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Interview with María
Pagés, bailaora and choreographer
"I don't like to feel under pressure
to bring out new productions"
Silvia Calado. Madrid, August 2003
Translation: Gary Cook
The atmosphere of tension in the war-torn Middle East, the SARS virus, French
workers on strike… none of them have been able to hold back the unstoppable
globetrotter María Pagés. The turbulent world situation which provided
the backdrop to her tour was eclipsed, both by the international success of this
acclaimed flamenco dance project, and by the company which is tighter than ever
before. "The season has been a real rollercoaster, so we have to be positive."
And all this in spite of the severe blow dealt by the loss of Manuel Soler, who
"was someone who could share my fantasies" according to the bailaora
and choreographer from Seville. María
Pagés' creative flair is in full swing, though, with a couple of new
projects in the pipeline to add to the trio of shows she's currently performing:
'La Tirana', 'El perro andaluz' and 'Flamenco Republic'. There are great expectations.
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María Pagés
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How would you rate the season on the whole?
It's been a year of ups and downs. We performed 'El perro andaluz', 'Flamenco
Republic' and 'La Tirana' in cities all over the world. One highlight of the tour
was when the company performed at Jacob's Pillow in Massachusetts, one of the
most prestigious dance venues in the U.S. The fact that they programmed flamenco
for a week is significant, since the center ordinarily sticks to contemporary
and classical dance. It went really well, really well, with a really good atmosphere…
because it's a truly American festival, full of people involved in dance, everyone
who goes is either a dancer, a hardcore fan of dance, or a dance journalist.
What kind of repercussions do you think the Premio Nacional de Danza award
had?
The Premio Nacional de Danza has more repercussions in Spain. Overseas news
gets around, but it's just another statistic, and it isn't going to be the decisive
factor which incites people to go along to venues such as Jacob's Pillow. More
decisive was the fact that we played the City Center in New York last year, a
performance that was a huge success because they weren't expecting what they got
- they thought Festival Flamenco USA was going to offer the same old conventional
projects. They couldn't believe their eyes. Another consequence is that next year
we're going to be resident for a week at the Joyce in New York, one of the Big
Apple's temples of dance.
A variety of circumstances have forced you to delay or suspend performances...
The year has been a little strange, with strikes in France, Pneumonia in Taiwan,
war in Israel... And we ran into all three. I reckon that either this year we
had an unlucky streak - although we can't really complain because we've worked
a lot - or the world's just going through a weird phase, and since we were all
over we were hit by all of it. I like to take the positive stance.
We know that fans in Taiwan and Tel Aviv were disappointed. Do you plan
to make up for those missed concerts?
Yes, we're trying to. We already fixed a date in Taiwan for December. In French
cities such as Perpignan we're currently negotiating a date. It isn't just the
cancellation, which means economic losses for all involved; it's the frustration
you're left with after all that effort. To prepare for Taiwan we spent three months
on technical details - clauses in contracts, changes to the lighting, flights,
contact with the press… and in the end it was all left up in the air. You're
so looking forward to getting to a place you never went to before, and meeting
the people who are dying to see you… The good thing about it is there are
performances we can make up.
The loss of percussionist and bailaor Manuel
Soler is going to leave an empty space though…
That was the worst of all. It was a great shock. I was off to the U.S. on tour
and two days before… He was going to undergo treatment and he told me everything
was OK, that he'd be two or three days in treatment then they'd send him home.
"I'll get better and then I'll be straight out to America, fitter than I
ever was." And next day he called me in tears saying the doctors told him
he was in a bad way, that he couldn't go, and that they'd have to operate. We
were all in shock. I never felt so bad on a tour. It's terrible to feel that emptiness
we all feel. When I stop to think about it I still tell myself it can't be true.
Not until I got back to Seville, that is.
María Pagés with her company in 'Flamenco
Republic'
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María Pagés
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And then there are all the projects we had in the pipeline… It was really
hard. So many years… he was such a charming person, irreplaceable. He's left
a big empty space. He worked wonders with the rhythms, he did things that... Nobody
plays cajón like him, nobody. He had a unique sense of timing. And the
ideas he had, the imagination… Sometimes when you're in full creative flow,
ideas occur to you that you think are way over the top. It happened to me on every
project. On the latest project for Ballet Nacional de España, when I told
him the idea I had he said, "Go girl, sure you can do it." Manuel Soler
was someone who could share my fantasies. And with Jose, with my husband, he had
a special thing that never really happened between Manuel and I. When the three
of us got together, any conversation would put us in the most joyful frame of
mind imaginable, like we just discovered America.
How did your work mature over this last year?
More than the shows, what matured is the Company. Shows get better with the
people in them. If people understand each other perfectly things come out right
and the rough edges are smoothed. We have a level of mutual understanding like
we never had before. It's true that last year was a good year, but I think right
now we've reached a moment where everything's coming together… The last time
we performed 'El perro andaluz' the music, a track by Camarón,
cut out too soon. 'La leyenda del tiempo' dwindles to near silence at the end,
then we rise up clapping to the rhythm, one, two, three, it cuts and that's it.
But right in the middle of the song it suddenly stopped. And we carried on for
a minute or so, ten of us, as one right to the end. It really gave you a warm
flush. The only thing you could here were shouts of 'jaleo' which were a good
sign. I finished and felt like hugging and kissing them all because that's not
something that happens every day. Nobody left, nobody reacted any other way, nobody
fell out of sync… No, no, all of us as one. And we all looked at each other
stupefied. And later we went out to celebrate!
So what does Compañía María Pagés have in the
pipeline?
Well I got thinking… and I just have to take some time out. I have two
projects to choose from, but I still don't know which one will fit in or which
I really feel like doing. I don't like to feel under pressure… but I already
am. In May 2004 I'll be in Japan doing 'Flamenco Republic', but they also asked
me to do the new show. And in Rome, too, we'll be there in March. So between September
and December I'm not taking on much work - though we have to go to the Dublin
festival in October - to give me time to prepare the next production. In January
we'll be back with a vengeance, next year is going to be crammed full. We're lucky
to be able to juggle several productions because we have a good, stable technical
team, with sound, light… and I trust them. As for the new ideas, I have to
see how I can start sharing the work out. For example, 'The Four Seasons' - which
came about while I was practicing for a company choreography workshop a few months
ago - is one of the pending projects. Maybe there's a parallel between the seasons
and the forces pulling us from all directions, from Seville, from Madrid, from
Torrelodones (the satellite town of Madrid where the company is based), and the
force of destiny, which pulls from anywhere in the world…
revista@flamenco-world.com
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