The Art of Flamenco | November 2022

Learn about Olas & Its Artists

Olas is a band of musicians and dancers heavily influenced by traditional flamenco, expressed through a musical blend of American folk, rock, Arabic, and Latin American sounds, palmas, original Spanish verse, and contemporary flamenco choreographies. Our work includes both original song and dance pieces as well as celebrated flamenco and Latin American covers and celebrates the power and importance of music and dance. Olas claims no one genre or tradition but strives to honor music and dance as passionate, expressive mediums. We create, congregate and play for the love of playing.

Members

• Molly Angie - palmas, voice

• Lindsey Bourassa – dance, palmas, voice

• Anna Giamaiou - palmas, voice

• Megan Keogh – dance, palmas, voice

• Aleta Krajewski – voice, palmas

• Leif Sherman-Curtis - guitar, voice, palmas

• Suzanna Angie Sutherland - voice, palmas

• Chriss Sutherland – lead vocals, guitar, palmas

• Kaya Teret – dance, palmas, voice

The musicians of Olas come from a rich and diverse artistic scene based in Maine...

• Chriss Sutherland and Leif Sherman Curtis are celebrated musicians who have each created an extensive catalogue of music, including their own solo works. In addition:

• Chriss has been a member of Cerberus Shoal, Fire on Fire and currently Snaex.

• Leif Sherman Curtis has been a member of Conifer, who has released two records on Important Records, as well as The Coalsack in Crux, Naked Stranger and AOKSF.

• Lindsey Bourassa is a flamenco dancer, choreographer and teacher. She has dedicated herself to the study of flamenco since 2004, completing her Certificate of Professionalization in Flamenco Arts in Sevilla, Spain in 2012 at El Centro de Arte y Flamenco de Sevilla.

• Dancer Megan Keogh has an extensive dance background that includes flamenco, ballet, contemporary, modern, and jazz. She began dancing at age ten with Festival Ballet Providence through 1996.

• Molly Angie and Anna Giamaiou perform the impassioned backup vocals and intricate palmas inherent to Olas and to flamenco.

  Olas is a Family Affair. Meet Our Newest Young Members….

• Kaya Assata Teret (13 years old) is a young flamenco dancer who was born and raised in Portland Maine. She grew up around the Olas family, seeing them at parties and experiencing the music and dance from a young age. After seeing Olas perform when she was 2 years old, she fell in love with flamenco and started dancing a lot at home. When she was 4 years old, she started dancing lessons with Lindsey Bourassa. Recently she taught Sevillanas (a kind of flamenco dance) to her middle school Spanish class! It has been Kaya's lifelong dream to join Olas. "If I'm feeling sad or anxious," she says, "I put that into my dancing and it makes me feel better."

• Aleta Krajewski (10 years old) was one of the first Olas band babies so she has always been a part of the band. Her debut flamenco performance was singing a Fandangos de Huelva with Ale Cano of Seville, Spain at Mayo Street Arts when she was 7. Her love and gift for singing began to blossom during the pandemic lockdown while studying remotely with Miriam Suzette Ortiz whom she continues to study with and has never even met in person. Aleta is learning piano and guitar with Emma Page and Jimmy Dority at the Maine Academy of Modern Music and she just got her first pair of castanets.

• Daughter to Chriss and Molly, Olas child #3, Suzanna Angie Sutherland (9 years old) has been witnessing Olas for 9 years. In utero, she was present in Olas videos for the album Cada Nueva Ola. At the age of one she was worn on stage for an Olas show at University of Southern Maine. Faced forward and overjoyed, she kicked her bootied feet and clapped her hands, as her musical family performed. Today, Suzanna is an aspiring singer and performer who is joining the group on stage for two songs with voice and palmas. Suzanna pours her heart and soul into all that she does. Performing with Olas is a new venture that is both brave and true.