SARA BARAS, FLAMENCO BAILAORA. INTERVIEW
“Sara Baras has
become a trademark and that’s something important
for flamenco”
Silvia Calado. Madrid, March 22nd, 2010
Translation: Joseph Kopec
Sara
Baras comes to a halt on the road. Doing ‘Esencia’
means weighing things up. It’s the tenth show, “a
new reading of old-time pieces”, and it closes a period
in the company. After presenting it to the public in Paris,
London, Madrid… and Cádiz, she’ll begin
her break. The bailaora not only wants to give time to personal
projects, but also to the company so that, perhaps like
Ferrán Adriá’s restaurant El Bulli,
it reinvents its own concept. She wants to become a mother,
but she also wants to reflect, study, learn, see…
“and rethink how I want to return”. But she’s
already made it clear that the doctor has neither forbidden
her to choreograph, nor to stage, nor to direct, which opens
the way to projects by ‘Sara Baras’… without
Sara Baras.
What’s this break going to
consist of?
The doctor came to see me dance and he
told me straight out that he didn’t advise me to dance
if I wanted to get pregnant. And I’ve wanted to become
a mother for a long time now and I never find the right
time; I’m always with the company non-stop... We decided
that this was a good moment, the company closes its first
period, after ten shows in a row… It’s something
obligatory on the one hand and on the other, well, it’s
really good to stop.
But does it close like El Bulli,
in order to reinvent itself?
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“I
feel the need at least to try and enrich the concept
with something”
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Everybody says that to me! Of course it’s
important to become a mother, we don’t compare it
with anything, but it’s also important to have room
to reflect, study, learn, to see other types of things,
to decide how you want to return, how you want to dance,
what you want to do.
Do you feel the need to turn the
concept around?
Yes, at least to try and enrich it with
something. I don’t know, since it’s in your
hands, I think you have to do so, you have to be brave to
the very end and not stick to what we think works.
But the formula works…
Yes, it works and it’s wonderful
and everything stems from there. But it is nice to think
that you have some time to be able to study, to be able
to see all kinds of shows in time and not the way I always
go; I can only go on the days off and I don’t usually
manage to and in the end, I see my colleagues at the airport.
Of course, the halt is caused because I want to become a
mother.
Are you considering having the
company work without you on stage?
It’s on the way to happening, but
we’re not sure of anything yet. What I am sure of
is that the doctor has told me not to dance, but he hasn’t
told me not to choreograph or not to stage. I think it’s
important to give other artists a chance, young people who
lay stakes on this and it’s really not so easy for
us to make a living at this. It’s a really nice opportunity
which might make room for others.
Do you feel that the ‘Sara
Baras’ trademark goes beyond your own person?
Yes, it already does so, it has like a
stamp. I’ve never done it for that to happen; the
only thing I had were my five senses working to dance well,
to stage something nice, for the responsibility never to
be below where we’d set our sights… I’ve
been devoted to my own stuff from another viewpoint, but
I have realized that it’s become a trademark and that’s
something important for flamenco; that means opening doors.
I also think I’ve evolved a lot over the years. And
not just as a performer, but also as a choreographer and
as a director. I’ve learned a lot about theater, shows,
lighting, wardrobe… and I don’t want all that
to stay at home with me; I’d rather share it with
the artists in my crew.
Has selecting the pieces for ‘Esencia’
meant weighing things up?
Everything’s been weighed up; it’s
been amazing. It’s a new experience which I didn’t
expect to have. I recall perfectly when I danced the farruca
for the first time, I remember how nervous I was…
and I see now that it’s true that it marked me a lot,
that I started to receive my first reviews asking who this
woman is who comes from Cádiz dressed like a man…
I remember all of that and nonetheless, I can tell how I’ve
evolved, I know I dance better than I used to… but
I still get excited and nervous like that. The responsibility
isn’t the same, but the rest is still the same way;
it’s wonderful.
Before leaving, would you tell
what you see as negative and positive on today’s flamenco
scene?
It’s not that I don’t want
to take a stance, but I don’t like to talk from ignorance.
And with so many performances, I’m not living it the
way I have in other stages in my life. There are many people
who are well-considered nowadays in flamenco and I haven’t
had the chance yet to see them live. I want to congratulate
Flamenco-world.com for the such important work you do for
flamenco and I’m really grateful to you to be able
to see at least a minute of a video, to be able to listen,
to know what’s there at the festivals, how they’re
going, who goes, the gatherings that come about… everything.
That way you know what direction an artist is going in,
but it’s not the same as when you sit down and see
him live or you see a rehearsal and you share.
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“Being
brave is very important, but not so much so as to push
your luck”
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I think that what has quality has quality
and that’s all, and flamenco can’t have any
more truth. Sometimes you can sense a sort of lack of respect
for the old-time maestros and I think there are things which
are sacred. I’m a person and an artist really of the
present, but I don’t consider, for example, skipping
things the maestros have left as really categorical. There
are very defined styles and that’s really good because
flamenco has always had a really rich range of styles. And
nowadays I notice, I don’t know, not less seriousness,
but like loose ends. But of course, I think there are bailaores
who dance really well, very good guitarists and very good
cantaores. But we should feel the old-time flavor a little
bit more, the true way the maestros have left us, that discipline
and that devotion. Being brave is very important, but not
so much so as to push your luck. Your own personality is
already something new and trying to do flamenco from whichever
point is really good, but without forgetting who you are,
where you come from, why we’re here, who the greats
have been and the maestros who have caused us to be here.
I think things are forgotten a little bit.
And positive?
For example, your website. It’s easier
for us to go from one corner of the world to the other,
and that happens with everything. We have more information,
people can study more broadly, not just the maestro who
happens to live in their native land, but rather they can
feel different ways of laying things out. That makes an
artform greater. Positive is also what one feels with flamenco
outside of Spain; it’s at a really nice level, there
are a lot of fans, it isn’t something crude. And the
mixture you can make with other types of artists is at an
incredible level, since they’ve already seen and know
about flamenco’s wealth.
Have you sacrificed too much for
baile?
I think I’ve sacrificed for baile
what I had to sacrifice. I’ve lost personal things,
but I’ve gained them, too. You always have to be there,
since perseverance is really important. It isn’t a
mechanical job; it depends on your sensations, your talent,
you have to seek the magic and it’s something that
takes up so much time that it makes you miss moments with
your people. And on the other hand, you gain them massively
by turning yourself into someone who can help people who
need it. And the surroundings of an artist’s life
have also changed. I remember that when I was a girl, my
dream was to dance at the Falla. As the years went by, I
started to imagine being able to dance at the Opera House
in Sydney. And one day you dance there. Those people who
truly suffer misfortunes must know sacrifice. I don’t
consider what we do sacrifice. We’re privileged. I
have more than what I’ve asked for in life.
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