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And the maestros

While the new bailaores are on the rise, some now veteran maestros continue to bequeath their great art on stage, in classrooms or behind the scenes as directors and choreographers. Mario Maya doesn't dance, but he stages shows like ‘Diálogo del Amargo’ (‘Dialogue of the Bitter One’) and ‘Un, dos, tres... faaa’ (‘One, Two, Three... F’). Matilde Coral had withdrawn to the classrooms of her reputed school, until one day in 2003 a manager decided to have her dance together with Chano Lobato, Juan Habichuela and Parrilla de Jerez in the show ‘Historias de arte’ (‘Art Stories’), taken to the main flamenco events. Manolo Marín and Manuel Soler were returned to the stage by María Pagés as special guests in the shows ‘Flamenco Republic’ and ‘La Tirana’.

Compañía El Güito (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

Manolete and El Güito don't hesitate to polish up the baile which took them to the top in the era of Pilar López's men every time a festival calls on them. Milagros Mengíbar keeps the Sevillian school alive, with appearances at flamenco forums that call on her skill with a bata de cola and shawl. Merche Esmeralda also combines her work as an instructor with limited appearances on stage, where she displays her Sevillian baile, elegant and furiously feminine. Some names might have been left out in this review of today's baile panorama, but not the aim of highlighting the vitality of flamenco's most esthetic category. The beginning of the 21st century provides an enriching crossroads of generations, styles, trends, references... which contributes to taking further steps ahead in the evolution of this dance genre.

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