Flamenco dance has taken Karen Michelle Pitkethly to various parts of the world to teach and perform. 

 
Pitkethly has trained intensively in ballet (McBride School of Dance), contemporary, (Simon Fraser University) and flamenco dance (Centro Flamenco).

She was awarded a travel grant by the Canada Council for the Arts and stayed in Seville performing and participating in workshops and daily classes to further her professional development.

Pitkethly completed the travel grant and recently arrived back home from Seville, where she spent many months studying Flamenco.

Flamenco has taken Pitkethly around the world:  to Singapore to teach and perform for a year; to Scotland where she was a principal dancer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; and to Spain to study with renowned artists such as Merches Esmeralda, BelÈn Maya and Pastora Galván.

Pitkethly has taught at Centro Flamenco & Arts Umbrella, and she is a guest choreographer for the Main Dance bridging program, as well as the Arts Umbrella dance company.

“I hope to share my love for flamenco and encourage others to enjoy flamenco in Vancouver either through taking dance classes or watching per formances,” says Pitkethly. 

Her flamenco training began at Harbour Dance when she took a random summer workshop which included the Spanish dance. Pitkethly enrolled in Centro Flamenco and quickly began emerging herself as full-time Flamenco dancer. She then began teaching classes and performing in the dance company, Flamenco Rosario.

Pitkethly, having also taken numerous dance workshops both in Vancouver and in Spain , found it easy to pick up different dance styles and choreographies from many well-established flamenco artists, such as Rosario Ancer, Sabas Santos, Raul Salcedo and Sara de Luis.

Through Flamenco, Pitkethly has had the opportunity to perform alongside flamenco artists: Rosario Ancer, Sabas Santos, Raul Salcedo, Gabriel Heredia, Marisol Moreno, Carmen De Torres, Myriam Allard and Sara de Luis. She’s danced in Vancouver Opera’s Carmen and Seattle’s 12 Minutes Max, and was a featured soloist in the 2005 Jondo Flamenco Festival.

“I have been performing flamenco dance professionally, both internationally and locally, for over 10 years,” Pitkethly said. Some highlights include performing with the Vancouver Opera’s production of Carmen, Joel Hanna’s Riverdance, and Micheal Schulster’s Tap dance in Revolution at the Edinburgh FestivaI in  Scotland. She also performed with Nikko and Ricardo Garcia in Flamenco Flow — a Vancouver Festival.

Pitkethly likewise, co-founded a dance company called Aurora Dance alongside Palma Bjarnason. “Wearing multiple hats, including choreographer, performer, director and manager, both Palma and I produce show’s once a year exploring other avenues using flamenco technique,  including local dancers in other dance disciplines,” says Karen who joins the Bhangra City Festival.