El Yiyo: The New Legend of Flamenco
The stage welcomes a flamenco phenomenon: El Yiyo.
The first master's in flamenco in the United States, dancing in the oldest tablao in the world.
In 2010 she did something nobody had done before: she became the first person in the United States to earn a master’s degree in dance specialising in flamenco. Illeana Gómez didn’t just learn the craft; she opened a door that others have walked through since.
Born in New Mexico, she trained at the Albuquerque Flamenco Conservatory and later in Seville and at the Amor de Dios school in Madrid, with masters such as Juana Amaya, Farruquito, Carmen Ledesma, Alfonso Losa and José Maya.
Her art has taken her to the Joyce Theater in New York, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the Albuquerque Flamenco Festival, and in 2018 she was awarded at the «La Perla» National Alegrías Dance Competition.
Today she dances in the tablaos of Madrid, one of the few American bailaoras to have built an entire career here.