Maria is a freelance Spanish/English interpreter specializing in Medical Interpreting. She joined Olé around 2006 participating in shows at Café Sevilla and Casa Grande, Dance In the Park, Traditional Music Society, Ethic Festivals and World Dance Day at Kansas City Ballet. She came to Olé with an extensive background in dance, including Mexican Ballet Folklorico, belly dance, ballroom, Celtic, Afro-Brazilian Samba, hip hop, tango, Indian and returned to flamenco classes with Tamara.

Maja began training with Tamara in the 1990s. She graduated with a BFA from Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, worked for Hallmark Cards, illustrating a variety of greeting cards, gift books and apparel. Currently she is a freelance artist. Maja performed with Olé at Middle Eastern performances, Traditional Music Society and World Dance Day shows at the Kansas City Ballet. In addition to flamenco, she takes classes in jazz, belly dance, conditioning and yoga.

Guitar, Ukulele, Mandolin. Bachelor of Music from UMKC, professor of guitar at Park University 1992-2002, professor of guitar at MWSC from 1986-2002. Performing artist in a traveling guitar duet with concerts in the USA and in Europe. Mark Bentley started the business, Bentley Guitar Studios after deciding to stop touring the US and Europe as a professional guitarist as well as staff guitarist at the Hyatt Hotel.

A multi-talented musician of French Horn, piano and folk harp. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Music in Performance and an MBA in Finance. She performed with the Kansas City Symphony, St. Joseph Symphony, with Ray Charles, The Who, Spoleto Opera Festivals in Italy and South Carolina. She began private instructions with Tamara several years ago and has performed with Olé on several occasions. Currently she is composing albums featuring the harp.

Cindy began her flamenco studies with Tamara in 1996 and has been performing with Olé since 2004. She retired from the Kansas City Missouri School District in 2009, where she taught dance at Longfellow Visual and Performing Arts Magnet school for 19 years. Gifted in modern dance and tap, she performed with Vanderbilt Dance Group, Tennessee Dance Theater, City in Motion, and Billy Mahoney Tap Dance Troupe.

Darren began his arts career in musical theater. In 1987 he trained to become a ballroom dance instructor at Arthur Murray Studio and remains a cornerstone faculty member in Lenexa. He has competed professionally in the US and Canada, taught ballroom dance for the MFA program at UMKC and continues to compete with his students in Pro-Am events. Darren has participated in every venue, public and private, with Tamara and members of Olé since 2000.

Formerly a leading tenor with opera houses in Europe the United States. He received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Performing Arts in Choral Conducting from Oklahoma City University and attended the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and Graz, Austria for post graduate work. Kirk directed both opera and musical theater productions, church and community choirs before adding his multi-talented musical theatre background to Olé.

John holds degrees in percussion performance from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri--Kansas City. John performs with Ensemble Iberica, Cubanisms, Tri-Percussion group, Kansas City Brassworks, The Pepper Sprouts, Echoes of Africa, and is Director of Marimba Sol de Chiapas marimba band.

In her early years, she studied ballet, Mexican folk and Spanish dance, following in her mother’s footsteps. She moved to Kansas City where she began flamenco classes at City in Motion with Cindy Bleck. She then attended classes at the Kansas City Ballet with Tamara. She has participated in performances with Olé for some years and hopes to continue pursuing flamenco classes and presentations.

Director, AP Environmental Science for the College Board. Karin came to Olé with an extensive background in ballet, jazz and theatre. She performed with the Rice Dance Theater in Houston, TX and the Taller Nacional de Danza in San Jose, Costa Rica. Her talents are not limited to the performing arts, as she is a fantasy fiction novelist who has published several books nationwide. Karin was a professor of biology at Avila University for many years. She has studied with Tamara and recently in Granada, Spain.

