natalia monteleon, director
Arte Flamenco
Natalia has been involved in flamenco for over 30 years, as a dancer, teacher and choreographer. Her teachers have included Flamenco with Ana Martinez, Paco del Puerto, La Tati, Carmela Greco, Maribel de Sevilla, and Raquel Pena, and Classical Spanish Dance with Maria Morales.
Natalia has been soloist at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, Wolf Trap Theater, George Washington University's Lisner Theater, the Warner Theater of Washington, the Embassies of France and Spain, the University of New Orleans, and the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans. As director of Arte Flamenco, Ms. Monteleón, has staged performances at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the University of Maryland, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and at all major Hispanic and international music venues throughout the mid-Atlantic region. She has recorded with Brother Ah’s New World Ensemble cd “Celebration”, and was dance director for the GALA Hispanic Theater production of the House of Bernarda Alba, and coached actors in Arena Stage’s production of Yerma.
After twenty years of performing both as a soloist and in companies, on stage and in flamenco tablados, Natalia decided to devote her skills to teaching, choreographing and developing new talent. Natalia is very proud that many of the dancers that have emerged on the scene in the DC-Baltimore area began as her students, and with a sound background in the elements of flamenco culture, they are now on their own performing in companies and as soloists
Claudia has been one of the principal members of the company as a soloist, a singer, and an associate teacher and choreographer for Arte Flamenco classes. She is from Santa Fe, NM, where she studied and performed with Maria Benitez Estampa Espanola. Claudia has studied flamenco with Vicente Romero, Ciro, Joaquin Ruiz, Javier La Torre, Beatriz Martin, Torombo, and Juana Amaya; and cante with Pedro "El Abogao" and Segundo Falcon.
Pam started dancing modern dance at the age of 10 in her native Manila, Philippines. Since moving to the U.S. in 2003, Pam has studied flamenco extensively in Washington, D.C. and in Sevillle, Spain, with artists Mercedes Ruiz, Juana Amaya, El Oruco, Miguel el Rubio, and Christina Hall. Pam has performed over the past 16 years with Natalia Monteleon’s Arte Flamenco and “Flamenco Aparicio” dance companies at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Hippodrome Theater, and GALA Hispanic Theater. Pam continues to work as a soloist in flamenco venues around Washington, D.C. and teaches flamenco classes at the Arte Flamenco Studio and at the Washington Ballet for their summer intensive program. text and edit me.