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LATINO LEGEND JOSÉ FELICIANO TO HEADLINE GIBRALTAR JAZZ FESTIVAL
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egendary Latino singer/guitarist José Feliciano is set to headline this year’s Gibraltar Jazz Festival, the Ministry of Culture announced last month at the Gibraltar Music Festival. One of the best known Hispanic entertainers in the United States and a major star in the Spanish-speaking world, Feliciano and his eight-piece band will perform at St Michael’s Cave on 25 November.
Feliciano received two Grammy Awards for the song, one for best new artist of 1968 and one for best contemporary pop vocal performance. Feliciano!, the 1968 album that featured ‘Light My Fire’, was just as successful, earning the guitarist his first gold album.
His musical career has been immortalised with a Star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and New York City has honored him by renaming Public School 155 in East Harlem, ‘The Jose Feliciano Performing Arts School’.
The Puerto Rican came from humble beginnings with his family of 12 supported by his father’s work as a farmer, but by the age of six, Feliciano had taught himself to play the concertina simply by listening to records and practicing. This is even more astonishing due to his visual impairment since birth.
A Gibraltarian favourite, the best-selling Christmas single, ‘Feliz Navidad’, was also one of his creations and will likely be enjoyed by all on the night.
He went on to learn an array of different instruments and in 1968,he released his version of the Doors’ 1967 hit, ‘Light My Fire’which sold over a million records. This made the singer an overnight celebrity.
Tickets are available at www.buytickets.gi/.
DANZA ACADEMY HOLDS ‘FUN PACKED’ SUMMER SCHOOL
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ocal dance group Danza Academy held a series of summer dance sessions last month with an array of different activities for children over the holidays. Participants were treated to ballet lessons from ex-professional Polish dancer Magdalena Lis from the Wroclaw Opera House as well as local dance sensation Jonathan Lutwyche, a former pupil of the academy. Jonathan has just completed a year at the Jeoffrey Ballet School in New York and taught the children dance gymnastics. Danza Academy students have worked extremely hard this summer following a varied, disciplined and fun programme incorporating Classical Ballet, a variety of Modern Styles, Dance Gymnastics, Choreography and Improvisation. Young dancers also had the chance to experience Ballet lessons from an ex
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2016
professional polish dancer, Magdalena Lis, from the Wroclaw Opera house. “During Summer we have time to look at fine details and refine techniques covered throughout the year. We have a chance to be more creative and experimental in our approach,” said Danza Director AnneMarie Gomez. “The children have worked solidly throughout the holidays and have produced inspiring material which we can further develop into choreographies or competition work. Those experiencing dance for the first time have truly enjoyed the challenges posed. Our main aim throughout being trying to develop versatile dancers.” A spokesman for the academy said that, although not all students will make a career in dance, the discipline and skills learned over the ‘varied and challenging’ summer programme are valuable in a young person’s development .
“The Academy prides that both Jonathan Lutwytche and Janice Felices, currently studying at Elmhurst, the feeder school of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, as did Simon Bolland, currently working in UK’s top theatres, always attended the summer School,” the spokesman said. 11