¡Pulso! Trio at Mainstream Mall Amphitheatre, Hout Bay

ABOUT

About ¡Pulso! :

Classical guitarists, Nina Fourie-Gouws and Michal George, join artistic forces with Flamenco dance sensation Ché Adams in ¡Pulso! This visually and auditory captivating production combines the passion, fire and intensity of authentic contemporary Flamenco dance with the rich, complex and sensuous sounds of Classical Guitar. 

The audience will be transported across three millennia on a journey from majestic cathedrals, pastoral landscapes to the bustling nightclubs and cafés of South America and Spain. The formidable trio breaks down the boundaries between the melodious, virtuosic, and structured world of classical guitar and the expressive, explosive and highly improvisational nature of flamenco dancing. The programme includes works by Albéniz, Boccherini, Brouwer, de Falla, Dyens, Granados and Torroba. 

Guitarist, Nina, and dancer, Che, have been performing together since 2020. They first performed ‘Landscapes for Guitar’ at the Woordfees Festival in 2020. The duo then transformed into the Stellenbosch Guitar Quartet, who performed at various venues, including - but not limited to - the Greyton Genadendal Classics for All Festival, Christ Church Concert Series, and Alkira Lodge in Knysna. 

In 2024, the trio has performed at the Hugo Lambrechts Classical Guitar Festival and the Oude Westhof Concert Series, and will perform at Morning Melodies at Baxter Theatre and the 20th edition of the Classics for All Festival in Greyton.

About the performers:

Nina Fourie-Gouws completed both her Bachelor and Masters in Music Performance degrees at the University of Pretoria and received a Licentiate in Classical Guitar Teaching from the University of South Africa. In 2012 Fourie-Gouws obtained her Postgraduate in Music Performance with distinction from the South African College of Music, University of Cape Town. She is the first guitarist to receive these honours cum laude. Hailed as "one of South Africa's top-performing artists" (Art of Guitar), Fourie-Gouws maintains an active concert schedule throughout Southern Africa. She has performed as a featured solo artist in the 2021 Woordfees edition on DSTV, guest artist on Kyknet's Draadloos as well as a featured artist at the Volterra Guitar Project in Italy. Since 2013 Nina Fourie-Gouws has been a guitar lecturer at Stellenbosch Konservatorium, where she teaches pre-undergraduate, undergraduate and postgraduate practical music studies, accompaniment, repertoire studies and teaching methodology.

Ché Adams, artistic director and choreographer of Tierra Flamenca Dance Studio & Company, regularly performs throughout Southern Africa. Ché has studied extensively in Spain under some of Spain's foremost flamenco dancers, including Angel Munoz, Leonor Leal, and Fuensanta La Moneta. She has performed extensively as a critically acclaimed soloist at Wilvan Dance Theatre, La Rosa Spanish Dance Theatre, and Tierra Flamenca. Ché holds an Instructor de Baile qualification from the International Spanish Dance Society and has taught courses and masterclasses throughout South Africa. Ché teaches flamenco classes from beginner to professional level in Bergvliet. She is passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration and sharing her knowledge about emotive movement with others. Adams aims to bring authentic flamenco experiences to South African audiences.

South African Polish classical guitarist and former Wits guitar lecturer, Michal George, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, a Masters of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music in Ohio and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Psychology from the University of South Africa. He has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Transvaal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wits Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his life, Michal George has earned numerous awards for his musical achievements with the classical guitar, including the University of Witwatersrand's Pierre du Toit Guitar Prize in 1993, the First Prize in the National Guitar Competition of the Classical Guitar Society of South Africa, the following year, the Silver Medal in the 1996 Forte Competition, as well as the Cleveland Institute of Music's Rosilia Ablan Memorial Prize and Alumni Association Valedictory Prize both in 1999. Recently, Michal has studied the art of mindfulness meditation as well as Buddhist-based psychology, conducting meditation courses throughout South Africa and Europe involving presence and awareness techniques applicable in the field of music.

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