Olivia Chacón: Artistic Director, choreographer, and dancer. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Olivia has danced flamenco for twenty years, and has spent five years studying flamenco and performing in Sevilla and Madrid, Spain with some of the world’s best flamenco artists. She spent two years touring internationally throughout Spain, Mexico, and Cyprus with the Cristóbal Reyes Compañia de Flamenco, and performed as a soloist in flamenco clubs in Spain and Germany. After returning to Austin, Olivia opened Flamencura Music & Dance, Austin’s first flamenco studio, in 2010, and formed A’lante Flamenco Dance Ensemble in 2011. In 2013 she was recognized as Austin’s “Best Dancer” by the Austin Critics’ Table for her work in A’lante’s The Red Shoes: A Flamenco Fairytale.
Isai Chacón: Musical Director, arranger, singer and guitarist. Originally from Durango, Mexico, Isaí began studying guitar at the age of ten. Isaí relocated to Texas as a teenager, where he studied music theory, jazz and composition, while discovering his love of flamenco guitar and singing. After playing latin music and flamenco in Austin, Isai went to live in Madrid from 2003-2004 and 2006-2010. There he accompanied many of the world’s best artists in classes at the famous Amor de Dios Academy, and in performances throughout Spain and Europe. He toured internationally with the companies of Laura Tabanera, Antonio Reyes and Cristóbal Reyes, and played in many of Madrid’s flamenco tablaos. Isaí is Musical Director at Flamencura Music & Dance, and performs frequently throughout Texas.
Celia Corrales: Singer. A native of Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz, Celia grew up singing flamenco in parties in her hometown, before marrying a Navy man and relocating to the U.S. 25 years ago. Since then, she has sung with many groups in Arizona and Texas, impressing audiences with her powerful voice and natural flamencura. She has sung with A’lante since 2014.
Cristina de Llano: Dancer. Cristina has always wanted to be a dancer or a musician … and now she’s both. A native of Laredo, Texas, Cristina spent her childhood and teenage years dancing ballet as part of Dance Expressions, under the tutelage of Cheryl Kirkpatrick. Years later, Cristina entered the world of flamenco, joining Flamencura Music and Dance in 2015 and eventually becoming a member of A’lante. This past summer, she deepened her flamenco practice by attending Festival Flamenco in Albuquerque, New Mexico, learning from some of the most accomplished flamenco musicians in the world.
When not dancing flamenco, Cristina teaches yoga at several studios in Austin. She completed yoga teacher training from Yoga Yoga in 2008 and 2016 and also received a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the Art Institute of Austin in 2012.
Sofia Hurtado is a flamenco dancer, instructor and Rehearsal Director for A’lante Flamenco. A native of San Diego, Sofia began dancing flamenco at the age of three, and has never stopped! She holds a MS in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon, and a PhD from the University of Texas. Driven by her passion for “running a business and building a community,” Dr. Hurtado transitioned her advanced engineering research into the commercial sector. As the CEO of Saight, she leverages her expertise in computer vision and machine learning to build innovative AI-driven technology solutions. She balances this with her lifelong passion for flamenco, instructing Beginner dancers at Flamencura Music & Dance and performing frequently as a soloist with A’lante Flamenco.
Idali Reyes: Dancer. Idali grew up in El Paso, Texas, surrounded by the borderland’s rich mix of cultures and stories. She earned her bachelor’s degree in History from UTEP, and that lifelong curiosity about people, places, and history eventually led her to flamenco, which she began studying in Austin with Flamencura. She is also a Certified Texas Contract Manager and works in broadband development. Outside of work and dance, she enjoys life with her husband and their dog.
Jose Manuel Tejeda: Guitarist, Composer & Arranger. Originally from Havana, Cuba, Tejeda began training extensively in classical guitar, accumulating over 13 years of academic study. He graduated from the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) (University of Arts) in Cuba, earning a degree in classical guitar, guitar education, and musical direction. After emigrating to Austin 2012, he began working with A’lante Flamenco and later with Atash. His expressive technique and cross-genre versatility have made him a prominent figure in the Texas world-music scene, known for his rich blending of flamenco, classical, jazz, and Latin styles.
Justi Trauernicht: Dancer. A newcomer to A’lante, Justi is a classically trained dancer, who ironically first fell in love with flamenco after having seen Riverdance. She took her first flamenco class while she was studying at the University of New Mexico. A few years later, she was fortunate enough to continue to dabble her toes in the art form for almost a year while she was in Spain. When she moved to Austin a few years later, she spent little time in looking for a studio to continue to learn and grow, and has been dancing with Olivia at Flamencura for almost 15 years.