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Creator
Bisenz, Bruce
Call number
(S) *MGZEB 14-6769
Physical description
30 gigabytes (369 computer files)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Bruce Bisenz flamenco photographs, (S) *MGZEB 14-6769. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

The Bruce Bisenz flamenco photographs date from 2005 to 2015, and consist of digital photographs depicting flamenco performances in Southern California. The collection features images of eighty-three different artists, and promotional posters designed by Bisenz.

Biographical/historical information

Bruce Bisenz began attending flamenco performances at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles as a fan of the musical style. In 2005, he started photographing these performances, creating and editing the images as a means of assisting the musicians and dancers in documenting their careers. In 2011, Bisenz was narrator of the documentary, Kumpanía: Flamenco Los Angeles, which focuses on a group of Los Angeles-based dancers, guitarists, and singers devoted to preserving the traditional flamenco art form.

Scope and arrangement

The collection dates from 2005 to 2015 and is comprised of digital photographs of eighty-three different flamenco artists performing live in Southern California, and fifteen electronic promotional posters designed by Bisenz. The photographs are all candid shots that utilize natural lighting, refrain from the use of a flash, and depict the performers as they appeared to the audience. Many of the photographs have been edited by Bisenz to include added text and graphics.

The Bruce Bisenz flamenco photographs are arranged in four series:

  • Series I: A Preview of the Collection
    2005-2015
    3.4 gigabytes (40 computer files)

    This series contains an overview of Bisenz's photographs, and features thirty images handpicked by the photographer that represent the highlights of his body of work. There are twenty different artists depicted in this series, including Yolanda Arroyo, Lakshmi Basile, Maria Bermudez, Leilah Broukhim, Rafael Campallo, Richard Chavez, Marlon Dorantes, Adrianna Maresma Fois, Joaquín Grillo, Manuel Gutierrez, Carmen Ledesma, Lyn Nacif, Timo Nuñez, Paloma Rios, Antonio Rodriguez, Mizuho Sato, and Briseyda Zárate.

  • Series II: Artists
    2005-2015
    35.5 gigabytes (312 computer files)

    The photographs in Series II consist of digital images of eighty-three performers which are arranged alphabetically by last name. There are one to twenty-two photographs of each artist, some of which span as much as a decade of a single performer's career. The photographs showcase performances at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles; the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica; and the Topa Tower Club in Oxnard.

  • Series III: Kumpanía Documentary
    2013-2015
    493 megabytes (6 computer files)

    This series contains digital photographs used to promote the 2011 documentary, Kumpanía: Flamenco Los Angeles.

  • Series IV: Posters
    2005-2015
    446 megabytes (11 computer files)

    Series IV includes promotional posters designed by Bisenz that utilize his digital photographs. The items in this series were used to promote performances at the Fountain Theatre, Morgan-Wixson Theatre, the Topa Tower, and 2013 screenings of Kumpaníea: Flamenco Los Angeles.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Bruce Bisenz in 2014.

Processing information

Processed by Heather Lember in 2015.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Dance Division at dance@nypl.org.