April 17, 2017

Meet Ethan Margolis of Arte Y Pureza Flamenco Productions in North Hollywood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ethan Margolis.

Ethan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I met my wife, flamenco dancer Cihtli Ocampo in Seville, Spain in the year 2000. Ever since we have been involved with our flamenco company Arte Y Pureza. We lived and performed in Spain for over a decade and as of 2010 have set up our base in Los Angeles. I am involved with musical direction, recording, producing and performance and my wife Cihtli is a dance professor at Santa Monica Community College as well as in her private academy. We have both toured domestically and internationally and have collaborated with many of the greats both in Spain and the USA. Our current passion is in furthering music and dance education as well as performance when the opportunity presents itself. I am specifically involved in composing and recording Flamenco music with other influences like jazz and blues. A documentary on our lives has been in the works for the past 6 years and filming continues as of today!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course it HAS not been smooth. Just like any creative path and career choice, every year presents its new challenge. It has been a rollercoaster with ALL the emotions, but we are happy to have been given the privilege to express ourselves in the arts.

Specifically touring, booking and navigating the different business scenarios in varying cultures have been the most challenging endeavors in our business.

Please tell us about Arte Y Pureza Flamenco Productions.
We specialize in NEVER sacrificing quality. We turn down many jobs when they do not meet our level of quality expectation or sense of artistic integrity. This is not necessarily a financial decision, rather the consideration of how the variables work to give us an honest stage to perform on. We have put so many years into the deep understanding of Gypsy-style flamenco music that it would break our hearts to sacrifice our knowledge in lieu of a quick dollar. We are one of the most coveted United States flamenco groups and have toured internationally more than most. Both Cihtli and myself have stage and recording credits with some of the most legendary artists in the field. My recent project ‘Sonikete Blues’ has received rave reviews both in Spain and the USA as it hybrids the delta blues with flamenco music. Jazz improvisation ties it all together. We have performed in many of the most prestigious jazz clubs including Yoshi’s Oakland, Kuumbwa Jazz, The Ark, The Baked Potato, etc.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have set up a stronger foundation in the USA while we were still living in Spain. We literally dropped off the United States map while we lived in Spain and I think those years could have been used to build a stronger business.

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