Born in Cordoba, Spain, Carmen Cano de Infante began dancing at the age of twelve with the “Grupo de Coros y Danzas de Cordoba”. The group toured Spain learning dances from different regions and became a ”living archives” of Spanish Folkloric dance and music.
Soon after immigrating to Winnipeg in 1967, Carmen founded the Sol de España Folkdancers. This group originally started with only two dancers and has since expanded to include 3 main dance groups, as well as spanning 3 generations of dancers, ranging in ages from 6 to 60+ years. Carmen has a profound knowledge of the folkloric traditions of Spain and has passed this on through her work as the teacher and artistic director of this group. As well, she has knowledge of the regions of origin, dates of origin, regional costumes and cultural context of the dances & songs.
Carmen is a repository of the authentic folkloric traditions of Spain and in this respect is unique in Canada as well as Spain, since many of these traditions are now being lost there. She has taken her dance group, in 1992, 2002 and again in 2007 to compete in El Festival Mundial de Folklorico in Mallorca, Spain, and in 2009 they were invited to participate in the Festival Internacional de Danzas Folcloricas, Trujillo, Peru. In 2007 Carmen was awarded La Cruz de Oficial de la Orden del Merito Civil by His Majesty, King Juan Carlos of Spain, recognizing her contribution to preserving the cultural heritage of Spain in Winnipeg. In 2009, Carmen won the YMCA Women of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture. The Sol de España Folkloric Dance Group performs at many different cultural events throughout Manitoba and at the Spain Pavilion during Folklorama. Carmen continues to teach and share this beautiful art form, and interested students have the opportunity to participate by contacting the Spanish Club of Winnipeg by EMAIL spanishclubofwinnipeg@gmail.com or If you wish to register for dance classes fill out the form below and also send us an email. If you are an adult please contact Carmen directly at 204-284-7610
Practices for new students ages 6 – 16 are held at the club on Saturday evenings.