ancing professionally since the age of 17, Julia Lopez trained in Madrid with such notables as La Quica, Paco Fernandez, Ciro, Tomas de Madrid and Antonio Martin. The native Spaniard quickly became known throughout the country, appearing on Spanish television, in film, and on the most prominent stages in Spain including the Corral de La Moreria in Madrid. Internationally recognized, Ms. Lopez has graced the cabarets in Paris, and performed at the Expo in Canada; critics have called her "mesmerizing!"

She is best known in the United States for the successful company she founded and directs - Flamenco Ole! Outside of the Company, her imaginative choreography has been seen in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's production of Carmen at the Academy of Music in which she performed the role of the lead dancer. She also choreographed La Traviata and Carmen for the Tri-Cities Opera Company in Binghampton, New York and in 1995, was nominated for the Barrymore Award for outstanding choreography in The Song of the Lizard at the People's Light and Theater Company in Malvern, Pennsylvania. She has won over audiences throughout the Americas, partnering with such prestigious dancers as Jose Greco, Juanele Maya and Miguel Sandoval. Each year Ms. Lopez returns to Spain where she reconnects with other contemporary flamenco artists and the great flamenco masters Tomas de Madrid and Ciro.

Ms. Lopez has presented hundreds of lecture/demonstrations in schools throughout the United States and conducts flamenco dance classes at the Mount Vernon Dance Academy where she serves as the director. Ms. Lopez and her dance company seek to preserve flamenco as a vital art form by creating and performing both traditional and contemporary flamenco dance works and by providing the highest quality instructional and educational programs in flamenco to diverse adult and youth populations.

arlos Rubio began studying the guitar at age 13. By 17 he was playing professionally with popular flamenco groups in Spain and for such acclaimed artists as Carmen Mora and Ciro in Spain and Jose Greco in the United States. He has played at the Cafe de Chintas in Madrid, has toured throughout the United States and Canada with Jose Molina, and has performed with Maria Benitez. Mr. Rubio has played with one of Spain's leading guitarists, Serrannito, and together they were awarded a gold medal for original flamenco music recorded in former Yogoslavia. He has toured throughout the United States, South America, Canada and Europe, appearing at the Desert Inn of Las Vegas, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Music Center of Los Angeles. Currently, Mr. Rubio serves as Music Director for Flamenco Ole! and accompanies the ensemble on tour and on their main-stage events, where under his direction, "live musicians (fill) the air with soulfulness." Philadelphia City Paper, 2002. Mr. Rubio gives private instruction in flamenco guitar and presents guitar concerts in Philadelphia.