Tamar Ilana and Ventanas, a Toronto-based world music and flamenco dance ensemble, will perform at the Empress Theatre on Jan. 29.
KIM BERRETH, GAZETTE CONTRIBUTOR
Tamar Ilana and Ventanas, Toronto-based world music and flamenco dance ensemble, will kick off the new year at the Empress Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Founded in 2011 by Ilana, a powerhouse vocalist, Tamar Ilana and Ventanas perform original and traditional material in more than 20 languages, weaving in and out of fiery Flamenco dance and music, Greek, Turkish and Sephardic love songs, upbeat Bulgarian dance tunes, and lyrical original melodies, while leading captive audiences through windows into other lands, times and cultures.
Lead singer Ilana’s powerful vocals, honed through a lifetime of performing internationally, evoke deep emotions.
Add to this the intensity of Flamenco guitar and dance, the excitement of Middle Eastern darbuka, the soulful sounds of Greek oud and baglama, the haunting sounds of classical violin and contrabass, and the flare of jazz improvisation, and you have one unforgettable show full of music, dance and inspiration.
Ilana is Ashkenazi Jewish and a member of Pasqua First Nation (Treaty 4) with some Scottish and Roma-Romanian ancestry mixed in. She grew up on the road performing and traveling with her ethnomusicologist mother, Dr. Judith Cohen, which deeply influenced her life and career.
The members of Ventanas are from various backgrounds (including Greek, Italian, French Canadian, Peruvian) and all grew up playing music and performing since they were children.
The project originally formed in 2011 when Tamar moved back to Toronto from Seville, where she had been living and studying Flamenco.
Ventanas, meaning “windows” in Spanish, merges the members’ musical and cultural backgrounds together, creating their own sound that reflects the sound of their city, Toronto.
Tickets to see Tamar Ilana and Ventanas, the third show in this season’s Centre Stage Series, are available at macleodempress.com, by calling 403-553-4404 or at the Box Office on Main Street.
Up-coming Centre Stage shows:
- Feb. 5 — Lennie Gallant, an East Coast Music Award-winning songwriter from PEI.
- March 28 — The Gift: Words and Music of Ian Tyson, performing 50 years of Ian Tyson’s iconic songs.
- April 29 — Delhi 2 Dublin, the Vancouver world music group playing a fusion of Bhangra, electronic, funk, reggae, and Celtic music.
All Empress concerts are sponsored by Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
