Inside the flamenco experience that shatters everything you think you know about the dance

JOHNNY Tedesco and his brother Richard grew up surrounded by Spanish and flamenco music and culture and began performing when they were small children. Flamenco became a shared language between them – one they have been sharing with other lovers of the dance for decades.

The pair formed Arte Kanela Flamenco in 1990, and ran Kanela Bar on Fitzroy’s Johnston Street, which became a hub for flamenco in Australia when the area was known as Melbourne’s Little Spanish Quarter.

Tedesco, the company’s artistic director, said he loves the honesty of the Spanish dance.

“You can’t really fake flamenco; flamenco doesn’t let you hide,” he said. “When you’re on stage, everything you’re feeling comes out through your feet, your hands, your body. There’s also something beautiful about the conversation between the artists onstage. Every performance changes depending on what you want to say artistically – the energy in the room, the connection between the artists and, importantly, the audience. That’s what keeps it alive for us. We’ve been doing this for decades and it still feels exciting because no two nights are ever exactly the same.”

While flamenco is a traditional dance, Tedesco said it is also constantly evolving. Although audiences today want authenticity, he said they also want to feel that the art form is alive and still growing.

“That balance has become really important to us,” he said. “When we first started, we were probably much more focused on preserving the traditional form. Over time, through touring, collaborating and creating original productions, we started finding our own voice inside it. We’ve worked with artists from different genres, like The Cat Empire and Kate Ceberano, brought in contemporary staging ideas like our original production Flamenco Rocks, and explored new musical influences, but always with respect for the roots of flamenco.”

The brothers have performed at Byron Bay Bluesfest with The Cat Empire, and Arte Kanela has appeared at the Mullum Music Festival and Bellingen Festival, but their upcoming show at Brunswick Picture House will be their first at the venue.

There will be four performers on stage, including acclaimed dancer Chantelle Cano and guest flamenco singer Curro Vicente.

“Flamenco really comes alive in intimate venues where the audience is close enough to feel the rhythm physically,” Tedesco said. “People sometimes come in thinking flamenco is this formal, distant thing they have to sit respectfully through. And then within a few minutes of our performance that idea is completely shattered. There’s fire, there’s humour, there’s moments of stillness that just stop your heart. It’s a full emotional journey. And in an intimate venue like Brunswick Picture House, where the audience is right there with you, that connection is electric. You’re not watching from a distance – you’re in it.”

Arte Kanela Flamenco perform at Brunswick Picture House in Brunswick Heads on Friday 5 June.

For more information and tickets, visit brunswickpicturehouse.com