Seville restores the memory of Antonio "El Bailarín" with an exhibition of personal objects that belonged to the artist.

An eye-shaped ring designed by Picasso, a weeping moon from Lorca, a stone which was handpainted by Jean Cocteau, a caricature of Antonio Ruiz strolling down the Alameda de Hércules by José Caballero... These are just a few of the hundreds of personal belongings of the dancer from Seville which will be on display through the end of May in Seville's Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares. A date with fetishism revolving around a genius who has become a member of the world's artistic elite.

Antonio with Charlie Chaplin

Most of the show is made up of letters, photographs, drawings and paintings which will always be associated in the popular collective memory with Antonio "El Bailarín". Even the most representative pieces are accompanied by related documents, such as the long article typed out by Antonio, written to a boy discovered by Realito, and published in El Alcázar, in which the dancer explained why the painter from Málaga had given him that unusual ring in the form of an eye.

The greater part of the dancer's private library, nearly all specialized books about dance and other such manuals, some autographed by the authors, also forms part of the exhibition. The books of photographs, some by Gyenes, and the numerous posters announcing shows, are displayed along with his records, wardrobe, some sheet music, and floor plans of the most important theaters of the world where he performed, both with Rosario, his original artistic partner, and his own company. The cinematic offshoots of his prolific career, always devoted to Spanish dance, are represented by the films' original posters, as in the case of El Rey de Sierra Morena, which was inspired by the life of the outlaw José María El Tempranillo.

Picture by José Caballero

The media repercussion of Antonio's career can be appreciated in the collections of newspaper cuttings. One article from El Imparcial stands out in which is incorporated an interview by the journalist Amilibia in 1976, and whose headline reads: "I'm completely forgotten".

Erasing just such a shroud of amnesia is, perhaps, the main objective of this show, set up in the temporary exhibit hall of the neo-Mudejar building in Seville's Plaza de América, which has undergone a rigorous restoration process by the Instituto Andaluz de Patrimonio Histórico (Andalusian historical society). The collection is composed of 439 smaller collections acquired by the Andalusian government's council of the arts, ninety percent of the total from the auction of the artist's personal belongings which was held in December of 2000 in Madrid's Sala Durán. The rest has gone on to form part of the collections of Madrid's autonomous government, and the Instituto Nacional de Artes Escénicas y de la Música (National Institute of Dramatic Art and Music). This was a controversial acquisition due to the initial reluctance of the administration to conserve the legacy of Antonio "El Bailarín". Once the show is concluded, the collection will be turned over to the Centro de Documentación de las Artes Escénicas, the Centro Andaluz de Flamenco, and the Centro de Documentación Musical de Andalucía.

Candela Olivo
Translation: Estela Zatania