Mexican-born, Spanish-trained Rosario Ancer launched her professional career in Spain in 1980, when she joined Ballet Español Antonio del Castillo with whom she toured, Portugal, Italy and Northern Spain. In 1981 she was invited to perform in the prestigious Tablao Flamenco Arco de Cuchilleros in Madrid and later toured Mallorca and South East Aisa with the Paco Mundo and Maria Velasquez Dance Company.  In 1989, after moving to Vancouver, she co-funded – with her guitarist husband Victor Kolstee – their school Centro Flamenco, the Vancouver International Flamenco Festival, and The Flamenco Rosario Arts Society “Flamenco Rosario”. Among the works she has created for the company are: RACIES: An Exploration to the Tangled Roots of Flamenco, Flamenco Ayer y Hoy, Fantasía Flamenca, Danzas de España, Ritmo y Pasión, Guadalquivir, Los Cuatro Vientos and more recently, “Mis Hermanas; Thicker Than Water My Sisters and I”. As an interpreter of Flamenco dance, Rosario Ancer is more interested in the continuing growth of the art form than in simply reiterating its past. In this fashion, she explores new possibilities for the form by crossing boundaries both of history and culture, incorporating dancers from other dance traditions, international dance artists, musicians and vocalists into the development of new work.

In addition to creating and performing for her company, Rosario regularly appears with organizations such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Opera and has been the focus of documentaries and television specials.  She has received choreography awards from the Canada Arts Council and the BC Council for the Arts and in 2000 she received a YWCA nomination for the Women of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture.  Called by the press “The Mother of Flamenco in Vancouver” she heads up Centro Flamenco, Flamenco Rosario Professional Training Program, and leads workshops across Canada and in Mexico. With her work, Rosario strives to honor her teachers and mentors:  Rosario Zambrano, Ciro, and Maria Magdalena. For her contributions in bringing excellence in dance to British Columbia and creation of Mis Hermanas, Rosario was awarded the Isadora Award for Excellence in Choreography in 2009, given by The Dance Centre on behalf of he BC Dance Community