Meet 2022 Inbreak Resident Alice Blumenfeld

Alice Blumenfeld is the founder and artistic director of ABREPASO flamenco.
Inbreak Team
March 28, 2022
Artist statement:

Observe.

Take in the world around you. The past, the present, the future. Notice the movement, the relationships, the sounds. Widen your horizon. Be still.

Explore.

Take an idea and dig in. Get to know the history, the context, your body.

Listen.

What does the body have to say? Improvise. Observe oneself as you move. Develop a vocabulary around the idea.

Uncover.

Find books, images, poems (or write poetry), sounds, memories, emotions, the everyday, to further un-entomb an idea.

Relate.

Let the uncovered words and images inform the movement. Physically relate to the thoughts arising. Embody the new ideas.

Build.

Create a scaffolding, a roadmap. Start to give form, shape, structure.

Risk.

Make rules. Break your rules. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Boldly step into the unknown.

Click.

Build bridges across seemingly disparate ideas. Things fall into place. New relationships form.

Tell.

Distill the story. Find the thread, the through line.

Transform.

Be transformed through the process and ritual of creation and performance. Open new entry points to the world around us.

Share.

Create community from the shared experience.

Reflect.

on what has blossomed. Take stock. Let the work pollinate new ideas.

Gather.

the seeds and prepare for a new sowing season.

Plant, again.

With new wisdom and renewed presence.

Bio:

Alice Blumenfeld is the founder and artistic director of ABREPASO flamenco. The company’s name means to break open space and their mission is to deepen appreciation for flamenco and create original flamenco choreography, finding new entry points into and new pathways within the art form. Recognitions include an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for Choreography (FY20), a YoungArts Silver winner, and a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. She has performed nationally and internationally and her workshops have been lauded by schools and universities across the U.S.


Blumenfeld grew up in Albuquerque, NM, immersed in flamenco culture. Graduating summa cum laude from NYU in Comparative Literature, literary & translation theories have shaped her approach to dance exploration. In 2012, she received a Fulbright to study choreography in Spain. Upon her return to the U.S., Blumenfeld toured nationally with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana and has been a guest artist with many of the preeminent flamenco companies in the U.S. Blumenfeld graduated from Hollins University with an MFA in Dance in 2017. She holds a BA in Comparative Literature from New York University where she graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and with highest departmental honors. She holds teaching certificates in Simonson Technique and Yoga. Blumenfeld is currently President of the Fulbright Association of Michigan/NW Ohio and a teaching artist at the Rainey Institute and Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center in Cleveland. She also teaches at the University of Akron, Cleveland State University, and Kent State University and was previously a Visiting Assistant Professor at Oberlin College.

Alice's Website