Kerensa DeMars is a choreographer, performer and educator working in Flamenco dance. Her work explores the evolution of the ‘Flamenca’ archetype, the diverse roots of Flamenco and the poetry at the heart of the form. Elements of digital collage, poetry and cross disciplinary musical collaborations feature prominently in her productions. Kerensa has performed internationally at venues like the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Tivoli in Barcelona, Madrid's Teatro Calderón and the Fort Mason Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
The founding director of the San Francisco Flamenco Dance Company, Kerensa lived in Spain from 1997-2004 where she trained intensively in Flamenco dance with Spain’s foremost artists. Kerensa is the recipient of major choreography commissions from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Theatre Bay Area/Dancer's Group, the Azahar Dance Foundation and the Teatro Pradillo of Madrid. Her recent work Volver paired the poetry of Cecilia Woloch, Federico Garcia Lorca and Leonard Cohen with traditional Flamenco and interpretations by Palestinian musicians.
Kerensa is currently the director of Studio K Flamenco, Milwaukee’s home for the Flamenco arts. With programs like the annual Flamenco Nutcracker, the Compás Youth Project and the FlamencoMKE performance series, Studio K is committed to furthering the art of Flamenco in Milwaukee and beyond.
As an educator, Kerensa has recently been a guest instructor at Lawrence University, the Milwaukee Ballet School and the University of WI-Milwaukee. She teaches bilingual classes for youth in Milwaukee Public Schools and imparts regular workshops for all levels through Studio K. Kerensa is also a Board Member of the Wisconsin Dance Council which serves the needs of dance education in Wisconsin.
New and notable projects include curating ‘Living Traditions at the TrueBlood’, a segment of the Death’s Door Dance Festival in July 2023l directing the fourth annual Flamenco Nutcracker and pre-production on ‘Mujer. Vida. Libertad.’ a performance highlighting the experiences of Romani and immigrant women in Flamenco.
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