Puela Lunaris
Founder of Dances of the World Society
Hailed as the “Isadora Duncan of Flamenco” for her lyrical, barefoot Flamenco style, Puela Lunaris grew up in the ancient Morisco castle of Montanchez in Spain, which has been a crossroads of cultures and civilizations for centuries. This rich heritage is expressed in her work as a movement artist, a dance educator, a multimedia content producer, a teacher trainer, and a scholar.
Puela Lunaris is the founder of DancesoftheWorld.org, an international network that supports her endeavors in rescuing dance and music in danger of extinction. As a loving and dedicated teacher aware of the value of dance education to pass down to future generations the wisdom of traditional cultural dances, Puela leads interactive Dance Teacher Trainings through her online academy at PuelaLunaris.com, offering official certifications by the UNESCO's International Dance Council.
She is a sought-after instructor in Bellydance circles because of her extensive research on dances of Morisco, Gitana, and Sephardi origins from her native Spain, specially Zambra and her signature style Lunaris Barefoot Feminine Flamenco™.
Puela, who holds a B. A. in Dance Education and Spanish Language & Culture from the State University of New York, as well as a Master’s in Digital Media from New York University, is also a certified Yoga/QiGong instructress. She has been blessed to train under legendary Flamenco master teachers, such as Maestro “El Farruco,” Matilde Coral, and Estrella Morena.Since 1993, she has taught and guest lectured at NYU, the Juilliard School, and the Instituto Cervantes in New York City, Hollins University in Virginia, Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Centro Andaluz de Danza in Seville, Performing Arts Network in Miami Beach, and at the prestigious Peter Gabriel's W.O.M.A.D. Festivals, the Rakkasah/Spring Caravan Festivals, and the Omega Institute.
Puela was a founding member of the New York Flamenco Festival Educational Program at New York City Center, where she contributed as a Teaching Artist and a Cultural Consultant for a decade, providing essential ethnographic frames of reference on the art of Flamenco.
Some of her most memorable performances took place at Alexander the Great’s Throne Room in the ancient city of Babylon (Iraq), Teatro de la Villa (Madrid), and Goddessdance (New York City). Members of the Royal Jordanian family were delighted by her performance in Amman (Jordan). She has also performed for Former Vice-president Al Gore and Dr. Deepak Chopra at the Alliance for the New Humanity in San Juan (PR). Her TV appearances include all major national television networks in Spain, R.A.I. (Italy), Univision, NBC, CNN and PBS in the U.S.A.
Driven by her mission to inform, inspire, and empower people to live healthier, happier lives through dance, Puela is devoted to researching and teaching ways to enliven our creative spirit, so we can live our most fulfilling lives.
Classes with Puela
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