Alma y Compás unites Ehab Guitarrista, La Zarmari, and Yurie Kaneko in a flamenco encounter where rhythm becomes breath and silence carries as much weight as sound.

This is lived flamenco.

Original compositions by Ehab Guitarrista form the spine of the evening — intricate, soulful, rhythmically daring. La Zarmari brings the raw truth of cante: ancient letras, deep lament, fire, and earth in her voice. Yurie Kaneko answers with dance both precise and untamed — a body speaking in compás, carving space with heel and shadow.

Together they create a ritual of tension and release — tradition honored, reborn in the moment. Each piece unfolds like a secret. Each silence carries weight. Each strike of the foot feels inevitable.

This rare convergence unfolds into an intimate night of duende, risk, and revelation.

Not a spectacle — an experience.

Enter the rhythm.

Ehab Guitarrista is a highly accomplished guitarist and composer with a degree in Classical Guitar and a lifelong dedication to the instrument. He has studied flamenco with Grammy-winning maestro Antonio Rey and jazz in Vancouver, developing a style that weaves flamenco with jazz, Latin, and classical influences. A seasoned performer, musical director, and educator, he has appeared at major festivals and venues across Canada, including sold-out solo concerts and international flamenco festivals.

Isabel Pacheco “La Zarmari” is a flamenco dancer and singer from Ubrique, Cádiz, rooted in the deep traditions of Andalusia. She trained from childhood in flamenco peñas and later at the Reina Sofía Conservatory, performing in Granada’s tablaos and major theaters across Spain and internationally. Now based in Canada, she brings ancestral duende, trance, and raw expressive power to both stage and song.

Yurie Kaneko is a first-generation Japanese immigrant based in the unceded and traditional lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She began her flamenco training in 2007 at Centro Flamenco under Rosario Ancer and late Victor Kolstee, and is a graduate of Flamenco Rosario’s Professional Training Program, where she now works as a company dancer and instructor. In 2022, Yurie was a mentee in Flamenco Rosario’s Creative Residency under the mentorship of Sara Jiménez and continued her training at Fundación Cristina Heeren in Sevilla, Spain. She was selected for The Dance Centre’s 12 Minutes Max program in 2024 and is a DanceLab resident for the 2025–26 season, continuing to explore possibilities of flamenco as a living art form embodying history, culture, and individuality.