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Interview with Cristina Hoyos,
bailaora and choreographer:
"My dream is to make the flamenco movie
that I feel still hasn't been made"
Isabel Nestares. Granada, September 2003
Translation: Gary Cook
Once again, Cristina
Hoyos's eyes light up when we meet. Her almond-shaped eyes sparkle jet black
as she speaks; her hands communicate just as well. I recall, watching 'Yerma'
in the romantic setting of the Generalife gardens, how amazed I was as halfway
through the evening her fingers came alive. Both the Alhambra and the stars were
there too, to witness those magical nights. Summer has left Granada with the smell
and taste of her magnificent artistry - 'Arte' with a capital A.
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Cristina Hoyos (Photo: Daniel Muñoz) |
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Cristina, how did it feel being in Granada? Did you feel a warm welcome
here?
Very well, I've felt wonderful because I danced at the García Lorca
Festival, performing one of Lorca's works, and in the Generalife gardens. Thankfully
a lot of local 'granaínos' came to see the show, not just tourists. And
José Carlos Plaza directed it, he was the festival promoter. Thanks to
the Andalusian regional government, we expect it to go on for many years to come,
I mean it's a marvelous festival. I've felt so at home in Granada, in those historic
gardens of the Alhambra, that for me it really felt like a vacation. It's a great
privilege to work under those conditions.
What did it take to give new life to the spirit of García Lorca through
dance? I imagine it isn't easy to play out such a time-honored work…
Of course it isn't easy to express the story using the language of the body,
of the eyes, of the arms… that's the language we dancers use. It isn't easy
to tell a story because there are literary parts that are very difficult to represent
with the body or with the hands or with the eyes, because that would be mime,
not expression through dance. But I think it was possible with the great director
we had and with the spirit of Lorca with us, he's really one of us in that he
loved flamenco and music… all of his works are very musical and lend themselves
easily to being represented through dance. So we tried to enter into Lorca's spirit
and interpret the piece as best we could.
In the hall of the Hotel Alixares, reclining comfortably on the sofa, I
pause to ask her out of curiosity why in her ballet there is no place for foot-stomping
'zapateado'. She smiles, as if she were expecting someone to spring the question
on her at one time or another. She assures me that the pace of a narrative that
uses dance as a medium can't stop to make way for showpieces. "It's all about
telling a story, keeping the audiences on the edge of their seats, just like TV,
just like in the theater… this ballet isn't just flamenco, Isabel".
What is Cristina Hoyos like offstage? What makes you happy?
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"I try to enjoy everything life throws at me"
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Well, anything makes me happy. Simple, everyday things - I'm not an ambitious
woman who has to eat every day in a classy restaurant of wear designer clothes.
I'm a woman like any other from anyplace in Andalusia. I mean I enjoy going to
a restaurant with an Ambassador or a politician, just like I enjoy going to a
little taberna, and having a glass of wine and some tapas while I chat with the
bartender. I love it when people in the street say "How's it going, Cristina"
like they would to any other person. In other words I try to enjoy everything
life throws at me.
We all know your breast cancer episode is well in the past, it's been six
years now since that bad experience, and luckily you're fine now. What advice
would you give other women going through the same experience?
The message is one of hope. Statistically the recovery rates from breast cancer
are getting higher all the time, thank God. Before when you mentioned breast cancer
the first thought that crossed your mind was death. Now you think about getting
operated on and getting better. Prevention is all-important: if you've got a family
history of problems you should get a check-up at an earlier age. The best medicine
is to say "this isn't going to get the better of me, I'm gonna get through
this." You have an operation and five or six months later you can go back
to living a normal life.
Cristina Hoyos (Photo: Trajana) |
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To you take special care of yourself to keep in shape?
I do. We dancers always try to not eat too much fat. I don't like sweet things
too much, and I try to eat a healthy diet. At my age I shouldn't dance every day
like a youngster, sweating and wearing myself out. I try to keep fit, dance every
day. When I dance every day I always do a warm-up. And when I don't dance I try
and practice a little to keep myself trim for my age.
Cristina, tell us what projects you have in the pipeline… or maybe
there's something secret you have up your sleeve to tell Flamenco-world.com readers
about...
I'm going to continue with my other production called 'Tierra
adentro', a piece dedicated to mines, to miners, it's beautiful. I already
signed a contract for eight to ten months, which takes me almost up to June next
year. After that we'll try to carry on doing 'Yerma' in Seville and Madrid, because
I think it's a ballet that came out very well, and it'd be worthwhile taking it
to other cities. So those are the projects I have lined up. As for little secrets,
I don't have any to tell you because I'm a very open person - I don't have any
secrets. But maybe I could tell you about one of my dreams, an idea, which is
to make the flamenco movie that I feel still hasn't been made. The movie of all
movies. I always say that the film that truly reflects what flamenco is about
has yet to be made. Let's see if we can manage it.
She almost dances as she walks. She doesn't even need heels to step firmly
- a pair of white track shoes is enough. She rises elegantly and we say our goodbyes.
I walk down Cuesta Gomérez to Plaza Nueva recalling the strength and at
the same time the delicacy her body exudes… and her wonderful words.
revista@flamenco-world.com
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