Cypress, Calif.- The TreadRight Foundation, a joint initiative between The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) family of award-winning brands, including Trafalgar, Uniworld, Insight Vacations, Contiki and Red Carnation Hotels, has announced a new project partnership with The Cristina Heeren Foundation of Flamenco Art in Seville, Spain. The new project falls under TreadRight’s ‘People’ pillar, which encourages the cultures, traditions and arts of the communities TTC visits.
The Cristina Heeren Foundation of Flamenco Art is a private, non-profit entity, created in 1993 in Seville by Cristina Heeren, Hispanist and American patron. Its aims are the promotion, the teaching and the conservation of flamenco both in Andalusia and Spain, as well as internationally.
The TreadRight Foundation is supporting The Cristina Heeren Foundation of Flamenco Art by establishing four scholarships for advanced guitar, singing and dance students at the Foundation. The TreadRight scholarships will be dedicated to advanced students who need financial assistance to complete their third or fourth year of training. These higher-level students display great skill and competence in their disciplines, however, they often struggle to find the funds to continue or complete their training. The TreadRight scholarship will now allow them to see their training through to its completion.
In addition, Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold guests will have a culturally immersive and unique experience while visiting The Cristina Heeren Foundation on select trips. They will start with a flamenco dance class before taking front-seats for a fiery performance of flamenco to truly embrace the artform.
“Anyone who has ever had the chance to experience a flamenco performance can’t help but be moved by the centuries old artistic tradition. It is obvious why UNESCO recognized flamenco as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2010,” says Brett Tollman, Chief Executive, TTC and Founder, The TreadRight Foundation. “It represents such an incredible and indelible contribution to Spanish culture and heritage, as well as world culture and heritage. We are delighted to be partnering with The Cristina Heeren Foundation to help support the brilliant young artists working to keep this beautiful tradition alive and thriving.”
“That our friends at the TreadRight Foundation should have understood the importance of Flamenco, a unique art form, is close to miraculous,” shared Cristina Heeren, President of The Cristina Heeren Foundation of Flamenco Art. “Indeed, few people realize that flamenco is unique, being a product of the numerous ethnic influences left behind by those groups that settled in southern Spain over the centuries. Now, thanks to the TreadRight scholarships, our most promising students will be able to enter the professional world,” she continued.
Since 1996, the prestigious school has trained more than 6,000 youths from around the world in song, dance and guitar. It has been recognized with the Flamenco in the Classroom Prize from the Andalusian Government, the Order of Alfonso X from Spain’s Ministry of Culture, the National Teaching Prize from the Chair of Flamencology in Jerez and the distinction Flamenco Thursdays from the Cajasol Foundation, among other honors.
Created as a joint initiative between The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) family of brands, The TreadRight Foundation is a not-for-profit working to safeguard the planet, wildlife & people for generations to come. TreadRight’s mission is to #MakeTravelMatter through conservation, leadership and support for communities. To date, TreadRight has supported over 55+ sustainable tourism projects in 280+ communities worldwide. Foundation priorities are set by the Steering Committee. Past project partners include WWF, Conservation International, WildAid, The Travel Foundation and The National Trust in the UK. Current initiatives include the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Big Cat fund, WE.org and inspiring nature advocates like Céline Cousteau, Costas Christ and Terri Irwin. To learn more about our past and current work at TreadRight, please visit us at treadright.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using our hashtag #MakeTravelMatter.
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