"Talent is a scarce commodity in flamenco"

Silvia Calado Olivo

Cristina Hoyos has always maintained she'd go out dancing. And little by little the moment is approaching. Giving the last finishing touches to 'El corazón de la tierra' [the center of the earth], and recently returned from Italy where she was teaching authentic baile to the mythical 'Carmen', the dancer from Seville who for years was the artistic partner of Antonio Gades, has made up her mind to "give up taking top billing". The change won't mean abandoning her company which will continue to be a jumping-off point for young artists, a function which she claims to feel obliged to carry on. Nor will she ignore the call of the silver screen. And she certainly does not plan to undermine the philosophy which has always guided her work, the brilliant formula which combines quality with contemporary values and a respect for the roots.

Dance isn't exactly the basis of your last professional work...

In Italy I took part in a comic opera based on 'Carmen' directed by Jérôme Savary, the head of the Ópera Cómica de Paris. And more than dance I interpreted the role of an elderly Carmen, a loveable character who shows Carmen that no matter how Carmen-like, or beautiful or young she might be, authenticity is what it's about. It was a very wonderful experience because it broke the routine of dancing flamenco.

The press said that the work had debuted in Italy instead of France because of fear of public and critical reaction. Is that true?

There has been all kinds of criticism because in Turin the audience has a very traditional view of opera. Without a doubt this work cannot please this type of spectator, but rather is for a more avant-garde or forward-looking type of audience. Although I'm a little shy about saying it, as far as myself and the ballet all the reviews have been very good, from the classic critics and from everyone. We did the presentation in Turin because it is a co-production, not because it couldn't have debuted in France. On the contrary, I think that in France where, as well as in Germany, where the show will be presented after the summer, it's going to be even more successful, because they are more accustomed to comic opera. The public reaction, not only that of the critics, shows they like it.

And I think it's an opera which, the more who see it, the more places will be interested in contracting it, because it's a great product, it's entertaining and contains a lot of irony. It's made to give people a good time, in addition to hearing the singing and seeing the show. Some wonderful characters are developed, like Hemingway, Ava Gardner - the part of the bullfighter is played by a very tall black man and he sings opera moving into blues...

And is there any flamenco?

There's very little flamenco music, only when we dance. For example, when they kill Hemingway we do a kind of mourning dance to seguiriyas. And in the tavern logically, there is dancing to the music of the second act of 'Carmen'.

Is this experience yet more proof that the dividing line between dance and acting is very diffuse?

The director called me to interpret a character and apologized because it was someone who was older than me. I have some dialogues and a couple of monologues which I had to learn in Italian. I appear as an actress, aside from the fact that when you dance you're acting. We dancers are very manageable for a director. When it comes to speaking we don't vocalize the way a professional actor does, but I think we have the same discipline as an actor when it comes to following a director's orders, in addition to a feeling for interpretation.

The acting facet is in no way new for you, particularly in cinema. Do you have any new film projects on the horizon?

Just recently they sent me a script to interpret a small part as an older lady. I don't even know the name of the movie, I only know that it's going to be shot in April or May. Also, there's a plan for a TV film in two parts directed by Jaime de Armiñán which I hope comes to fruition.

Very often they call me and I don't have time, but when I'm able to do it, why not? Without a doubt, when I do it, it's because I feel like it. I think there are a lot of interesting things in cinema, you become aware of many subtleties. It's different from the theater where the first eyes to see you are just a few meters away. In the movies or on television all the gestures, everything you do, it has to be much more subtle, even blinking your eye. It's a learning process. You have to do a lot of waiting around, the lights, the camera... But the final result is positive because it allows people to get to know you in places where you have not physically been.

Cristina Hoyos and Jérôme Savary in rehearsal
(Photo: Ramella & Giannese)

How do flamenco and movies get along?

I think you have to see flamenco live. It's not really reflected in film or on television. The camera can't capture it. But they are media which bring a popularity that the theater cannot afford.

What does the flamenco idiom bring to cinema?

