Rosa Mercedes

"Tiny chimerical Rosa Mercedes danced a solea por bulerias of such exquisite flame, rhythmic accuracy and quicksilver moodchanges that it left the audience shouting. Mercedes' dancing, in fact, was equal in precision and pique to anything I have seen from Japanese demon La Nana or Santa Fe based Maria Benitez. In the solea, Mercedes alternatively attacked with footbeats, withheld in her proudly arched torso, flirted with hip and shoulder, imperiously lifted her architectural ruffled skirt, tilted her head in self satisfied glory and showed such possession of self and spirit that one knew, as an onlooker, that one's emotions were her instrument. Her musicality and delicacy of phrasing were no less awesome in Segovia's stylistically opposite 'Sonata' to harpsichord music by Scarlatti."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Virtuoso castanet work by Rosa Mercedes..."
DANCE MAGAZINE
Stephan Greco

"There was the sexy, hypnotically precise Zapateado... performed by Rosa Mercedes. The cast was led by Miss Mercedes, who darts like a hummingbird through her dances."
NEW YORK TIMES
Jennifer Dunning

"Rosa Mercedes is one of the most authentically Spanish artists of this genre that I have seen, for her movements and for her domination of the dance"
DIARIO LAS AMERICAS
Luis Felipe Marsans
(translation)

"An expert dancer in flamenco and the elegant soft-shoed, 18th century classical Spanish escuela bolera style, the tiny Mercedes is a delight no matter how she is moving - and has inflamed audiences around the country."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Rosa Mercedes... danced with such delineated musical phrasing, the dance was as stimulating as a complex verbal communication. Mercedes danced the 'Boleras' in 'La Boda de Luis Alonso' with fluent grace."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Marilyn Tucker

"Mercedes... hit that transcendent moment in flamenco when a dancer's soul seems to emerge into an orb outside her body, creating an extraordinary, spontaneous synchronicity of rhythmic pattern (feet), body line and emotional projection."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Rosa Mercedes offered a solo in the classical bolera technique of the late eighteenth and ninteenth centuries. Mercedes is a delight... with lots of sparkle and tremendous elegance. She's always very present in her dancing; the first moment your eyes fall on her, dancing in a group at the opening of the program, you know she's something special."
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
Tobi Tobias

"I also love Rosa Mercedes' precise fire..."
MIAMI HERALD
Jordan Levin

"Rosa Mercedes' tiny steps, buoyany leaps, quick turns and lovely epaulement (carriage of the torso) was reminiscent of the Danish Bournonville style of ballet."
NEW YORK NEWSDAY
Janice Berman

"But the surprise and delight of the concert is the depth the dancers show in other Spanish styles, particularly Mercedes' polished execution of dancing in the old escuela bolera style."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Principal dancer Rosa Mercedes' performance will be long remembered. Her portrayal of Candelas, a gypsy haunted by the ghost of her dead lover in El Amor Brujo was astounding, as was her performance in Fantasia Española, Seguiriyas and Bulerias..."
SUN-SENTINEL
Shandra Mcdonald

"A joy to behold... fiery, yet elegant..."
MIAMI HERALD
Juan Carlos Perez

"This world premiere was especially exciting when the three lovers left and Rosa Mercedes entered, playing castanets in a solo notable for its vibrancy."
NEW YORK TIMES
Jack Anderson

"The tiny Rosa Mercedes is a delight to watch, no matter how she is moving and has inflamed audience around the country. During the Hispanic Heritage Festival last October, she achieved a rare state of spontaneous communication between dancer, singer and audience during a breathtaking solea por bulerias."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"In a tremendous encore... Rosa Mercedes performed brilliantly... Her dancing was faultless."
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
Ann L. Ryan

"The clear castanet playing and elegant line... of Rosa Mercedes... extends the rhythmic possibilities of the score. Each is a compelling, elegant dancer who projects different emotions: Mercedes, pure driven fire (which exploded in her Ritual Fire Dance from El Amor Brujo)."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Rosa Mercedes danced 'Pepita Jimenez,' a classical Spanish dance, with delicious lightness, teasing tuneful clicks and delicate rolls from her castanets. As Mercedes moved toward her exit, her knees pressed at the blue flounces of her skirt like ships' prows parting the waves."
THE RECORD
Joseph H. Mazo

