Our Cuadro
A cuadro flamenco is a term used for an ensemble of flamenco artists (singers, dancers, guitarists, palmeros…) who create the magic that is flamenco. At FLOR, we apply this term to our team, because they too make magic.
In flamenco, there are over 50 styles, called palos. Like the individuals in our cuadro, each palo is celebrated and valued as an important part of flamenco’s family tree. In kind, members of FLOR’s cuadro are given the name of a palo, chosen in alignment with their role, contributions, and uniqueness of being.
María Mazorra
Our Seguiriya (Board Chair)
María was born in Cuba and began dancing flamenco at a young age. Her Spanish grandmother was an avid dancer and exposed her to flamenco music and dance. In NYC, she worked with numerous groups, studying with Mariquita Flores, Liliana Morales, and Bobby Lorca at the Harkness Ballet/School of Dance, later performing with Bobby Lorca as part of the Puerto Rican Dance Theater. In her late twenties, she pursued a different career path and became a physician. Now retired, she is back in school studying to be a Veterinary Technician at YCCC to enhance her volunteer work in Maine's animal shelters. She has also returned to flamenco in the past decade, studying with Lindsey Bourassa, and feels privileged to be part of a growing flamenco community in Maine.
Brian J. Evans
Our Bulería (Vice-Chair)
Brian is a Citizen Artist, defined by the Aspen Institute Arts Program as:
Individuals who reimagine the traditional notions of art-making, and who contribute to society either through the transformative power of their artistic abilities, or through proactive social engagement with the arts in realms including education, community building, diplomacy and healthcare.
Mixing disciplines, mixing professions, and mixed race, Brian J. Evans unpacks the “moments of suspension” that reside in the spaces between spaces—convinced that connections exist between us all and it is the responsibility of the Arts to remind us to be holistically human, lest we forget. Courageous vulnerability and intentional equity keep him aloft as he finds ways to give back and add to the communities, mentors, and ancestors who blazed trails and continue to do so! Brian believes it is the responsibility of the Arts to rediscover existing connections within humanity.
Photo by Kari Mosel Photography
Megan Keogh
Our Tango (Board Secretary)
Megan has performed throughout New England as a dancer with Olas Music and Dance since 2008 and with Lindsey Bourassa Flamenco since 2017. She is trained in ballet, modern, contemporary and flamenco and began dancing at age ten with Festival Ballet Providence through 1996. She is the co-founder and creative director at Pixels & Pulp, a graphic design company based in Maine and lives in Portland with her family and two pups. The minute you meet Megan you’ll feel like you’ve been dropped in an ocean full of energy drink. Not the sugary kind that makes you all jittery and nervous – but the all-natural, organic, vibrant kind that wakes up your senses and brings you wildly back to life. She’s a lickety-split problem solver, a speed of light designer, and a true expert of all things printed, papered, published or produced. On any given Sunday you’ll find her busy in her garden, cultivating, propagating and promoting a more beautiful world.
Photo by Arthur Fink
Randy Ferrell
Our Alegría (Board Treasurer)
Randy is one of Greater Portland’s most trusted real estate agents. After moving from Tennessee, Randy supported himself and his nephew in Portland’s outstanding food scene while attending the University of Southern Maine. After earning a B.A. in Communication, he began a career in advertising that included agency traffic management and new business development. During the purchase of his first home, Randy realized there was a need for a brokerage more centered around the client’s experiences. While many people have the gift of “gab,” Randy has the gift of “ear.” His ability not only to listen but also to hear what his clients are actually saying is a unique asset and skill. He is able to address concerns and is adept at presenting both dilemmas and solutions to his clients while also using his vast resources effectively and connecting networks to achieve the best outcomes for his clients. When he isn’t working, Randy can be found cooking in his kitchen preparing to feed a crowd, getting his hands dirty in his garden, planning his next travel adventure, or learning flamenco dance as one of Lindsey Bourassa’s students.
Andreea Bârsan
Our Soleá (Advisory Member)
Andreea’s connection to flamenco comes via their Romanian upbringing richly seeped in Roma valor and folklore. A Buddhist, Linguist, and Technologist with Jungian predilections, they rooted their Carpathian spirit on the beautiful coast of Maine in 2013.
As a community conduit, Andreea intercalates their various circles through advocacy, organizing, and uplifting minority voices.
FLOR is a principal medium for movement; a flamenco student since 2022, they further re-member and integrate a not-that-long-past echo of the *village* coming together at the table or in the field working, singing, overcoming.
Our Directors & Artists
Lindsey Bourassa
Our Tientos (Executive & Artistic Director and Founder of FLOR)
Lindsey is a flamenco dancer, choreographer, teacher, and community builder. She is the founding-director of Lindsey Bourassa Flamenco, co-founder of Olas Music and Dance, and founding executive and artistic director of FLOR. Lindsey received her Master of Flamencology Degree from Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain) in 2019 and her Certificate of Professionalization in Flamenco Arts at El Centro de Arte y Flamenco de Sevilla (Seville, Spain) in 2012. She has dedicated herself to the study of flamenco since 2004, predominantly in Sevilla, Spain. In her choreographic work, Lindsey creates flamenco performances that illustrate multifaceted storytelling, often woven together with original, creative prose. Having performed and taught in Spain and throughout New England, she has now settled in her home state of Maine, where her heart feels full to be creating and cultivating Maine’s first prominent and growing flamenco community. Her work on all fronts is inspired by the belief that art ignites magic, cultivates connection, uplifts diverse and uncensored stories, and fosters stewardship of each other and the earth.
Photo by Elizabeth Thomas
Behzad Habibzai
Our Bulería de Jerez (Principal guitarist)
Behzad Habibzai is a music composer and flamenco guitarist who grew up in Portland, Maine. He began playing drums and classical percussion at 10, maintaining a busy schedule performing orchestral, jazz, and punk rock, at rock clubs and symphony halls. At 14 he discovered flamenco guitar, going on to perform with several international artists.
Behzad composes and produces flamenco and orchestral music for digital streaming, films, and documentaries. Behzad often collaborates with his wife, Meghan Pilar Habibzai.