Maya de Silva, Dancer, Choreographer, Dancer & Artistic Director, received her BFA in Theatre & Dance from UNM, Albuquerque. Since 1987, Maya has performed flamenco with groups such as Maria Benitez Estampa Flamenca, Carlota Santana Flamenco Vivo, Andrea Del Conte Danza Espana, and Flamenco Latino in venues such as The Joyce, Dance Theater Workshop, Lincoln Center, Kaatsbaan, and at Boston Pops for Ch 13. In 2000 she enjoyed a scholarship while completing the 4 Month Professional Certificate Course at the Cristina Heeren Foundation of Flamenco in Sevilla, Spain with El Farruquito, Javier Latorre, Carmen Ledesma, Isreal Galvan, Isabel Bayon and Milagros Mengibar.  Maya has choreographed and produced her own shows at the Kraine Theatre, with FieldDay at PS 122, Third Street Music School, at Santa Barbara (CA) CenterStage, and at SUNY Orange in Middletown, NY.  She danced four seasons in the Metropolitan Opera’s productions of "Carmen" and “La Traviata” and taught ten years in the Mason Gross School of the Arts Dance Department at Rutger’s University. She currently teaches adults at Roy Arias Dance Studios, for children at Rod Rodgers Dance Studios and at Ballet Hispanico, and is a teaching artist in the NYC Public School system for both Ballet Hispanico and Carlota Santana Flamenco Vivo. 

Alfonso Cid, Musical Director, Flamenco vocals and flute, Born in Seville, Alfonso studied flute and music theory for 5 years at the Seville Conservatory, and Cante Flamenco with Paco Taranto and Rocio Márquez. at the Cristina Heeren Foundation for Flamenco Art in July of 2007 and 2008 in Sevilla, Spain. Since his arrival in New York in 1997 he has played with all the top Flamenco artists, including Pilar Rioja and Andrea del Conte at venues such as NYC Town Hall with WMI, Carnegie Hall and the Joyce Theater. Notable performances include London’s Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sala Covarrubias in Mexico City, the American Embassy in Madrid, as well as touring in Spain, the UK, and Puerto Rico. He has his own Flamenco group “Gazpacho Andalú” with a CD titled “Flamenco de Vuelta e Ida” released in 2006. www.gazpachoandalu.com.  

Arturo Martinez (Espiritu Gitano), flamenco guitarist and composer, has been a noted figure in the NY Flamenco scene since the 1980's. He first began playing the electric guitar at age 13 in the tradition of Afro-American music. In playing the guitar it was logical that he was drawn to flamenco “the black music of Spain”, because of it’s Gypsy, Arab and Jewish influences. Although rooted in the Andalusian Gypsy tradition he is inspired by various traditions, including North African, Hispanic-American and jazz. He has accompanied the best companies in NYC including Jose Molina, Jose Greco, Chuni Amaya, Rafael Fajardo, Concha Vargas, the late Maria Alba, as well as Andrea Del Conte and Pilar Rioja and just did a recent season at the Joyce Theater with Savion Glover. He produced an ongoing monthly festival of Flamenco at Thiasos Greek Restaurant and served as Associate Producer for shows with El Torombo and Concha Vargas produced by the World Music Institute.  He was a founding member of “Gazpacho Andalu” and his compositions are integral to Alfonso Cid’s CD “Flamenco de Vuelta e Ida”.

Carmen Estevez, percussionist, vocalist, composer: Hailing from Badajoz, Spain, Carmen's unique sound blending traditional Flamenco with Pop, Rock and Hip-Hop and  R&B makes her a perfect fit with Flamenco Revolucion. Daughter of a jazz drummer father and flamenco singer mother, she studied 10 years at Conservatorio De Musica of Montijo before moving to Madrid where she recorded and played with more than 2 dozen top groups, as well as collaborating with the theatrical productions Proyecto Ulises and Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar. Now living in NYC, Carmen is leading her own flamenco trio, and performs with Now vs. Now, The United Funk Orchestra and Suspicious Brown. She is staff percussionist for The Collective School of Music and works closely with Bob Quaranta, Kim Plainfield, Frank Gravis, Thomas Shaw and Noriko Tomikawa.   

Sean Kupisz, Bassist and Percussionist, was born in California and raised in New York. At an early age he studied piano, clarinet and percussion. Upon graduation from the Marine Corps Musician Program he performed with several jazz musicians on the Hilton Head nightclub circuit. He then returned to New York where he continued to compose and arrange for his fusionist flamenco-jazz band. Recently he scored the music for the documentary film “International High.” Mr. Kupisz has performed with artists such as Jose Greco, Rafael de Utrera, Chuscales, Omayra Amaya, Pilar Rioja and M’Oro Flamenco and performs frequently with Andrea Del Conte’s Danza Espana, Amanacer Flamenco Progresivo, Mimbre y Vareta and Flamenco Latino dance companies.

