SIXTH FESTIVAL DE JEREZ. 'DE CAI…EL BAILE'. ANTONIO EL PIPA

For a bit of glory

Silvia Calado Olivo. Jerez, February 28th, 2002-03-01

Antonio el Pipa: dance, choreography and artistic direction. María José Franco and José Triguero: solo dancers. Patricia Ibáñez, Choni Perez, Leonor Leal, Raúl Ruiz, Miguel A. Corbacho, Juan A. Tejero, Luis Moneo, Manuel Tañé and Felipa del Moreno: cante. Pascual de Lorca and Juan Moneo: toque. Pascual de Lorca, Juan Moneo and José Luis Montón: music. Teatro Villamarta. Jerez, February 28th, 2002. 9:00 p.m.

Photo: Daniel Muñoz

Waiting…even anticipating. Goosebumps guaranteed. And the feeling was mutual of course. Gleaming and ready to take wing, prepared to dazzle should the moment arise. And the man, Antonio el Pipa, ready to journey through the land of Cádiz dance with a new original work with which he hopes to consolidate his choreographic talents: "De Cai…el baile": He was playing on his own turf…

The opening recalled seaports. 'Ida y vuelta', voyage and return. Guajira and colombiana. Fiesta and saltspray. The group was enjoying its controlled anarchy… one with bata de cola, another with a shawl. One in traditional garb, another in streetwear. And then that one, the fellow dressed in red, the one with the unstoppable feet. The audience was swept along by the momentum. Again, bulerías and suddenly pow!…Antonio el Pipa. Days ago he announced: "The challenge is to elevate bulerías to the category of solo dance." And there he was with his presence and his challenge, in basic black, needing nothing more than the compás. Alone with his finger-snapping, his silences, the friction of his shoes on the boards, it all was part of the Pipa experience. From the silence came sound, with the cante of Manuel Tañé a capella…hands, posture, provocation. The wings take off. The audience can almost touch them. Almost…

Still wanting more, we are left for a bit of glory with María José Franco. Introduced by the stringent voice of Felipe del Moreno, she made her appearance, also stringent, also with forbearance and effect. She seeks to find herself in bulerías, stepping more than flying. The golden light of the 'Isla de León' becomes backlighting for the farruca in the 'Loma de los Gazules'. Pipa heads the triangle. A three-way asymmetric mirror. The welcome silences. Excessive, the triple genuflection. A handshake, a pat on the back…nice meeting you. Luis Moneo also has his moment of glory. He comes downstage, without the backup of the company, to sing tonás and martinetes. He sings sedately and strongly, with wisdom and integrity. As he disappears, the lights come up…and it's Algeciras. The group reappears and with it, the nearly coordinated seismic activity, the search for compás.

María José Franco (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

The curtain falls with no ovation…there is still the second part to come. And it comes with three couples, three circles of light, three sets of feet and the fluttering of wings. A muted guitar comes in with soleá. Antonio el Pipa and María José Franco also want to play. The pause, or 'adaggio' (to paraphrase Mario Maya) is shortlived and it's back to bulerías, the group, this one, that one, the other one…Jerez…an assault for the 'Ruta del toro'. José Triguero descends from another overhead spot in Pipa-style finery. A bit of glory for him to the sound of rondeña. And a thicket comes out of the boards for a solo dance. Soleá. 'La garrocha en Medina'. In traditional suit and leggings, he readies his wings. He primps and preens, he poses and plays, he interacts, blows kisses…Jerez, his Jerez, loves him. The sound of two voices singing accompanies his him in his ascent as he leaves the stage. It could all have ended right there, but he wanted to descend once more, retracting and mixing in with the disjointed beating, to say goodbye with alegrías…dedicating it to the poet from El Puerto, Alberti. A rhymeless rhyme.

There was no ending fiesta of bulerías…it was also promised. Jerez was his. Rain of carnations, rain of applause, rain of glory…the glory of Antonio el Pipa.