2006 JEREZ FESTIVAL

Belén Maya and José Luis Rodríguez explore
the lyricism of baile and guitar in ‘Dibujos’

The bailaora recovers her baile from the film ‘Flamenco’ by Carlos Saura

Carlos Sánchez. Seville, February 2006

Following a trial run last summer at Madrid's Sabatini Gardens, bailaora Belén Maya and guitarist José Luis Rodríguez are putting the finishing touches on the presentation of ‘Dibujos’. A show in which music and dance blend into an intimate work tracing a journey from the most modern to the most traditional. This new show will premiere on February 25th at the Teatro de Guadalcacín, within the program of the 10th Jerez Festival.

	Belén Maya (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

In ‘Dibujos’, Belén Maya presents a compilation of bailes she's developed throughout her artistic career. A real umbrella of diversity to which she adds new creations. And she does so from the present. The bailaora offers a journey from the most modern to the most traditional to the beat of guitarist José Luis Rodríguez's compositions.

“This idea came up from a concert José Luis Rodríguez did in the United States. Then we took it up again last summer at the Sabatini Gardens in Madrid. But now is when we've endowed it with a specific stage design. So we can consider it as a premiere. For this show I've taken back up the number I danced in ‘Flamenco’ by Carlos Saura. I only did it there and I've never ever danced it again. I open with that bulería. From there I go on a journey from the most modern to the most traditional, until dressed in a bata de cola, I finish with alegrías”, explains the bailaora.

The entire show is based on the music by José Luis Rodríguez. It is thus a tête-à-tête between both artists. “José Luis's music is intimate. It has a touch of sadness, of melancholy. That really catches my eye because I think my baile's like that, too. It has a romantic side, a lyrical side, and it identifies quite a bit with what he does on the guitar. I've adapted to his music with no problem. The only thing we've done is to stick in some cante at certain moments”.

Blackboard and chalk

The stage design is by David Montero. The young stage director has included a series of elements which endow this new show's esthetic layout with greater visual effects. “In this show we use a blackboard and chalk as if we were drawing like little kids. We're also going to use the stage floor as a design element. There's a game between what's drawn on the board and what's done on stage. That's the theatrical excuse we've given to the show for it to turn out more visual, but it's really baile”, comments the bailaora.

Belén Maya recognizes that this type of format is the kind she finds most satisfying. The artist admits that she's “never liked a lot of people up on stage. A good guitar and good cante is enough”. That can be noted in her latest shows such as ‘Flamenco de cámara’ – with Mayte Martín on cante and José Luis Montón on guitar – and ‘Fuera de los límites’ – where she shares the stage with bailaora Rafaela Carrasco. Following its premiere in Jerez, ‘Dibujos’ will tour Germany and Mexico, and will also be present in the upcoming edition of Granada's International Music and Dance Festival.

Belén Maya on 'Flamenco' by Carlos Saura

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