Olyda Espinal, Dancer and Singer, Cubana, attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. She has studied flamenco for 8 years with Maya de Silva, and in workshops with Nelida Tirado, Raul Ortega, Omayra Amaya, Marco de Ana & Elena Andujar, as well as Jazz and Horton with Maya de Silva.  Olyda teaches at the Bronx House of Performing Arts, as a Teaching Artist for Carlota Santana and performs with Los Hermanos Cintron.

Cynthia Morel, Dancer, Dominicana, Born in Washington Heights NYC, she began
studying Flamenco with Ms. de Silva at age 10 at CASW (Children Arts and Sciences Workshop), an arts organization that aids disadvantaged children.  After completing her BA in science (Pre-Med) at Cornell University where she was choreographer and president of the Sabor Latino Salsa Dance Ensemble from 1999 to 2002, she returned to Flamenco, resuming her studies with Maya de Silva and Nelida Tirado. She is now proud to be a Chavala del Barrio.
 
Yelena Myman, Dancer, at 8 years old Yelena began 5 years of flamenco training with Maya at Third Street Music School Settlement and then studied with Miss Yvonne at Henry St Settlement for another 4 years. She has a strong background in Salsa, Mambo and Belly-dance and has performed with Carlota Santana Flamenco Vivo. Yelena spent the summer of 2007 in China studying Chinese through NYU and again in Spring 2008 studying at NYU Abroad in Madrid, Spain, where she continued her training in Flamenco with La Tati and Cristobal Almodovar.

Nicole Bernhardt, (La Nicolina) Dancer, Percussionist Born in Woodstock NY, Nicole was influenced by her mother’s passion for dance and her father’s career as a professional pianist.  She began dancing at the age of four and started flamenco at 16 with the guidance of Mariquita Flores, a world renowned maestra of Spanish Dance, with whom she studied privately for 5 years.  In 1997 Nicole continued her studies at the U of NM with Eva Encinias-Sandoval and Pablo Rodarte, where she began performing Flamenco and African dance.   She danced in a production of Carmen at the NJ PAC in 1999 with choreographer Gloria Marina.  Nicole received a BFA in Dance/Choreography from Bard College in 2002 where she studied with Aileen Passloff and won an award for most creative choreography.

Marco Candela-Michelus, Dancer, Author, Coming from a border city (Trieste) between Italy and former Yugoslavia Marco moved to NY in 1992 to attend SVA. He began his dance training in NY with Victorio Khorjhan and taking workshops in New York and Madrid at "Amor de Dios". In 2002 Marco hosted a monthly event "Karavan" at various locations in Lower Manhattan, inviting artists in different disciplines (Musicians, Dancers, Painters, Poets and other Visual Artists) to join him in artistic extravaganza evenings. In 2001 he collaborated with artist Tomomi Shimizu in "180 degrees" a visual art performance exhibition at the Gallery "Fire Proof, Inc" in Brooklyn. 

Preston Dyar, (El Peregrino), Dancer and Assoc Producer, As a dancer Preston has worked with American Ballet Theatre II, The Louisville Ballet, Connecticut Ballet Theatre and American Festival Ballet. He has trained with Peff Modelski, Helen Starr, Jeremy Blanton and the late Richard Englund.  His training in flamenco has been with Maya de Silva through Flamenco Vivo. As a singer and actor, he has performed his one man show on seven continents, made his New York debut at La Mama, creating the role of "Danny" in Jean Claude van-Itallie's Ancient Boys. Favourite roles include "Dennis" in Joe Orton's Loot, "Master Ford" in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, and "Bobby Child" in Crazy For You. 

Klaus Jekeli, Dancer, Artist, Klaus’s parents are from Thüringen, Germany with family roots in Transylvania, Romania. He was raised in the North Country of New York State. He spent many years drawing and painting, and turned to dance in 1998. Klaus lived in Barcelona, Spain, and Lima, Peru for a number of years. Currently dancing flamenco in New York City, and studying with Dionisia Garcia, Jose Molina, Silvia Nava, Oscar Valero, Maya de Silva, and Alfonso Cid. He has also studied several years with Victorio Korjhan and Karim Noack. Besides dance, is an aficionado of song, studying the rich tradition of cante flamenco.