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Interview with Carmen Cortés,
dancer and choreographer:
"Maturity leads you to behave in a more
sensible way and to feel more self-assured"
Carmen Jiménez. Madrid, May 2003
Translation: Gary Cook
True to her ideal of keeping the roots of flamenco alive and well, bailaora
Carmen
Cortés presents her latest production 'También muere el mar',
in which the Catalan artists dances to poems written by the 'Generación
del 27', a school of twentieth century Spanish poets. The poets to whom she pays
homage in this show are Federico García Lorca, Emilio Prados, Jorge Guillén,
Gerardo Diego, Manuel Altolaguirre, Rafael Alberti and Luis Cernuda. But the project
is more than a mere tribute to this well-known generation of poets, and the experiences
they shared in common. It's a showcase of the passion for freedom of expression
passed down by flamenco's ancestry, and at the same time bridges the gap between
tradition and the vanguard. "The poets who belonged to the 'Generación
del 27' were at the cutting-edge, but they always transmitted their love for their
culture, their people, and that's an idea I've tried to revive, to try and present
the very essence of flamenco".
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Carmen Cortés
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Carmen Cortés presented her fourteenth production, 'También muere
el mar', (Even the sea dies) at the Emociona! Mujer de Madrid festival on March
23rd 2003. The show, which had been premièred a few days before at the
Berlin Opera House as part of a joint project named 'Magia de Maestros', is based
around passages penned by poets from the 'Generación del 27'. According
to the dancer, this is an attempt to take to the stage "flamenco in its purest
form" and to this end she's drawn on the values and sentiments of a group
of poets whose work and indeed whose very lives were marked by the tragedy of
a war and the desolation of exile.
One of these artists in particular has had a profound impact on Carmen Cortés's
professional career: Federico García Lorca. In fact, in 1995 the Catalan
dancer and choreographer staged 'A Federico', a ballet which highlights the image
of flamenco which so captivated Lorca. Later on, and under the direction of Nuria
Espert, she presented a dance production of Lorca's 'Yerma', where flamenco provides
the framework within which the story is told, by musicians, dancers and actors.
And this is a formula the bailaora has opted for again in her latest project.
Her fascination with the poet from Granada comes, according to the dancer, "from
the passion he always showed for freedom of expression". The artist makes
clear, though, that 'También muere el mar' (a line from Lorca's 'Lament
for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias') isn't a production about Lorca: "It's true that
some poets, like Lorca or Alberti, are easier to adapt, but in this project I'm
using all of the poets to the same degree".
'Tres Canciones' by Emilio Prados, 'El descaminado', by Jorge Guillén,
'Romance del Duero' by Gerardo Diego, 'Cita hacia dentro', by Emilio Prados, and
'Pueblo' by García Lorca are just some of the poems adapted here. As Carmen
Cortés points out, in general the production centers around traditional
styles of dance. "We begin with tientos and the familiar bata de
cola dress - all very traditional - then continue with a seguiriya,
which allows for a much freer type of dance, and for which we use a much lighter
dress to show all the joy radiating from the body". But the fantasy, color
and joyfulness of the dance and the costume gives way to colder, more somber tones
later in the show. This happens with the portrayal of the moment in which the
poets are exiled, "where the drums and contrabass come into their own. That's
the point when we change to a colder, more austere wardrobe, with almost a religious
air, in order to reenact the moment when the poets are forced to abandon their
homeland and embark on a quest for their own identities". Between scene changes,
cantaores Guadiana
and Eva Durán offer a rendition of the Jorge Guillén poem 'El Descaminado',
adapted to the rhythm of a taranto, and some verses by Emilio Prados sung as a
vidalita. The show ends with a soleá, "where the costume is
simply magnificent".
Teamwork
Carmen Cortés
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In 'También muere el mar' Carmen Cortés has brought together
a team of artists very dear to her. The artist freely shows her pride at the warm
reception the show has enjoyed, and she feels satisfied, above all that she works
with a "very well-integrated" group. And she adds that "there's
a very good mutual understanding among all of us, and the whole group has a clear
idea of what we're aiming at and the things we want to put across. Teamwork is
something I'm used to". The production features the work of contrabassist
Pablo
Martín and drummer Marc Miralta, "whose contributions to the show
have been essential in capturing the moment of exile and the transformation which
the poetry undergoes as these poets are forced to abandon Spain". As for
guitarist Jesús
del Rosario, who composed the music for the project, she highlights "an
incredible sensitivity" of expression. "And besides that there's always
been an indubitable link between the two of us".
When it comes to explaining how theater, dance and music fit together in the
project, Cortés casts her mind back to the days when she was starting out
on stage, under the watchful eye of Mario Maya, "whose teaching has deeply
affected me, and has always filtered through to my work. For all of my shows I
always spent some time researching, salvaging what I can from the history books
and from our ancestors, and my knowledge of the theater's always come in handy
there".
In the pipeline
Looking to the future, she's preparing a new production with her own company
based on Esquilo's play 'Las Suplicantes', adapted by Gerardo Vera. But among
the Catalan bailaora's most ambitious projects, "looking to the future",
is the creation of a foundation together with her husband, guitarist Gerardo
Núñez. Under her and her husband's joint names, she hopes to
create what will eventually be seen as a reference point for future flamenco professionals.
She will be in charge of teaching dance, while her husband will take charge of
the musical side of things. With this project she aims to make at least a small
contribution to the struggle to save flamenco from losing sight of its origins.
The Catalan dancer is dismayed by the lack of awareness nowadays with regard to
flamenco and its roots. "That's the very reason I've chosen the purest forms
of flamenco, and even though I might bring it up-to-date, I'm very respectful
of the long tradition behind it". As part of her battle to defend the roots
of flamenco, she gives courses overseas: "Outside of Spain, paradoxically,
there's a greater curiosity about flamenco and the origins of its movements".
During the Easter Holy Week vacation she's giving a one-week course in Munich,
and in July another in Dresden - both cities in Germany. She'll also be giving
her regular July flamenco courses in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, for the twelfth
year now.
And her creative talent has served the same ends since the bailaora and choreographer
took her first production 'Acontraluz' to the stage in 1988. From that moment
to this, Carmen Cortés's artistic career has been characterized by an increasing
maturity. "All of my productions have left their mark, and in a way that
leads you to behave in a more sensible way and to feel more self-assured, which
gives you a greater capacity for improvisation". And that's come through
gradually in her work: in 'Memoria del cobre', in 'Cantoblepas', in 'Las Furias',
in 'El amor brujo', in 'Los Gabrieles', in 'A Federico', in 'Yerma', in 'Salomé',
in 'Así pasen cien años', in 'Racial', in 'Soleá, un son
eterno', and in this piece 'También muere el mar'. And that progression
won't stop here; the same values she uses to underpin this project will underpin
those yet to come.
Carmen Cortés' group
revista@flamenco-world.com
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