OLE! : But, Adds Lola Montes, Don’t Forget the Oompah-Pah

A jolly German polka and fiery Spanish flamenco may seem about as disparate as dance styles come. But oompah-pah and ole will share the stage Saturday when Lola Montes and her Spanish Dancers come to Orange Coast College.

The company will premiere “Santa Rita,” which mixes traditional folk dance from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, with rhythms from the land of lederhosen. Mexico has assimilated “a great deal of culture from other countries,” explains Montes, founder and artistic director of the 35-year-old, Los Angeles-based troupe. “When you see this dance, you’ll recognize that immediately.”

Nine dancers, a flamenco singer and a guitarist make up Montes’ company, which specializes in dances of Spain but incorporates choreography from North and South America. Having appeared frequently in Orange County in the past dozen years, it will bring 17 dances this time, from technically demanding classical Spanish pieces to a lively, down-to-earth group celebration from Seville, to traditional dances from such Latin American countries as Mexico, where cultural cross-pollination has produced hybrid forms.

The program will include two flamenco solos, one each from leading female dancer Angelita and guest male dancer Roberto Amaral, who has his own company in Los Angeles, Fuego Flamenco. To guitar and vocal accompaniment, each will interpret the “deep, very serious, tragic type of flamenco, not the lively type,” Montes says.

Montes toured the country with the Carmen Amaya Dancers, a renowned Flamenco company made up mostly of Spanish gypsies, before starting her own troupe, and she says that understanding the seemingly mysterious interplay among performers, musician and singer makes flamenco more enjoyable.

The dancers, through a movement called llamada (meaning “a call”), indicate to the singer and guitarist when they want to change rhythms or move on to a new section. Meanwhile, dancers must listen carefully to know when the musicians have finished a particular section and are likewise ready to proceed.

“What some might call improvisation,” says Montes, “is really our giving signals back and forth.”

Last month, Montes and company danced for a sold-out crowd at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. “We have a good audience in Orange County,” she says, noting that fans often follow the troupe from venue to venue. “It doesn’t matter where we go. If it’s within a 50-mile radius, they come. They are like old friends.”

Who: Lola Montes and her Spanish Dancers.

When: Saturday, Nov. 23, at 8 p.m.

Where: The Robert B. Moore Theatre at Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa.

Whereabouts: San Diego Freeway to the Fairview exit; south to the OCC campus.

Wherewithal: $8.50 to $11.

Where to call: (714) 432-5880.