Maria Soledad Vallejo Fillola – Marisol – was born in 1979 in Madrid, Spain. At the age of 5, she began her study of Spanish dance and ballet at the Academia de Baile Oscar Zazo. She premiered with the Compañía Daganzo in 1988, at the age of nine, performing classical Spanish dance.

Marisol furthered her flamenco studies at Amor de Dios in Madrid with such renowned artists as El Guito, Alejandro Granados, and La China. Her extensive performing career includes such prestigious Spanish venues as Teatro Bellas Artes and the legendary tablao, Casa Patas. From 2002 to 2004, Marisol toured with Compañia el Camborio throughout Italy performing in Carmen and La Traviata.

Marisol began working with Carmela Greco in Tokyo, Japan, during tours in 2001 and 2002. She joined Compañía Carmela Greco in 2005.

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Carlos Veláquez was born in Madrid, Spain in 1979 and began studying Spanish dance in 1984 at the Escuela Emilita Montesino. At the age of 8, he entered the Conservatorio de Madrid and premiered on stage in 1987 at the Teatro Alcazar in the Compañía Alberto Portillo’s show Los Flamenco Somos Así.

Carlos continued his flamenco studies at Amor de Dios in Madrid, while actively performing at prominent venues in Madrid, including the Teatro Bellas Artes and Teatro Conde Duque, and in Barcelona, London, Verona, and throughout the US. Carlos has danced in the companies of Paco Peña, Antonio Granjero, and José Greco and also has danced as primer bailarín in Teatro Calderón. He often can be seen at the famous Casa Patas and the Café Chinitas tablaos in Madrid.

After studying with Carmela Greco at Amor de Dios, Carlos joined Carmela on a tour in Tokyo, Japan, in 2001 and 2002. He joined Compañía Carmela Greco in 2005.

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Anna Menendez, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, began her dance training at the age of nine at the Peabody Preparatory division of the Peabody Institute with Maria Morales. She continued her flamenco studies in New York City and Madrid, Spain.

Anna returned to the Washington area in 1996 to perform and choreograph. She danced in several productions of the Washington National Opera, including Doña Francisquita. She was a featured soloist, along with renowned classical guitarist Manuel Barrueco, in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s 2002 Symphony with a Twist series, and again in the BSO’s February 2005 production of El Amor Brujo. Her unique talent has led to over fifty performances with the BSO as a part of their concert series. Anna has also performed with the La Truco Flamenco company at the Albeniz Theater in Madrid.

Anna received an Artists’ Fellowship by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 2003 to further her flamenco studies in Spain. She co-directed a full evening flamenco production in 2003, Bailes Ineditos, which was presented to sold-out audiences in Washington, DC and Chicago. She currently teaches flamenco in both Maryland and Washington, DC.

In 2004, Anna had the privilege of working with Carmela Greco in the production Intimo presented in Washington, DC. Anna joined Compañía Carmela Greco in 2005.

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Edwin Aparicio began his studies of dance and flamenco in Washington, DC at the age of seventeen. Edwin deepened his studies of flamenco at the Amor de Dios studio in Madrid with La Tati and Tómas de Madrid. In 2001, Edwin made his flamenco debut in Spain at the legendary tablao, Casa Patas, in Madrid.

Edwin has performed as a soloist throughout the US with such companies as the José Greco Company and Reynaldo Rincón, and shared the stage with such acclaimed artists as Chuscales, Silverio Heredia, Roberto Castellón, Pedro Cortés, La Truco, Pastora Galván, and José Luis Rodríguez. Most recently, he performed with Jovenes Flamenco as a soloist and a company member at the Centro Cultural de San Blas in Madrid.

Edwin teaches master classes; most recently, he held a master class at the Flamenco in the Sun annual festival in Miami, alongside internationally acclaimed masters Belén Maya and Pastora Galván. Edwin is also the artistic director and choreographer of the flamenco production Encuentros and co-director of the collaboration.

Edwin began working with Carmela Greco in 2004 by collaborating on the choreography and direction of the nationally acclaimed production Intimo. He joined Compañía Carmela Greco in 2005.

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Antonio Jimenez, born in Madrid, began playing flamenco guitar in his youth. Following his inspiration of Manolo Sanlucar and forming his own unique style, Antonio quickly rose to playing in the top tablaos of Madrid such as Café de Chinitas, Corral de la Pacheca and Karibeu. He has accompanied such distinguished artists as La Chunga, Ramirez, La Chana, El Mimbre, and Carmela Greco. For over eight years, Antonio worked as the guitarist for the renowned Lola Flores.

In the mid-1980s, Antonio formed his own musical group, Los Cholos, whose first recording reached number one on the top 40 of Spanish radio. Over the course of the next six years, Antonioís group recorded two more compact discs, and their music reached outside of Spain to Germany and England.

Antonio joined the José Greco II Company as Music Director in 1992, with which he toured throughout the USA and Italy. In 2001, he composed the music for Climax, a production dedicated to the life of José Greco. Antonio toured with Lola Greco, Carmela Greco and José Greco Junior with this production to the most important theaters of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Currently, Antonio teaches guitar in Madrid and is Music Director of Compañía Carmela Greco.

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Richard Marlow began playing the guitar in childhood. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the James Madison School of Music in 1997. A native Washingtonian, Richard discovered the flamenco guitar in college, after which he pursued flamenco guitar studies in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain with the world renowned master guitarist Gerardo Nuñez.

Since 1997, Richard has performed with Arte Flamenco Dance Company in venues that include The Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage and The Baltimore Museum of Art. In 2004, Marlow was the lead guitarist in the production of Bailes Ineditos, Encuentros and Intimo, together with Jesus Montoya, Eli “La Truco” and Carmela Greco. In 2005, he performed in The Kennedy Center Concert Hall for the 20th DC Mayoral Arts Awards, and in the production of Amor Brujo with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Richard’s percussive style of playing is highly sought after by flamenco artists. He can be seen playing almost nightly at numerous venues in the Washington, DC area. He began working with Carmela Greco in 2004 and joined Compañía Carmela Greco as a guitarist in 2005.

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