In 1992 Sandra was the manager of a café. Olé celebrated their first public performance that evening at her establishment and created their own ’juerga’ (party) for the unsuspecting diners. Sandra was hooked and enrolled in the UMKC Flamenco class, with no prior dance experience. She joined Tamara for workshops with Ensemble Espanol in Chicago and continued classes. Her favorite performances were Kansas City Music Hall, Lyric Theater and Renfest.

Shannon joined Olé around 2006 and was a regular performer at Café Sevilla & Casa Grande for weekend performances during the 18-month engagement. She also participated in Fiesta Hispana performances at Barney Allis Plaza, Ethnic Enrichment performances in Swope Park as well as numerous fiestas in and around the KC area. She recently returned to the group and joined Olé in World Dance Day performances at the Kansas City Ballet.

Mary saw the Spanish film, Carmen, when she was nineteen and fell in love with the dancing and music. Several years later she discovered that ‘La Garbancito’ taught a flamenco class at UMKC. She started taking classes and has continued for thirty years. In addition to regular flamenco lessons with Tamara, she attended workshops in Chicago and recently returned from a month’s study in Granada, Spain.

Marbel who is of Hungarian and Mexican parents began her training at the Seguro Social Institute of Dance in Mexico. She has performed professionally with the Ballet Folklorica del Seguro Social, the Ballet Folklorico de Bellas Artes, Rosa Moreno Ballet Folklorico, UMKC’s Gamalon , featuring music and dance from Bali and with Ole’ since 1995. She also studied flamenco at Danza Fuerte with Jack Lahey.

“Cher” had no previous dance experience but excelled in athletics. She began flamenco at age 48. Her love of flamenco started when she studied a year abroad in Seville, Spain and took a Sevillanas class for PE credit. During her 30 years of various marketing roles in Hallmark Cards, she discovered flamenco classes with Tamara. She recently returned from Granada for an intensive 10 day course and always shares and encourages everyone to attend events & workshops here and abroad.

Bio forthcoming...

Katya is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Baker University. She earned a BA and a BS from the University of Evansville , an MA from Syracuse University and a PhD from the University of Kansas. Katya comes from a theatrical family and began training with Tamara several years ago. She has performed solos with Ole in various venues both public and private. When not traveling to South America, she shares her other amazing talents in knitting and cooking.

Mary’s journey into dance began in 1995 when she decided to fulfill a life long dream of taking a dance class. In a ballet class, she was invited by MaryAnn “Esperanza” Hope to a flamenco class taught by Tamara “La Garbancito” Carson at UMKC Conservatory. Mary felt the soul of flamenco in Tamara’s dance and immediately started studying with LaGarbancito. She also taken classes at the University of Northeastern Illinois and with Vida Peral, Omayra Amaya, Timo Lozano, Don Juan Jo Linares, Teresa Torkanowsky and Dame Libby Komaiko. In 2003, Mary’s heart led her on a sojourn to Argentine tango. During this time, Mary has devoted several hours each week to the study of Argentine tango. While on a tango trip to Argentina, in the milongas of Buenos Aires, she especially enjoyed dancing the Chacareras -so reminiscent of the Sevillanas. Mary returns to flamenco and resumes her studies with LaGarbancito; thereby, joining her passions: Argentine tango and Flamenco — “mi corazon y mi alma! Mary also is passionate about her work as an Electroneurodiagnostic Technologist at the Kansas City VA Medical Center w here she is able to work with and help our Veterans who have risked their lives so that we can enjoy the freedom to follow our dreams.

Jarrod Stephenson began playing music at a very young age and picked up guitar at the age of fourteen. In 2002, Jarrod was honored with the Greensburg Guitar Scholaship at the Conservatory of Music and Dance, at the University of Missouri Kansas City. Since then, Jarrod has studied various guitar stylings with renowned guitarists in Kansas City and Spain, including studying Classical with Douglas Niedt, Jazz with Rod Fleeman, Flamenco with Beau Bledsoe in Kansas City as well as Enrique Vargas and Nino Jerro in Spain.