Own a piece of history! – I’m selling off the remaining posters from Calgary’s first flamenco festival in 2000. They are hand silk-screened, 18” x 23”, $35 each (the same price they were back in 2000), and available until December after which the remainder will be destroyed. There are 4 designs total. Really it’s 2 designs with and without the artists names. You can click on the individual images below for a better look.
Just a few years after graduating with a BFA in visual art, I was the graphic designer for this festival and these posters were hand silkscreened by me in my now in-laws garage (with the generous help of Jenny Conway Fisher). Victoria dancer, Veronica Maguire, graciously allowed me to use her image for the design.
The Oeste Canada Flamenco Festival was the brain child of Diane Colton whom I met as a fellow student of Marilyn Malinsky in 1997. It was ten days with artists from across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. There were artist performances, student performances, evening juergas at the local latin restaurant, and an array of workshops in multiple levels covering theory, flamenco dance, spanish dance, cante …
As with all festivals there’s a lot of fascinating stories that came out of it – how it came to have the name and tagline it did, who was and ultimately wasn’t involved, how it came to dissolve a few years later, and it’s long term impact on flamenco in Calgary and Alberta. Good stories and not so good stories, successes and failures, healthy community building and also lots of drama and division. A snapshot in time of Calgary’s flamenco trajectory at the turn of the century.
I learned a lot from the experience of being on the organizing committee for this festival and definitely took a lot of that learning with me when I co-founded and became the Artistic Director of the Edmonton Flamenco Festival in 2015.
The posters ended up in storage when I moved to Edmonton a month after the Calgary festival. It’s time to clear them out. If you are interested, please message me directly via the CONTACT page and we can figure out how to get one to you. I live in Edmonton, am frequently in Calgary, and will be out in Vancouver for the show honouring Oscar Nieto in November.
Our current 6 week Level 1 Beginner Series is wrapping up with a group class for all levels next week. The next Beginner Series starts on Nov 6th! (early-bird deadline Oct 30th)
Levels 2 and 3, we are on a 12 week semester system now so your classes continue as usual after the group class.
Wondering about upcoming classes or wanting to sign up? More information below.
All classes run Thursday nights at Sugar Swing.
6:00 – 7:00 Flamenco 1: Beginner Series 1 – 6 classes: Sep 18 – Oct 30* (ending) Series 2 – 6 classes: Nov 6 – Dec 11* This class works with some of the basic elements of flamenco dance: arms, footwork, movement and clapping. Students will gain an understanding of flamenco terminology, rhythm, music, and structure as they learn how to dance, clap, and improvise within the 4 count. Each series covers new material.
7:00 – 8:00 Flamenco 2: Intermediate Semester – 12 classes: Sep 18 – Dec 11* This level runs on a 12 week semester. If you haven’t attended this level yet and would like to join, please contact me before registering to drop-in. We are working on Alegrias.
8:00 – 9:00 Flamenco 3: Advanced Semester – 12 classes: Sep 18 – Dec 11* This level runs on a 12 week semester. If you haven’t attended this level yet and would like to join, please contact me before registering to drop-in. We are working on Bamberas.
*IMPORTANT – Oct 30th and Dec 11th classes are all levels combined from 6:30 – 8:00
UPDATE: The start of this semester has been postponed to September 18th. Current information can be found on my CLASSES page.
After an intense month of study in Seville, Spain I’m back in Canada and gearing up for the 2025/26 season. (You can catch up with my time in Seville on my facebook or instagram pages)
Fall of 2025 begins my 25th year of teaching flamenco in Edmonton! So many fabulous students, classes, workshops, performances, festivals, and activities to look back on … Looking forward to the upcoming season.
Fall flamenco session registration is now available.
I have come down with a terrible cold and have to cancel flamenco classes tonight – April 17.
We will be extending this 8 week series by one week to make up the time. The final class 6:30 – 8:00 will now be on May 15th. Please note this means that May 8th classes will be at the normal times.
**If you are unable to attend the makeup class on May 15th and would prefer a refund for the cancelled class, you need to let Sugar Swing know by end of day May 8th.** After that the only option is to attend the May 15th class to make up the time.
Students, thank you for your understanding. I recognize not everyone will be free on the 15th but hopefully most can attend the makeup class so we can finish the current session as a group.
At long last I can announce that I will be back performing flamenco piano and dance this Spring. Join us for a night of Flamenco, live and up close, in Edmonton’s premier jazz venue, Yardbird Suite. Last year’s show sold out weeks in advance. We’re so pleased the Yardbird was able to offer us 2 nights this year.
I’m thrilled to be back performing with my longtime friends and colleagues: dancers Claire Marchand (Vancouver/Winnipeg) and Rosanna Terracciano (Calgary); and guitarist Peter Mole (Vancouver); as we collaborate with singer and percussionist Francisco Orozco “Yiyi” (Spain), for an intimate evening of flamenco dance, guitar, piano, rhythm, and song. It’s a dream to travel with this show to my hometown of Calgary at the DJD Dance Centre, and then to Winnipeg at the West End Cultural Centre.
Flamenco at the Yardbird Co-presented by Yardbird Suite 2 nights! Wed May 28th Thu May 29th 7:30 pm Yardbird Suite, Edmonton
Flamenco at the DJD Dance Centre Fri May 30th 7:30 pm DJD Dance Centre, Calgary
Flamenco at the West End Cultural Centre Mon Jun 2nd 8:00 pm West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg
Graphic Design: Jane Ogilvie Claire Marchand background photo: Marc J Chalifoux Jane Ogilvie black and white photo: Marc J Chalifoux Jane Ogilvie background photo: Edmonton Flamenco Festival 2015 fundraiser performance Rosanna Terracciano black and white photo: Kristian Jones Rosanna Terracciano background photo: Marc J Chalifoux All other photos provided by the artists
I’m giving a free 20 min teaser flamenco lesson at Sugar Swing’s Open House this Friday. David Jay will be there to accompany on guitar and afterwards beginner students will give a short demo of what they learned this past Fall.
Wondering what my classes are like? Just want a fun night to catch up and move with fellow dancers? Flamenco happens at 7:30. Stay for the night and get a taste of all Sugar Swing has to offer including House, Jazz, Blues, Flamenco, and more!
This is an evening of mainly social dancing, 20-30min lessons, and demonstrations, along with free snacks/drink, socializing, Q&A.
Our recent 5 week Thursday class series finished on October 24th. We are taking a one week break before the next series with no classes on Thursday October 31st.
Wondering about the next 6 week series or wanting to sign up? More information below.
Classes run Thursday nights at Sugar Swing.
6 – 7 Flamenco 1 – Beginner
This class works with some of the basic elements of flamenco dance: arms, footwork, movement and clapping. Students will gain an understanding of flamenco terminology, rhythm, music, and structure as they learn how to dance, clap, and improvise within the 4 count.
The upcoming series will focus on footwork and a rhythmic clapping section in the song form tangos.
7 – 8 Flamenco 2 – Beg/Int
The upcoming session will continue to focus on fandangos de huelva. If you feel ready to move up from Flamenco 1 and haven’t attended this level yet, please contact me before registering.
8 – 9 Flamenco 3 – Int/Adv
Along with technique, we will continue to work with Siguiryas with a focus on the letra and regular review of the opening footwork section.
The upcoming early-bird deadline is Oct 31st.
Series 2 – 6 weeks: Nov 7 – Dec 12*
*IMPORTANT – Dec 12th’s class will be all levels combined from 6:30 – 8:00
Flamenco with Jane 