Portions of Paco Peña Flamenco Ensemble's performance at the Kimmel Center were so incendiary that you half expected the fire alarm to go off in Verizon Hall. Time and again the dancers and musicians collaborated in simmering tempos that gradually worked up to red-hot percussive footwork paired with pounding musical accompaniment to include syncopated claps, expressive wails and fiery guitar strumming. And so it went, back and forth between nuance and bursts of audacious virtuosity. The lone woman in the show, Alicia Márquez, exhibited the same bravura, stomping her feet, gently swaying her hips and whipping up her dress, all the while moving briskly around the stage, creating a flowing vision of determined female power.

When Márquez shared the stage with the cast's two male dancers—Angel Muñoz and Ramón Martínez—she maintained the intensity; however, she also injected comely gestures, her arms and hands gracefully flexing in provocative fashion. This is of course the classic manner of the flamenco mating dance, which, while passionate and showy, is always in good taste.

While Márquez's dancing was high-caliber, her time on stage was modest compared to that given to the men here—the aforementioned dancers, two singers, one percussionist, plus three guitarists, the latter including Peña, who is renowned for being among the world's most magnificent guitar players. Peña's meticulous clarity and fine-tuned harmonic and melodic sensibilities make for exquisite artistry.

Music and movement shared equal footing on this bill, with Peña's penchant for creating atmospheres that instantly evoke an emotional mood—lighthearted, melancholy, spirited, amorous—remaining consistent throughout. In each segment the musicians initiated a rhythm that the dancers embellished upon and then made their own. Muñoz was a lithe, sophisticated stylist who carried the flamenco traditionalist's flame with panache. Keeping his torso tight and erect, he stood tall while his feet tapped in energetic fury. Other times he was a sly charmer, throwing his arms out and up while elegantly pattering across the stage with feet flexing in triple time.

Likewise, Martínez portrayed the classic flamenco male dancer; however, his most memorable performances occurred when he turned into a swaggering rogue, snapping his fingers, slapping his thighs, kicking up his feet to hit his heels and otherwise pitching himself into a pastiche of cocky, virile poses. In these instances, he appeared to be the kind of guy that can only ultimately cause a woman trouble—but alas, the ladies nevertheless are captive to his magnetic charms.

Paco Peña Flamenco Ensemble Jan. 29, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts