Toledo, OH, September 17, 2025: Toledo Opera, Toledo School for the Arts, and Aria Performing Arts will host the event, “Carmen in Motion: A Spanish Dance Experience with Rosa Mercedes,” on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at The Portal at Toledo School for the Arts, 1401 Adams St., Toledo, OH 43604.
To celebrate the upcoming performance of Carmen, Toledo Opera invites you to step into the rhythm and passion of Carmen with an immersive, interactive dance experience led by internationally acclaimed choreographer Rosa Mercedes. This community event features a demonstration of traditional Spanish dance, an introduction to castanets, and an optional beginner-friendly lesson – inviting participants of all experience levels to connect with the cultural essence and musicality of Carmen.
Reservations required. Tickets are $25 for the general public and $20 for Opera Unlimited subscribers and are available for purchase at toledoopera.org. Capacity is limited.
“With Carmen in Motion, we’re adding a whole new spark to our companion programming,” shared Toledo Opera General Director James M. Norman. “Attendees will experience the fire and passion of dance woven into the story of Carmen, brought to life with the brilliance of choreographer Rosa Mercedes. It’s a fun and unforgettable way to step even deeper into the magic of this timeless opera.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Toledo Opera for this special event! This collaboration gives our students a unique opportunity to experience the rich culture of Spanish dance while working with a world-renowned choreographer,” shared Savannah Mercurio, Artistic Director of Aria Performing Arts. “Our students and staff are excited to add this incredible experience to their dance repertoire.”
About Carmen: Bizet’s sizzling epic of dark passion, Carmen, tells the story of a fierce woman who lives life on her own terms – and the men who can’t let her go. Don José, a soldier drawn into her orbit, abandons everything for Carmen’s love, only to find himself consumed by jealousy when her attention shifts to the dashing bullfighter, Escamillo. With its twisting tale of romance, deceit, and disaster set to magnetic melodies, Bizet’s masterpiece, Carmen, has become one of the world’s most popular operas. Featuring some of the most popular music to ever grace the opera stage, Carmen brings every aspect of Bizet’s thrilling tale to life, from its tantalizing beginning to its devastating climax. Under the baton of Adam Turner (Toledo Opera’s Il Trovatore, and Roméo & Juliet), Toledo Opera’s vibrant original production is not to be missed. Carmen stars Lisa Marie Rogali as Carmen, Brendan Boyle (Tosca and Ragtime) as Don José, and Joshua Jeremiah (Ragtime) as Escamillo. Carmen is presented in French with English captions.
About Rosa Mercedes: Born in Barcelona, Spain, Rosa Mercedes is an internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer whose work The New York Times called “sexy and hypnotically precise.” Featured by dance companies, dance festivals and symphony orchestras throughout the United States and Europe, her extensive work in opera has been seen on the stages of companies such as The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Atlanta Opera, Washington National Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Florentine Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Tulsa Opera, Palm Beach Opera and many others. Ms. Mercedes has worked with notable stage directors such as Franco Zeffirelli, Tito Capobianco, Chris Alexander, Tomer Zvulun, Renata Scotto, Garnett Bruce, Jeffrey Marc Buchman, Sandra Bernhard, Peter Kazaras, Bliss Hebert and Michael Ehrman on repertoire that includes such works as Salome, Samson et Dalila, Aïda, La Traviata, Carmen, Die Zauberflöte, Faust, Rigoletto, Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Giovanni, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Turandot, Don Quichotte, Il Trovatore, The Bartered Bride, La Bohème, Così fan tutte, Hänsel und Gretel, Un Ballo in Maschera, The Merry Widow, La Gioconda, Die Fledermaus, L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Roméo et Juliette. She has appeared with Savion Glover in Miami on Tap, in a Gala for UNICEF alongside Audrey Hepburn and Liza Minelli, in a special collaboration for the production Tango with Armando Orzuza and Daniela Arcuri (of Evita and Tango Pasión), with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras in the Three Tenors Gala with the Metropolitan Opera, as well as in concerts with the Gypsy Kings and Sara Montiel. Ms. Mercedes serves on several grant panels and is a dance panelist and master teacher for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.
About Toledo School for the Arts: Toledo School for the Arts is a public “community” or charter school focused on providing Ohio residents a college preparatory academic curriculum and an intense visual and performing arts environment. TSA opened in 1999 and is located at 333 14th Street in downtown Toledo, Ohio. TSA welcomes any student who is an Ohio resident through our enrollment lottery. TSA is sponsored by Bowling Green State University.
In addition to core academic subjects, classes are offered in music, dance, theatre and visual arts. TSA provides students opportunities to work with professional artists to expand their arts experiences and knowledge base. TSA has ARTnerships with our area’s community and cultural institutions including the Toledo Museum of Art, the Toledo Symphony, the Toledo Repertoire Theatre, the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, the Toledo Zoo and others.
Toledo School for the Arts has been rated Excellent by the Ohio Department of Education and has received national attention as a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School, a Bronze level recognition by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation’s top high schools and Charter School of the Year by the Center for Education Reform. The Ohio Superintendent of Education, Susan Zelman, named TSA a School of Promise. TSA was also twice rated the top charter school in Ohio by Niche, an online school rating system.
TSA graduates earn admission to our nation’s finest institutions of higher education and win outstanding academic and arts scholarships.
About Aria Performing Arts: Aria Performing Arts is a local non profit performing arts center that offers dance, theater, voice lessons and more. We focus on the individual students goals; highlighting what makes each one different and celebrating that diversity. We believe in progress over perfection. Our goal is to find out what sparks passion in our students and fuel the flame of determination. We understand that sometimes talent and passion exist without financial means. We want to be able to enrich the lives of inspiring performers who work hard and have passion even when they can’t afford to pay. That’s why we need your help. We offer low tuition rates and choose affordable costumes, but your donation can help us to continue to offer quality instruction to dedicated hard working students in low income families.
For media access, please contact Rachael Cammarn at rcammarn@toledoopera.org. Carmen in Motion will take place on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.. Tickets to this event may be purchased at toledoopera.org.
Toledo Opera will perform Carmen at the Valentine Theatre on Friday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 12 at 2 p.m. To learn more about the Carmen cast and production team and to buy tickets, visit: toledoopera.org.