VOYAGE: Spain through Flamenco Dance

Mercedes is an accomplished singer who sings for Spain’s elite level artists. She is a professional in some of the most important tablaos (live flamenco venues) of Spain. These include Los Gallos and Casa de la Memoria in Seville, El Cordobés in Barcelona and Corral de la Memoria in Madrid. 

She has performed with Compañia Marco Flores for over 10 years, toured with Mercedes Ruiz, Andres Marín and is currently with Compañia Olga Pericet. Her collaborations include shows by flamenco superstar, Miguel Poveda, as well as Farruquito. 

Mercedes has sung for 15 annual editions of the Festival de Jerez for workshops, accompanying acclaimed maestros from Spain such as Manuel Betanzos, Manuel Liñan, Manolo Marín, Merche Esmeralda. She is the official cantaora (flamenco singer) for the International Flamenco Competition Turin de la Frontera.  

Jordi studied at the Conservatorio del Liceo de Barcelona and studied with the maestro Rafael Cañizares. His professional career began in the flamenco peña (club), la Niña de la Puebla, where he had the honour of accompanying this great singer. He moved to Seville and worked for 13 years in the school of Alicia Marquez. Jordi has worked in the famous tablaos in Barcelona including Los Tarantos and El Cordobés and in the most established tablaos of El Arenal and Los Gallos, in Seville. 

Jordi has accompanied 15 annual editions of the Festival de Jerez for workshops by acclaimed maestros from Spain such as Manuel Betanzos, Manuel Liñan, Marco Flores, Olga Pericet, Rafaela Carrasco, La Moneta He is the official guitarist for the International Flamenco Competition Turin de la Frontera.  

Ayako, originally from Japan, studies and performs flamenco dance and guitar. Her dance performance includes with Flamenco Sin Fronteras and at Esplanade in Singapore, as well as tablao appearances at Sala Andaluza in Tokyo (2024) and Jerez Off Festival in Spain (2024).  

While she trains at Flamenco Sin Fronteras in Singapore, she regularly takes classes at Jerez and Sevilla with Maria del Mar Moreno, La Moneta, Mari Moreno, Aguda Saavedra, Miguel Angel Heredia, El Torombo, El Oruco, Rafaela Carrasco and Carmen Ledesma. 

She loves flamenco as liberation, artistic language and physical expression of music. 

Daphne Huang Vargas is managing director, producer and one of the principal company dancers of non-profit flamenco dance company, Flamenco Sin Fronteras.  

On stage, she exudes passion, grace and fire, leading to her stage name given by her mentor Antonio Vargas: La Niña de Fuego (he daughter of fire). 

Hui Hui works in the daytime as a therapist and spends her nights happily dancing away. She has been dancing flamenco for the past 20 years and had the privilege of being under the tutelage of numerous maestros and maestras of flamenco. She is a member of the Singapore Flamenco Sin Fronteras. 

Featured in Channel News Asia’s documentary, From Hobbyist to Flamenco Extraordinaire), Tania is based between Singapore and Sevilla, Spain. She is a cross-cultural professional who connects Spanish artists to global communities.  

Tania specialises in flamenco projects on an international level. These include master workshops, performances, culture trips, flamenco music production and digital courses.  

She studied flamenco in the professional Academia de Manuel Betanzos (Seville) and is versatile with classical Spanish dance, studying with Paloma Gómez (Madrid). In Singapore, she passes on the art, through her school, Spanish Dance Singapore. 

Tania is grateful to have received so much from her maestros, artists and the Spanish people. It inspires her to share the vibrant Spanish culture, curating experiences that connect and uplift human spirits. 

Toshi encountered flamenco in university and fell under its spell right away. In 2007, he moved to Singapore and has participated in workshops and master classes by well- known artists such as Antonio Vargas, José Galvan, Manuel Betanzos, Rafael Campallo, and Andrés Peña. To enhance his spirit of flamenco, he takes annual trips to Seville, Spain. Toshi contributes to Flamenco Sin Fronteras with his dance and singing talents.