Nela McGuire

Nela was born and raised in Germany where she lived before she moved to Portland in 2016. Since her first dance classes in "Contratiempo," a renowned German Flamenco School in Cologne, she fell in love with Flamenco both as an art and an attitude to life. In 2004/05 her passion drove her to move to Seville, Spain where she fully embraced the culture and studied under Juan de los Reyes, Alicia Márquez, Ramón Martínez, Isabel Bayon, and Manuel Betanzos. From then on she returned to Spain (Sevilla, Jerez, Madrid) twice a year for several weeks to continue her studies with world-renown Flamenco dancers such as Rocio Molina, Javier Latorre, Mercedes Ruiz, Leonor Leal, Angel Atienza, Marco Flores, Belén Maya, Rafaela Carrasco, Domingo and Inmaculada Ortega, as well as many others. Nela began performing in 2006 with various ensembles in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Her professional contracts as a solo dancer found her performing in a variety of theater productions as well as performing at the Dusseldorf Flamenco Festival. In her home country, Nela has taught all levels of Flamenco instruction from beginners to advanced levels for over 10 years. Her classes are energetic, but also professional, with a focus on supporting every individual. She enjoys sharing her love and passion for flamenco that earned her the stage name La Centella.