There is a contribution when you do something about flamenco, if you explain something or want to say something about flamenco. But I don't think the definitive flamenco film has been made, because a movie about dancing or flamenco is not commercially competitive for producers. A film about flamenco won't sell. And within the world of flamenco we don't have internationally known artists to make the box-office as is the case with world-famous actors and actresses. Even if a movie is no good, the simple fact of announcing a certain star always has pull. Producers are not up to the challenge. But it ought to be done as a cultural enterprise. The government would have something to say.

After your experience with opera, and aside from these new incursions into the world of cinema, you're now going headlong into 'El corazón de la tierra', the company's latest project. What is this production going to offer?

The work which is being directed by José Luis Castro, director of Seville's Maestranza Theater, is going to be based on, or inspired in a book called 'El corazón de la tierra' by Juan Cobos Wilkings and which speaks about the mines in Río Tinto, Huelva which were exploited by the English for a long period. We don't do everything the book explains because it's very intense, wonderful, but we do reflect on some of its implications. And it's going to be flamenco, but with a unifying thread that will express suffering, pain and life. The idea we're trying to get across is that in spite of suffering, life goes on...

So will mining cante constitute the backbone of the work?

It's not all going to be about mines, but there's going to be an important percentage of cantes like tarantos, tarantas and mineras. The fact is, I like to dance anything, although I realize soleá is the mother, the trunk, and everyone likes to dance soleá. Also, rhythmically it's very manageable. Everybody enjoys showing what they can do with soleá.

What instruments make up the musical department?

Just as it's been up to now in all my shows, there is only flamenco guitar. I very much like the way it sounds and how it has developed in my company. I haven't felt like adding anything else. Not to mention that on the other hand, for economic reasons, I didn't have the option. At times I might have liked to include a violin or a bass for a certain number, not for a whole show - any instrument which would communicate and make me feel like dancing. In that sense I'm open.

This new project represents a change with respect to the previous one, 'Al compás del tiempo'. Does it mean a new path in your career?

Yes perhaps, because I'm doing something different. I don't care whether or not there is a story line, I like to dance a soleá, a taranto...that's all. In this case, to do something a little different with respect to 'Al compás del tiempo' - a production which commemorated the group's tenth anniversary - I've tried to incorporate a little story.

What guidelines direct your professional career?

I've always tried to evolve. I've never wanted to get stuck in a rut. I like to be surrounded by young people, because they give you the freshness and motivation of youth. You learn something from them every day. I think I'm a person who doesn't drag behind, I keep on learning. I always try to do something new in my choreographies, whether it's a movement or the concept of an entire show. But always bearing in mind that a flamenco concert is not a contemporary show where you can bring out buckets or jump off a stairway... In the contemporary realm there are certain elements and a kind of liberty which we don't deal with in flamenco. Flamenco is bulerías, soleá, seguiriyas and tarantos. You can't get too far away from the bases. You always have to respect the art and do it well, with quality. I always try to keep up to date, but without going overboard.

Cristina Hoyos

To what definition of flamenco dance do you apply this idea of evolution?

My concept of dance is, as I've always said, moving along with the times without losing the roots. You have to do it all little by little and in compás, like in good bullfighting. You can evolve, but at your own pace, following your own instincts and those things which are important to you. To move ahead very quickly, and place yourself above the art you have to be very talented. And talent is getting scarce. There are a lot of people who think they're very talented. I don't know if I'm too modest, but I don't think I've got so much talent to be able to advance very much, nor am I capable of doing two or three different productions each year. Every now and then I can create a new show and logically it's hard for me.

Have you given up your dedication to young artists?

I keep on with that idea, but it's not simple. Somehow I wanted to continue to maintain the company, and in order to devote time to the young people I had to leave it aside. For now I've set this goal for myself of at least mounting this new show. And once it's debuted and finished, maybe I'll think more specifically about leaving my company and putting my own needs aside to devote more effort to young people. Although the company itself is a way of helping them, because people come in when they're very young and get their training. When they arrive they know how to dance, but that doesn't mean they know everything. You have to learn what a choreography is, what it means to be in a theater, the lighting, discipline... I try to teach all these aspects. People wonder if Cristina is dancing in Cristina's company. And I have to say 'yes'...I'm still dancing.

And you're going to continue, aren't you?

Once this production premieres, I'm considering going around with it a bit, and afterwards I'll cease to be at the top of the bill. I'll participate in the performances, but Cristina Hoyos won't be the main artist.