NEW YORK, NY.- The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana present 100 Years of Flamenco in NYC, a multimedia exhibit opening to the public on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at the New York Public Library’s Astor Gallery as part of the dance company’s projects celebrating its 30th Anniversary.

“100 Years of Flamenco in NYC” will be the first Flamenco exhibit ever curated in the United States. Artifacts on display will include costume pieces and performance regalia, castanets, engravings and photographs of Spanish dance performance and venues from Spain and NYC. Curating the exhibit are Flamenco scholars Ninotchka Bennahum and K. Meira Goldberg. Screenings of rarely seen documentary films from the Library’s Jerome Robbins Dance Division and music will accompany the exhibition, as well as a series of seminars and lectures, live presentations and Flamenco classes at the Bruno Walter Auditorium.

"Flamenco has been one of the most influential and important dances in the history of the performing arts," said Jacqueline Z. Davis, Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleishman Executive Director of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. "It only seems appropriate that the first archival exhibition on Flamenco be told at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. We are thrilled to be partnering with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana on this wonderful exhibition.”

An amalgam of Arabic, Judaic, Gypsy and Andalusian dance and music, Flamenco is an art born from marginalized cultures that has developed into a unique, highly expressive form of dance. In 2010, UNESCO declared Flamenco a Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Flamenco has a rich history in New York City beginning in 1800’s that has pushed the art form forward and has had a profound influence on dance styles from ballet to tap and modern.

“100 Years of Flamenco in NYC” and its complementary programming will celebrate this Hispanic art form, and will highlight the impact of gifted immigrants and their contributions to New York City’s cultural legacy. The exhibition will run through August 3, 2013 in conjunction with Flamenco Vivo’s 30th Anniversary and will be sponsored, in part, by Spain Culture New York-Consulate General of Spain: member of the network Spain Arts & Culture.

“This is the most important event to happen to Flamenco ever—what an honor for the art form,” said Carlota Santana, Founder and Artistic Director of Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana. “We have finally made it in the mainstream.”

Other 30th Anniversary projects include a celebratory Joyce Theater Season, running from May 29 through June 2, 2013. Featured on the program will be new works by the vibrant Flamenco dancer and choreographer Angel Muňoz.

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana is the first American Flamenco company to reach this 30 year milestone and receive critical acclaim in major arts journals and publications including The New York Times. Guided by Artistic Director and Co-Founder Carlota Santana, the company provides extensive community outreach, arts education programs, and curriculum-based residency programs for schools that have contributed greatly to the vibrancy of New York City’s dance scene.