About The Instructor:

Alice Blumenfeld is known for a unique and “fierce presence (her movements seem to arise from several feet beneath the ground)” (Thinking Dance) and her “sharp and exhilarating” energy onstage (Philadelphia Inquirer). Blumenfeld is the founder and artistic director of ABREPASO flamenco. The company’s name reflects her vision for flamenco; Abrepaso means to break open space and forge new pathways. As Executive and Artistic Director, she guides the nonprofit organization in deepening community appreciation for flamenco and creating original choreographies, all the while creating new entry points into and new pathways within the art form, building cross-cultural understanding and community through flamenco education.

Blumenfeld is a well-rounded artist bridging her work as scholar, choreographer, educator, and performer. Her recognitions include: being a Fulbright Grant recipient in dance (Spain, 2012), a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts (2008), and a two-time Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award recipient in choreography (FY 20 & 22). She toured nationally with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana for five seasons, and has been a guest artist with Nélida Tirado, the American Bolero Dance Company, Antonio Granjero, Jácome Flamenco, among other companies and she has performed in Berlin and Spain. She premiered an original evening of flamenco at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in 2014 and has been a featured TedX Speaker. Her work has been featured on Buzzfeed, in Dance Magazine, and on television via PBS’ Ideastream and the Emeril Lagasse Show.

Blumenfeld holds an MFA in Dance from Hollins University and a BA in Comparative Literature from New York University where she graduated summa cum laude, with highest departmental honors, and Phi Beta Kappa. She began her flamenco training with Benigna Sánchez and then at the National Institute of Flamenco in her hometown of Albuquerque, NM. She was then mentored by Nélida Tirado in NYC and by Rosario Toledo, Andrés Marín, Manuela Ríos, and Cristina Hall in Spain. Blumenfeld is currently an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Akron, an adjunct professor at Cuyahoga Community College, and a teaching artist for the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning.