FESTIVAL DE JEREZ 2005. RAFAELA CARRASCO:
UNA MIRADA DEL FLAMENCO

Valiant

Silvia Calado. Jerez, 2nd March 2005

‘Una mirada del flamenco’. Rafaela Carrasco Company. Rafaela Carrasco: director, dance, choreography. Rocío Montoya, Concha Jareño, Daniel Doña, Manuel Liñán, Marco Flores: dance troupe. Antonio Campos, Manuel Picuo: vocals. Fernando de la Rúa, Jesús Torres: guitar, music. José Luis López: cello, music. Sudhi Rajagopal: tabla. Pablo Suárez: piano. Teatro Villamarta. Jerez (Cadiz province, Spain), 2nd March 2005. 9pm

Rafaela Carrasco (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

You just have to contradict Rafaela Carrasco. She insists that she doesn't feel like a bailaora with her own personality, but the truth is that every time she gets up on stage her style is clearer, her world is more clearly-defined. ‘Una mirada del flamenco’, her company's second show, is a risky exercise, a brave offering when it comes to the dance (and the choreography), flamenco that looks within while looking outward.

The lighting is the center of attention in the first piece, the bulerías entitled ‘Encuentros’. Under a spotlight beaming down from above Rafaela Carrasco makes her entrance, she dances in silence with only the music her body emits. A bailaor makes his appearance. And another. And another. And now all of them. The spotlights dim and are lit again so they can be seen. Tabla and piano accompany the show's star. A very personal means of expression, her own unique style of dance. The playing around with dancers entering and exiting the stage, and with light and darkness, becomes frenetic. Contact dance. I pick you up here. I place you over there. Sweetly, exquisitely performed. Contemporary and free. Jerez audiences are already familiar with this malagueña piece. She danced it here at last year's festival as part of Mario Maya's production ‘Un, dos, tres, faaa...’ . And to universal acclaim. A year on, the only thing that changes that reception is the vocal performance, the quality and depth of the cante not quite up to the levels David Lagos was able to attain then. Perhaps the show's weakness is the imbalance between the consummate baile flamenco and the cante which only just makes the grade. So back to the malagueña... what an ode to good taste, to bareness, to simplicity and, above all, to sensitivity.

‘Falduca’ is the most revolutionary number, at least in visual terms. Joaquín Cortés put a bata de cola dress on once, but never before has a man been seen to dance in a bata de cola. Rafaela Carrasco conceived a farruca piece with three male dancers all in long traditional flamenco dresses. And it certainly isn't just for show. Their technique is impeccable... their execution even more solemn than is customary. Straight lines, clean movements, their countenances like those of Samurai. A welcome shock. A welcome show of valor. The audience can't hold back the applause at the first gap in the proceedings.

The Seville-born bailaora returns alone as a prolog to the taranto. And she does it in dialog with Sudhi Rajagopal's Indian tabla. Ethnic sounds. Straight from the jungle. Musical. Free. Two ladies then dance the palo from Levante cutting a tangent with tangos. Three men come on to join them. A choreography for five... or for three. Rafaela Carrasco’s brilliant ability to move the group is clear for all to see. Dynamics. Aesthetics. But somehow injected with her restlessness. The vocals and guitar once again cause the production overall to lose steam. They link in to the martinete. The bailaora moves along crouched down to the tabla, the palmas backing her up. Precision. Beauty. She withdraws... and takes flight. The atmosphere is sober throughout, the lighting gentle. The dance troupe relieves her, to the sound of piano and cello. There's originality in the steps and in the posturing. Hardly touching the floor. Their arms fly like rotor blades. Silence.

Photo: Daniel Muñoz

Photo: Daniel Muñoz

The soleá helps to maintain the subdued feeling that seems to put many spectators ill-at-ease. Rafaela Carrasco appears dressed in a black bata de cola. Dancer and bata and cola are ready to converse with three men, three characters. To the floor. And in flight. The duet with Manuel Liñán is just something else, offering the train of the dress, skipping over it, launching it into the air with a kick. The bailaora's extreme sensitivity moves the audience. A delicacy, danced for a trained palate. And the audience rewarded her with a standing ovation.

Dialog, vocals and guitar

	El Chato (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

In spite of the incessant rain, the festival is bristling with life from the morning through to the early hours. Four hundred students take classes with the best flamenco dance teaching staff imaginable, at different venues scattered around the city. At midday, it's time for talk at Bodega de San Ginés, where wine and discussion are never in short supply. On Wednesday 2nd March José Mercé presented his new album ‘Confí de fuá’ at Teatro Villamarta. When a group of purists attacked him for saying he was “magnifying flamenco”, he gave them a lesson in manners and tolerance. “Show respect for everyone, there's room for all of us on the flamenco scene. And if we all ever came to an agreement, that’d be the end of it once and for all.” And to demonstrate that he meant what he said, he stayed to listen to Malaga-born cantaor El Chato who presented his new album ‘La danza de los gitanos’, due for release shortly, accompanied on guitar by Pedro Sierra. As the ‘superstar’ from Jerez shouted jaleos of encouragement, he sang soleá and bulerías. After a break for lunch - a special mention for the fideos with king prawns at the Arco de Santiago - and a short siesta, there was a date with guitar at Sala Compañía. The ‘Bordón y cuenta nueva’ season was kicked off by José Antonio Rodríguez, flanked by percussion, cello and bass, and offering a selection of songs drawn from his huge repertoire of compositions. Clear, bright creations centered around palos such as the soleá, seguiriya and bulería, a soothing prelude to what could be seen a couple of hours later on the main stage.

magazine@flamenco-world.com