Oscar: Homage to the Rebel Maestro of Flamenco honours a dance luminary’s extraordinary legacy
Co-producer Lia Grainger reflects on the storied life of Oscar Nieto, who helped establish flamenco’s presence in Vancouver
Lia Grainger
Oscar Nieto
TFM Flamenco presents Oscar: Homage to the Rebel Maestro of Flamenco in collaboration with Caravan World Rhythms at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre from November 6 to 9
“NO ONE IS more deserving than Oscar Nieto.”
That’s what dancer and producer Lia Grainger thought when she was conceptualizing her most recent production. She tells Stir that she considered the people she knew whose life stories she wanted to share onstage—and didn’t have to brainstorm long at all before landing on the flamenco master.
Nieto was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1947 to Mexican-American parents, and grew up in East Los Angeles, a rough area where he learned to navigate life confidently as a young queer man. He began dancing at age eight and founded his own company, Mozaico de Danzas, in 1972. By the time he moved to Vancouver in ’83, he was a force to be reckoned with in the world of flamenco, and helped establish the artform here by teaching classes, choreographing new pieces, and performing around the city.
“The way that he is in the world has really informed the way that I do things,” Grainger tells Stir. “He’s just very inclusive, really patient. And he’s not only there for students that are taking it really seriously and are going to really excel and be at the highest level technically, or this or that. He’s also so interested in the journeys of the students that are just really loving the experience of being there. Maybe they’re seniors, or maybe they’re disabled, or they’re at a different ability—he takes those people just as seriously and values their artistic journey just as much. And that has also been a really big lesson in my journey as a dancer and a producer.”
Nieto was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015. His condition is now advanced, and several folks in the flamenco community he fostered here are caring for him around the clock. But Parkinson’s hasn’t diminished Nieto’s passion for flamenco in the slightest. The artist has been instrumental in overseeing the creation of Oscar: Homage to the Rebel Maestro of Flamenco, a show that honours his extraordinary legacy in the community.
Co-produced by Grainger and Michelle Harding, the piece consists of 10 of Nieto’s most classic choreographies, from rhythmic and technically challenging group pieces to fiery solo works. It features an award-winning cast of five dancers, all of whom were mentored by Nieto and went on to have successful flamenco careers of their own: Grainger, Harding, Maria Avila, Kirill Deljanin, and Kasandra “La China” Lea.
Grainger notes that people are travelling from all over Canada and the U.S. to see the production. One audience member is even flying in from China.
“I just knew that there was an appetite to honour Oscar,” she says, “especially at this point in his life when he can still come, still participate in the creation of the show, and still be there to tell us every detail of the story as we’re creating it.”
Oscar Nieto
Before Nieto came to Canada, he worked with some of the most renowned names in Spanish dance—including José Greco, Antonio Ruiz Soler, and his long-time mentor Lola Montes—while touring the U.S. and Europe. He later performed and choreographed for companies ranging from Boston Ballet to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Opera, perfecting his distinctly charismatic style.
By 2002, Nieto had cemented his presence in Vancouver. His company Mozaico de Danzas soon evolved into Mozaico Flamenco, which he co-founded with Lea, who began as his student and flourished into a powerful artist in her own right. One of Nieto’s most notable award wins was in 2006, when he became the first flamenco artist to receive the Jacqueline Lemieux Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Grainger, who has been based in Toronto since 2008, has been travelling to Vancouver and back for the past year and a half to co-produce Oscar: Homage to the Rebel Maestro of Flamenco with Harding. Her first experience with Nieto came in 2002. She had just quit playing high-level basketball when she saw him perform at Kino Cafe, a once-flourishing Vancouver flamenco hotspot that closed its doors during the pandemic. Grainger was immediately hooked on the artform and started taking classes at Mozaico Flamenco.
“I met Oscar there,” she recalls, “and I just remember he had this vibe of being a master—so comfortable in his own skin and his own knowledge, but in a way that was really kind and open.”
Grainger spent the next couple of years training with Nieto and, at his advice, spent six months soaking up flamenco knowledge in Grenada, Spain. Years later, with tons of international training, touring, and teaching under her belt, she now runs her own Flamencolía Dance Company in Toronto.
The artist says she has learned countless lessons from Nieto’s mentorship and friendship.
“One is to be serious and have dignity in your work and in your art—but to also approach it with humour and lightheartedness,” Grainger says. “And those things kind of seem like opposites, but then they’re not. You can achieve that.”
In Oscar: Homage to the Rebel Maestro of Flamenco, Grainger and her fellow dancers will perform alongside guitarists Gerardo Alcalá and Peter Mole, cante singers Alvaro Echanove and Kelty McKerracher, and percussionist Davide Sampaolo. Grainger has also designed projections for the show using archival photos and videos from Nieto’s career.
One memorable photo, she says, shows a tiny Nieto in overalls, standing amid crates of vegetables on a farm. His father was a construction worker and his mother was a seamstress. Sometimes, the family would pick up work as field hands.
From the plains of Texas to flamenco stardom, Nieto’s life has certainly been remarkable—and Oscar: Homage to the Rebel Maestro of Flamenco captures every ounce of that extraordinary journey.
“What I hope will be conveyed is the beauty of the life of this particular artist, and the beauty of the way that he’s had the strength to live his life despite facing all kinds of obstacles,” Grainger says. “He’s created so much beautiful art—but he’s also influenced so many people to live their lives in a way that makes things better for everybody.” 
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