who dreams about fighting the bull and seeing and dancing the beautiful dances of Spain.

All of these elements - vibrant Spanish dance, colorful and authentic costumes and stage set, live guitar music and singing, castanets – bring a bit of Spain to benefit not only the central New Jersey community, but also the greater community at large.

“El Sueño” (The Dream)
Date & Time: Saturday December 13, 2014 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Location: The Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College
1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, NJ 08550.
Tickets: General $18, Seniors $16, Students/Children $14
To order tickets, call the Box Office at (609) 570-3333 or book on-line at www.kelseyatmccc.org

Date & Time: Sunday January 4, 2015 at 3:00 pm
Location: Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts
360 Hamilton Street, Rahway, NJ 07065.
Tickets: $20; $12 Seniors and Students with ID
To order tickets, call the Box Office at (732) 499-8226, email boxoffice@ucpac.org or book on-line at www.ucpac.org

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About the Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre:
Through dance, drama and music, Alborada’s passionate artistry reveals the many diverse and historical threads that comprise the multicultural fabric of Spanish culture. Both entertaining and educational, the variety of its repertoire runs the artistic gamut of Spanish Flamenco and traditional dances, to Hispanic, Celtic, Moorish cultural influences and beyond. As stated by Tammy LaGorce, New York Times (2010), Alborada “is awhirl in drama and color”. Visit www.AlboradaDance.org for more information. Alborada can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/alborada.dance.