The Vancouver International Flamenco Festival is offering up its widest array in history this year, with everything from a piece that blends Southeast Asian and Spanish styles to a dreamlike, multimedia dance-theatre work from Victoria, from Friday to next Saturday (September 21 to 29).

In other news, the event founded by Rosario Ancer and Victor Kolstee back in 1990 also marks the second year of an artistic creative residency program. This year, Madrid master Mariano Cruceta will mentor local dancer Kara Miranda. “It’s our hope that later on we can help the dancers who take part in this to create a production,” enthuses Ancer over the phone. “I’m excited about that, to help Canadian dancers to learn how to create work. There are a lot of good dancers here, but it’s hard to create good work.”

Flamenco fans can check out the results at an open-studio session on Sunday (September 23) at noon at the Scotiabank Dance Centre’s Zagar Studio.

Meanwhile, here are some of the other must-see shows on the flamenco-fest menu.

Kasandra Flamenco Ensemble

At the Orpheum Annex next Wednesday (September 26)

Kasandra, known better as “La China”, joins guests artists in a wide-ranging exploration. Check out Passages & Rhythm, a flurry of fan work that’s a culture-mashing collaboration with Filipino-Canadian dancer Alvin Erasga Tolentino of Co. ERASGA.

Monique Salez & the Dream Cab

At the Orpheum Annex next Thursday (September 27)

In Los Labios de la Loba , the Victoria flamenco veteran’s form-pushing troupe takes a trip into surreal dance-theatre territory.

La Azulita Flamenco Ensemble

At the Orpheum Annex next Friday (September 28)

The Nova Scotia talents head west to present traditional flamenco in all its fiery glory, with dancer Megan La Azulita, guitarist Daniel MacNeil, singer Lisa Myers, and percussionist Ian MacMillan.

Dialogue Extended

At the Orpheum Annex next Saturday (September 29)

Flamenco Rosario’s artistic and musical directors Rosario Ancer and Victor Kolstee know the struggles of being partners in both life and artistic work. Here, they team up with two other romantic-artistic couples—Mariano Cruceta and Gloria Solera from Spain, and Marien Luévano and Ulises Martínez from Mexico—to explore the struggle to balance their domestic and creative lives. “But it will be something any couple can recognize,” Ancer says. Ay, sí!