A FLAMENCO dancer has returned to mid Wales to perform in her hometown after a year abroad and an appearance in a ‘live’ Hollywood movie.

Josie Sinnadurai, 23, who was born in London but moved to Brecon when she was six years old, was the flamenco dancer in the film Lost in London, which came out in January.

The film, which was directed by and starred Zombieland star Woody Harrelson, was filmed live and streamed to cinemas across America in the early hours of Thursday, January 19 this year.

Also in the film was Owen Wilson, star of hit movies Marley and Me and Zoolander, and country and rock musician Willie Nelson.

Talking about her experience while filming in London, Josie said: “It’s the first of its kind as it was filmed live and streamed to cinemas all over America. It was in January it was 2am and it was the coldest thing I’ve ever done. It was crazy.

“It was all done in one camera shot all over London, so it meant running around London to the next location – we had a car chase happening live at one point. It was quite an adventurous thing to take on I think.”

Josie, who has spent time in Spain since she was a young child as well as living there and brushing up her skills as a flamenco dancer, got to meet Woody Harrelson who she says was similar in person to what he’s like in movies.

The first time she met Harrelson was during the final rehearsals before the live filming.

She said: “Honestly, he was really similar to what he’s like in movies. Very laid back and friendly, but also very vocal and assertive with all his ideas but it was a pretty cool experience.

“I’m told he picked me out himself for the film, as I’d had to send off my CV and some videos and photos.”

While Josie did not get to meet Owen Wilson, she did see him a lot in and around the set during the final rehearsal week and filming.

Josie, who is fluent in Spanish and Welsh, applied to appear in the film after seeing it advertised on social media.

She said: “I get a lot of jobs on Facebook. In fact, I got my Hollywood job on Facebook as a friend tagged me in a post to let me know about it.”

Flamenco is a style of Spanish music accompanied by dancing, often based around Spanish folklore traditions, which originated from areas such as Andalusia in southern Spain.

Usually associated with the Spanish gypsies over history, flamenco is said to exist in three forms – singing, dancing and guitar playing.

It all started for Josie when her parents, who were professional ballet dancers, took her to see her first flamenco show when she was only three years old.

She said: “I don’t remember who it was or much about it, but my dad said that I wouldn’t stop moving – I was dancing in my chair.”

After the show – 20 years ago – Josie started learning flamenco dancing, but it is not the only style of dance she has learned.

She said: “I’ve also done ballet, contemporary dance, Latin dance and various other styles of dancing.

“When I was 18 I studied to be a contemporary performer at the London Contemporary Dance School, and I got a first-class honours from them in contemporary dance.”

After her degree, the talented Josie continued to train at the London dance school for a further three years before joining the National Dance Company of Wales in Cardiff for a year.

Josie also spent time touring around the UK, including appearing at Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon.

During that year, Josie said she really missed flamenco dancing and so once her contract with the dance company in Cardiff ended she moved back to London to study and train with La Escuela Da Baile Flamenco School.

She said: “I thought I had a plan plotted out while I was with Contemporary Dance Wales – it was the company I had trained with and wanted to be with, but I realised that I preferred flamenco. It’s just passion and energy, and it has this drive and you don’t realise at all that you’re just throwing 110% into it. With contemporary dance you have to deconstruct it a lot more and think about what it’s about and what it means.”

With the money she was paid from the film Josie was able to take a sabbatical in which time she moved to Madrid and studied flamenco full time – Spain offers the highest level of training in flamenco dancing internationally.

During the last year, as well as Madrid, Josie has spent time in Berlin and Quebec in Canada.

She said: “I’ve been abroad this whole year and I’ve moved back to Wales for November and December. This year I was first living in Madrid. Then I moved to Berlin because I got a contract for a flamenco fusion show called The Aguja Project. I had that and a few other projects while I was there and other performances.”

During her time in Quebec, Josie performed at various festivals spaced out over six weeks – she said that it was a “random thing” which came about from klezmer music and Jewish dancing which she had done while she was in Germany.

Talking about klezmer music, she said: “I had experience with contemporary dancing and it really was the first of its kind. It was like a more traditional Jewish dance with a contemporary twist which had live musicians and singers.

“I got on really well with the organisers and the choreographer so they invited me to their sister festival in Canada.”

Josie, who enjoys immersing herself in all aspects of the flamenco culture, said that she was unsure on taking the offer at first as it’s a long way to travel for one event – she said she realised that she either had to go and find work while she was there or not do it at all.

The freelance flamenco dancer finds work everywhere she goes, by performing at gigs and by hosting workshops where she teaches others about flamenco.

She said: “I’m getting to the good stage now where people are starting to invite me back – I will be going back to Canada again, only next time it will be more like for six months.”

The performer admitted that if she had been dancing 50 or 60 years ago, she would have run away to Andalucia to tour with a flamenco group.

She said: “There used to be a juerga, which now means to spontaneously perform. Traditionally, it’s a massive gypsy party which started with them but then the whole town would become involved and would be partying for three or four days until usually a fight broke out and ended it.”

Josie will be returning to Spain, this time in Sevilla, so that she can continue to learn and train before revisiting Canada.

She said: “It’s good to keep learning, and I really want to keep learning. I’m at the beginning of my career, and flamenco is not just about the dance – it’s also about the history that goes with it and the Spanish gypsies.”

Josie says she will be staying in Wales until the new year.

She said: “I’ve been travelling all year just looking for whatever sofa I can crash on, and when I came back to Europe, I came back to Berlin. I wrote to various venues in Berlin and the UK, and I had lots of interest – especially in Wales.

“At the moment I’m staying with my parents and seeing my friends. Performing in this area means I get to touch base with people who mean a lot to me.”

Josie, who performed in many dance-related events in Brecon as a child, has recently performed and held workshops in Brecon and Cardiff.

She said: “I did so many dance things in Brecon as a child, it’s good to be back performing here again as part of my South Wales Christmas Tour.”

The dancer will be performing her ‘Christmas Flamenco Night’ in Hay-on-Wye at Tomatitos Restaurant on Friday, December 29 at 9pm as part of her South Wales Christmas Tour.

School workshops are available for primary and secondary schools throughout Wales. For more information contact Josie on +49 (0)1520 719 1392 or 01874 625992.