USA Projects

I am a dancer and a writer from Portland, ME.  Through movement, music, and words I look to unpack human emotions that result from myriad experiences.  I am inspired by the workings and oddities of the human psyche, human relationships, daily ritual, nature, story-telling, the construction of physical and metaphorical borders, and by exposure to foreign and micro cultures and languages.            

My dance is rooted in my study of flamenco, while incorporating modern and contemporary dance, as well as American folk, rock, Cuban and Arabic music.  My writing is largely poetic and auto-biographical, at times auto-ethnographical.  I always look to interweave both mediums by writing scripts and lyrics for performances and songs to which I choreograph.  And as I navigate my way through the world of dance, I document my experience as a student, traveler, and performer through words.  

Since 2008, I have worked with Olas Music and Dance as a dancer, choreographer, scriptwriter and songwriter (lyrics).  Olas is a band of musicians and dancers from Portland, Maine that I founded in the fall of 2008.  Our work is inspired by traditional and modern flamenco, translated through a blend of American folk, rock, Arabic and Afro-Cuban music and through flamenco, modern, and contemporary dance.  Together we have performed throughout Maine and New England and have completed a full-length album entitled La Perla through Peapod Recordings.  We are currently working on a second album and film project through The Studio, due for release in 2012. 

Currently, I am studying in Sevilla, Spain, where I am enrolled in an intensive flamenco dance professionalization program at El Centro de Arte y Flamenco de Sevilla under the direction of Miguel Vargas and Esperanza Fernandez.  As I undergo a nine-month training in all aspects of flamenco dance and cante, I am documenting my experience as a flamenco student and foreigner in Spain through descriptive prose, which I publish on my blog: http://lindseybourassa.wordpress.com/

My ability to participate in this training is due in part to funding from the Maine Arts Commission, through which I am a recipient of a Good Idea Grant.

Performances:

TEDxDirigo: Latitudes, 2011, Portland, Maine

Norway Arts Festival, 2011, Norway, Maine

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine

ILAP, 2011, Portland, Maine

Acadia Sessions, 2010, Portland, Maine

Theatre in the Open, 2010, Newburyport, Massachusetts

Mayo Street Arts, 2010, Portland, Maine

Space Gallery, 2009, Portland, Maine

Goddard College, 2009, Plainfield, Vermont

The Hogfarm Annex, 2009, Biddeford, Maine

Releases:

La Perla, Olas' first full-length album released November 12, 2010, Peapod Recordings

Education:

Goddard College: BA in Creative Writing and Dance Studies, 2009

Kripalu Center: Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training Certification, June 2006

Vijnana Kala Vedi Cultural Center : Certificate in Hatha Yoga and Ayurveda, September - December 2003, Kerala, India

Concordia University: Anthropology and Photography Courses, September 2001 - January 2003, Montreal, Canada

Flamenco Instruction:

El Centro de Arte y Flamenco de Sevilla, October 2011 – July 2012, Seville, Spain.  Instructors include Miguel Vargas, La Choni, Carmen Ledesma, Sara López, Francis Núñez Cabello, Jorge Pérez, Esperanza Fernández, Curro Fernández, and Rocío Márquez.

 Jose Moreno, February 2011, New York, New York

 Myriam Allard, July 2010, Montreal, Canada

 Julie Fontaine, May and July 2010, Montreal, Canada

Antonio Arrebola, Spring 2010, Boston, Massachusetts

Ramon de los Reyes, February 2010, Boston, Massachusetts

Nino de los Reyes, Fall 2009, Boston, Massachusetts

La Conja, July 2009, New York, New York

Taller Flamenco School: Flamenco Dance and Spanish Language Studies, March - June 2008, Seville, Spain

Debra Shekhter, 2005 - 2009, South Portland, Maine

Soledad Cuesta, September 2004 - March 2005, Toulouse, France