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 bridges scholarship, choreography, teaching, and performing. She grew up immersed in flamenco culture in Albuquerque, NM and is the Founder and Artistic/Executive Director of Abrepaso Flamenco, NE Ohio’s premiere flamenco arts and culture nonprofit organization. The company’s name means to break open space and their mission is to deepen appreciation for flamenco and create original choreographies, finding new entry points into and new pathways within the art form. Her recognitions include: 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, and she has performed in Germany and Spain. She premiered an original show at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in 2014 and three evening-length original works at the National Hispanic Cultural Center from 2016-2018, and she has been a featured TedX Speaker. Her choreography has been commissioned by Dancing Wheels, Wayne State University, Kent State University, Mercyhurst University, and other institutions. Blumenfeld holds an MFA in Dance from Hollins University and a BA in Comparative Literature from New York University.