Spanish Legacies: 75 Years of Spanish Dance in Arizona

Individual artists are capable of deeply impacting the communities in which they practice, leading to cultural development, exchange, and understanding. This impact is sometimes leveraged by nations as cultural diplomacy. Through the lens of cultural diplomacy, this document traces the development of Spanish dance in the Phoenix Valley from 1947 through the end of the 20th century by examining the careers of four international Spanish-dance artists who settled in Arizona; Adelino “Eddie” Fernandez, Lydia Torea, Laura Moya, and Dini Román. Each of these artists connected Arizona to a larger national and international dance community and their influence is felt to this day in the cultural diversity of the Phoenix Valley. The document concludes by describing the exhibit and performances that were built around this research and exploring how this research, and the author’s experience coalesce to reveal how Spanish dance––and more broadly percussive dance––is embraced in local culture, but sometimes experiences a marginalized status in post-secondary education. The author shares how ASU professors inspired her to advocate for inclusion of percussive dance in the Master of Fine Arts program, reveals the historical forces that influence its exclusion, shares personal experiences to illustrate the realities faced by dancers in the academy, and comes full circle in the realization that her advocacy, the positive change it enacted, and this very project are a direct result of these four artists’ influence and are examples of cultural diplomacy in action.