The Team
Who We Are
Monica Mota
Co-Founder & artistic Director
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Monica Mota is Director of Quiero Flamenco. She created the company as a way to bring Flamenco to the Inland Northwest. To date, she has produced a performance each year since founding Quiero Flamenco in 2017 with 2019's show (Flamenco Aire) receiving a Spokane Arts grant and taking place at the Bing Crosby Theater.
She started dancing professionally as a ballet dancer with the New Mexico Ballet Company and as a modern dancer with the UNM Dance Company. When she was nineteen she attended her first Flamenco class and found her love. She has performed as a soloist for the Denver Flamenco Fantasy Dance Theatre, Oleaje Flamenco of Seattle, Chicas Patas of Spokane, Flamenco Denver, Solo Flamenco of Portland and Underground Flamenco of Denver. Additionally, Monica has performed her own solo choreography at On the Boards in Seattle.
Monica has trained under Sara de Luis of Pacific Northwest Ballet. She was fortunate to teach at the Pacific Northwest Ballet summer academy and coach Seattle Opera dancers. She had studied extensively in Spain and at the University of New Mexico where she earned her BA in Dance. She also earned a Masters in Teaching from Whitworth University.
She is now on a mission to produce and create dance opportunities for local dancers.
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CarliAnn Forthun Bruner
Co-Founder & Executive Director
CarliAnn Forthun Bruner is a director, dancer, choreographer, educator, and multi-disciplinary storyteller of Syilx (Okanogan) band of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Secwepemc (Shuswap), and of mixed-European descent. She received a BFA in dance from Simon Fraser University in 2012 and a MFA in dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2021. She founded and directed Forthun+Rome Dance Theater with Ethan Rome from 2016 - 2019. Bruner has had residencies through James Ray Residency from Seattle International Dance Festival, Inlay Dance, and Gonzaga University. She is a recipient of the 2023 Artist Trust GAP grant. As a professional contemporary dance artist, CarliAnn has enjoyed touring internationally in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Lithuania, and India.
Her passion lies in building community through the arts.
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