Carrollwood show to shine light on gifted Flamenco dancer, her students

Tampa Beacon

Brittany Ó Ruachainn

CARROLLWOOD — Audiences won’t be able to resist jumping up and dancing to the rhythm and music as Compañía Irene Rodríguez takes the stage at Carrollwood Cultural Center this weekend.

Rodríguez is a world-renowned Flamenco dancer who will be showcasing her students in a debut performance along with her own special routine before the show concludes.

Tickets are still available for the Jan. 7 show starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 for members and $30 for general admission. The Carrollwood Cultural Center is at 4537 Lowell Road, Tampa. For tickets, call 813-922-8167 or click here.

The show will feature child and adult performers from Rodríguez’s dance company, students of a dance program at Howard Blake High School, and guest musicians. Rodríguez said she is proud to highlight the dancers, and it will mark the first time in a year since opening a dance studio in Tampa that her students are put in the spotlight.

“I’m happy to show the work that I’ve been doing. You will see amazing dancers and our dancers of the future with the small kids who will be performing Flamenco,” Rodríguez said. “It will be a party of Flamenco at the end where people from the audience can go up on the stage and dance a sevillanas. It’s a popular song and dance in Spain that is danced by couples.”