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INTERVIEW WITH MANUELA CARRASCO,
DANCER
"You're your own best critic"
Silvia Calado Olivo. Mont de Marsan (France), July, 2002
Photos: Daniel Muñoz
Manuela
Carrasco claims to be living the best moment of her artistic career. At the
same time she fulfills a tight summer schedule of nearly forty appearances, she
is also preparing 'Esencias', the show to premiere at Seville's Bienal de Flamenco
and with which she will see one of her greatest dreams come true: that Chocolate
sing seguiriyas for her. "It was the dream of my life, to have Chocolate
sing seguiriyas for me, and as you can see, I made it. Imagine that gypsy, so
dark-skinned, singing seguiriya for my dance, and me in a white bata de cola'.
How better to explain the show's title?
Manuela Carrasco's eyes
Under the direction of Jesús Quintero and accompanied by José
de la Tomasa and La Negra as guest artists, "we want to do the purest that
flamenco has to offer, although I've never diverged from that line". With
no gimmicks, "the work is based on what flamenco is, nothing more".
The ingredients? "Guitar, cante, dance, good lighting... and art". And
all of it applied to seguiriya, soleá, bulería al golpe and ideas
that pop up because "afterwards, little by little along the way, there might
be changes, just as long as the purest forms are present". In order to highlight
that traditional nature, she is also putting "old gypsy ladies from Jerez
and two very good dancers: Bobote and Rafael de Carmen" up on stage.
Without turning her back on this line, Manuela Carrasco's dancing has been
evolving to become more mature: "I feel like I'm at my best because although
art cannot be learned, you're born with it, even so, at twenty you think that
doing things faster and stronger it's, better. And that's not so, it's quite the
opposite." She considers the predominance of speed and strength in dancing
to be a mistaken path: "They've tried to do it, but it's come out wrong.
And now they want to go back again to the same thing and do what never should
have been forgotten in the first place. I never forgot it, I've always kept it
in mind and I continue to do so". In spite of the ups and downs, the Seville
dancer believes that "flamenco dance is enjoying its best moment". And
the reason is the interest it has inspired among the younger generation: "You
have to take into account that there were young people who didn't go to see flamenco.
In that sense, it's come a long way. I would like to appeal to young people not
to forget art, to remember that art exists. I trust that after the storm, will
come the calm".
Manuela Carrasco
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Manuela Carrasco with Samara and Joaquín Amador |
In addition to purity, Manuela Carrasco also tends to associate her name with
the adjective 'self-taught'... which is not a synonym for lack of training. "You
never stop learning. I'm a person who likes evolution, I like to learn, I watch
lots of videos". And from that she draws her own conclusions about dance:
"What I want people to do is realize that arm movement is basic and you mustn't
forget the overall structure of the body. It's true that not everyone is fortunate
enough to have art, but that's what we have studios for, and preparation".
Personally she admits to observing "everyone who has something to offer,
because everyone has something you can learn from". But make no mistake,
"my idols have always been Carmen Amaya and Farruco". And with those
two as inspiration, she concentrates her work on "the mind, I never like
myself dancing, really. Every time I finish dancing I think to myself I shouldn't
have done this, I should have done that... You're your own best critic".
A few hours after offering those words, Manuela Carrasco brought the house
down in the Café Cantante at Mont de Marsan. Those people seeing her for
the first time couldn't believe such great knowledge, such power. Those who already
knew her had to admit that that night Manuela Carrasco had danced like never before.
She had had a fever all week, but it was the first time she had appeared at the
French festival and she refused to cancel. "Touch my face, I'm hot, but how
can I abandon all those people who are waiting for me?" And no, she didn't.
And that urge not to let people down caused her to go straight from the stage
to the hospital.
revista@flamenco-world.com
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