Kao Ra Zen and Marisela Tapia: TALISMÁN: an Evening of Poetry and Flamenco

TALISMÁN is an evening of poetry & flamenco presented by
artists Kao Ra Zen & Marisela Tapia, featuring flamenco
guitarist Andrea Salcedo, saxophonist Mark Nagy, and modular
synth player, Neil Jendon. Inspired by the talismans
transformational powers, Kao and Marisela weave through
spoken word, live music and dance, exploring personal and
universal narratives.

Marisela-Raymi Dalila Tapia is a Peruvian-American dance theater artist,

choreographer, and educator with over 20 years of dance training, performance and teaching experience, specializing in Flamenco. She has presented work internationally across the U.S., Spain, Italy, Peru, Germany, and China. She holds a B.A. from Columbia College Chicago and a Master 's in Applied Linguistics from the University of Nebrija in Madrid. She has taught Spanish and cultural studies in both the U.S. and Spain.

Kenya “Kao Ra Zen” Fulton is a Chicago-based rapper, spoken word poet, multimedia performance artist, and educator. He has long been a stalwart in the Chicago Hip-Hop community, and has also expanded into performance art, experimental music, and multimedia. Kao has presented work at performances and screenings across the U.S., in Germany, and Finland. Kao earned his Associate in Fine Arts degree from Harold Washington College and would then earn his BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has worked as a teaching artist, leading poetry and movement classes throughout the Chicagoland area.