Flamenco for Food is a community-based initiative featuring
a series of performances where those who attend bring no money, only non-perishable
food donations for local food banks. This endeavour is an extension of a University of Ottawa, Leadership Academy, Course Project.*
This project is focused on a stand for live music as an act
of resistance. Through live local community music, we resist forces that
undermine what most brings meaning to life. This is especially true of Flamenco,
which was inscribed in 2010 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Although this unique art
form thrives in many large centres around the world, it can do so only in an
environment that fosters the development of complex skills across generations.
This largely oral tradition depends on the support and commitment of those who
work tirelessly to learn and teach the requisite skills and on those who
appreciate the art. Many of the greatest international artists never gain
wealth but pursue their craft through passion and sacrifice.
The National Capital Region has a very small but intense and
growing flamenco community that has struggled to take root. The Flamenco for Food
project seeks to nourish both our local vulnerable community members and our passionate
regional artistic “family”.
*The course, Transformation Leadership, is based
on an ontological/phenomenological model. While most traditional leadership
courses leave participants knowing about leadership, this course leaves
participants being leaders. Based on cutting-edge research across disciplines
such as philosophy and neuroscience, the course drives breakthroughs in areas
of life where participants typically feel stuck, whether in their work, their
communities, or their personal relationships. Most of us tend to focus on doing things differently. The course takes one completely elsewhere, focusing on being rather than doing. For more on this theme, please watch the wonderful
documentary film Being in the World by Tao Ruspoli.