"Mercedes, in particular, drew the eye with her spicy precision."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Rosa Mercedes, a punchy package of energy"
THE INDEPENDENT PRESS
Joseph Gale

"Each of the dancers offered something special -Rosa Mercedes a careful attention to line combined, ironically, with a feral attack."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Mercedes' performance of the balletic 'Boleras' was a joy because of the lilting steps of this intricate dance and this sturdy young woman's stunning, unaffected style."
THE WASHINGTON POST
Pamela Sommers

"Rosa Mercedes' Perdida Sin Ti was interesting for the way Mercedes fractured and accelerated the flaring body shapes and twisting hands of Spanish dance to express emotional frenzy."
MIAMI HERALD
Jordan Levin

"There was charmingly delicate, flirtatious dancing from Rosa Mercedes... Miss Mercedes suddenly seems as teasing as she is passionate."
NEW YORK TIMES
Jennifer Dunning

"Mercedes is sharply vivid and exquisitely sexy."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Rosa Mercedes performed with distinction in a charming solo... Ms. Mercedes, with her snapping fingers, fancy footwork and saucy smile gave an expert and exhilerating performance."
WESTSIDER AND CHELSEA CLINTON NEWS
Hilary Ostlere

"Rosa Mercedes exuded grace and elegance... Mercedes shone in her solo, solea por bulerias, a gypsy-flavored Andalusian dance. With fingers snapping, skirt flaring and heels hammering the wooden floor in a fiery taconeo, she set the stage ablaze."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"With Mercedes, as adept at the buoyant balletic bolera technique as the passionate flamenco bravura."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Lewis Segal

"Rosa Mercedes as Candelas was marvelous."
EL NUEVO HERALD
Daniel Fernandez
(translation)

"Boleras, featuring Rosa Mercedes, was a charming and precise example of the semi-balletic Escuela Bolera style."
NEW YORK TIMES
Jack Anderson

"Mercedes and Romero were magnificent in 'Ensueño', a dreamy pas de deux set to the rhythm of a Basque dance."
MIAMI HERALD
Cynthia Corzo

"A lovely Rosa Mercedes provided a softer style of dancing. Her lyrical qualities were highlighted in the two balletic-style works on the program."
THE TULSA TRIBUNE
Lili C. Livingston

"One of the outstanding solos was the 'Sonata', danced by Rosa Mercedes, combining classical ballet and Spanish dance."
BACKSTAGE
Jennie Schulman

"But each, individually, is wonderful to watch... Mercedes for the absolute rhythmic precision and integrity of each phrase she dances. Mercedes is, in fact, a remarkable virtuoso: The brilliance of her balletic footwork in the escuela bolera Suite of Sonatas was matched only by her passion in her solea por bulerias and the clarity of her castanet-playing."
MIAMI HERALD
Laurie Horn

"Every time, Rosa Mercedes displays greater dominance of technique and drama in her movements."
DIARIO LAS AMERICAS
Luis Felipe Marsans
(translation)

"It was Mercedes - a small, graceful brunet with wide facial expression - who saved the day."
MIAMI HERALD
Juan Carlos Perez

"There's Rosa Mercedes... whose hands move like birds, and whose Boleras is a delightful example of the semiballet style of the Spanish Escuela Bolera."
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL NORTH
David Bell

"The choreography of Rosita Segovia was explosively and spectacularly danced by the entire company, especially the confident and outstanding soloist Rosa Mercedes..."
DIARIO DE LAS AMERICAS
(translation)

"Hypnotic... Rosa Mercedes, tiny and lighter than air is already a talented footwork artist."
TAMPA TRIBUNE TIMES
Maggie Hall

"Combining Spanish dance and ballet sounds like a recipe for stylistic mishmash, but Rosa Mercedes found interesting and surprising ways to use ballets jumps, pointe work and lifts to extend and even illuminate the curving, flaring shapes of classical Spanish dance."
MIAMI HERALD
Jordan Levin

"Sonata... was danced with barely contained exuberance by Rosa Mercedes, who dashed off some beautiful feathery footwork."
KANSAS CITY STAR
Betsy Kline

"Mercedes executed it beautifully. Her castanets were alive, seeming to speak to the audience with a voice of their own. All the women performed well, but Mercedes proved to be the most expressive."
ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
Fiona Urquhart