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For two Chicago dancers, flamenco isn't just a performance, it's a way of life

By Edie Kasten,
Marie Saavedra
Marie Saavedra
Anchor
Marie Saavedra joined the CBS2 Chicago news team in October 2020 as an anchor. She grew up in Evanston and is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism.
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Marie Saavedra

/ CBS Chicago

Two young dancers are bringing the beauty of the historic dance of flamenco to new life in Chicago.

"I just love the passion, the drama. I love the costumes. I love the vulnerability," said Naline Molina. "You just feel like you're floating as you're dancing, and everybody around you kind of blurs out. You're just in your own moment, and it's a very nice feeling."

For Molina and her collaborator, Luis Beltran, flamenco isn't just a dance, it's a way of life, with a rather interesting history.

"Flamenco originated from the gypsy people in Spain," Beltran said. "They have a lot of influences from India, and it also includes the Romany, it includes the Sephardic tribes that all immigrated and created the Moorish tribes, too."

"Flamenco is so wonderful because you get to connect not only to your roots, but I think you find your inner voice," Molina said.

The pair have made it their lives' work to bring flamenco to Chicago. They are collaborating on community in Compás, a curated flamenco project involving performances, events, and classes.

"We really specialize in these in-home candlelit concerts for everybody," Beltran said. "Chicago has fallen in love with a dance that is real to us."

Molina loved all the arts at an early age, focusing on dance at 18. Beltran began his dance journey at just 8 years old.

"I remember my first boots were a size 6, and I was a size 1. So we had to stuff newspaper balls in there just to be able to dance," Beltran said. "It was very weird. Nobody in my family liked to dance. But me, it just made sense to me."

Beltran said the aesthetic and discipline of flamenco was crucial to his development.

Both he and Molina credit their mentor and teacher, Dame Libby Komaiko, for their discipline.

They met her where they met each other at Ensemble Español, part of the After School Matters program.

They said the program changed their lives, and flamenco has helped them understand life.

"Flamenco really hones in on emotions of fear, emotions of heartbreak, emotions of joy; so emotions that everybody feels on a daily basis," Molina said.

Beltran said expressing those emotions can bring people together.

"My goal is to make sure that dance is a resource for everybody," he said.

Beltran and Molina said flamenco and other forms of Spanish dance are becoming more popular in Chicago, and they're thrilled.

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