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FESTIVAL DE JEREZ 2007. RAFAELA CARRASCO
• RUBICHI
Baile with gray matter
Silvia Calado. Jerez, March 4th, 2007
‘Del amor y otras cosas’.
Baile and choreography: Rafaela Carrasco
and Daniel Doña. Cante: Miguel Ortega, Antonio
Campos. Guitar: Jesús Torres. Cello: José
Luis López. Flute and sax: Ramiro Obedman. Piano:
Pablo Suárez. Music: Jesús Torres, Pablo
Suárez, José Luis López, Nacho Arimany.
Stage design and wardrobe: Elisa Sanz. Lighting: Gloria
Montesinos. Stage director: Teresa Nieto. Director: Rafaela
Carrasco. 11th Festival de Jerez. Teatro Villamarta (Jerez,
Cádiz), March 4th, 2007. 9 p.m.
Flamenco is broad. And artists like Rafaela
Carrasco work to make it even more unlimited. ‘Del
amor y otras cosas’ advocates conceptual art, art
which makes you think, esthetic mime, formal purging,
elegance, nuances. The show combats the obvious, detests
the easy sought-after applause. It has spectators stuck
to their seats without hardly being able to clap, but
stirring inside... for better or for worse. That’s
the thing about these shows with gray matter; either you
love them or hate them. At the end of the performance,
the hall of the theater was a hotbed of likes and dislikes.
And that’s a tremendous achievement. But ahead was
the long, enthusiastic ovation of the (many) ones who
liked it.
Rafaela Carrasco and
Daniel Doña
(Photo: Daniel Muñoz)
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And the story was really crystal-clear,
universal and as old as human beings: love. The structure
was simply the series of episodes in a couple’s
relationship; the encounter with passion, from monotony
to indifferent, and finally the break-up... and back to
the beginning. Of course, the gist of the question lies
in the way of telling it, since the risk of this matter
turning out mushy is usually high. The baile is up to
a twosome. She’s Rafaela Carrasco. He’s Daniel
Doña. She’s more flamenca. He’s
more ‘classical-contemporary’. But together
they reach a meeting point, a sort of common dance language
bursting with subtleties, wielding every verb tense. The
pas de deux making up the show’s backbone are exquisite.
And they don’t just use the baile as a vehicle,
but surprisingly, also the wardrobe. Each piece gives
rise to a chapter. The long-tailed coat expresses “the
need for love”. She, on the back of the tail, letting
herself be dragged along. The thick red jacket joined
by a long strip of fabric makes it possible to tell about
the indifference... with tension and intensity. It tangles
them, ties, them, drowns them, separates them. And along
the way, it offers some beautiful pictures. The castanets
he plays replying to her steps lead to monotony. Just
like the paper dress which is torn in the bailaora’s
last solo; the memory which is broken, oblivion.
And the same role is played by the cante
and music, each one with its individuality respected,
without some subjugating others, without roles of accompaniment.
Miguel Ortega and Antonio Campos have the road cleared
for them in each of their appearances, being at the same
time cantaores and troubadours, relying on the lyrics.
The cante was excellent in all the styles that were played,
which were several. The musicians – guitar, piano,
flute, cello – equally contributed to provide just
the right nuances for the choreographies and narrations,
responsible for shaping up ambiences, for stressing each
passage of the show. Each one has his space. And a lot
of rests. Also performing, but packaged, was percussionist
Nacho
Arimany, with an encircling multi-timbre piece which
framed the moment of passion. At the same time, the lighting
wasn’t just there to provide light, but also to
create situations. Just like the stage design consisting
of upright pipes, a forest which changed depending...
like love.
Los conciertos de Palacio Series.
Rubichi
The experience of listening
to unamplified cante in the intimacy of a
palace hall becomes even more unique depending
on the cante. Diego Rubichi’s found
the ideal setting in the Villavicencio. It’s
already in itself a dry, harsh, abrupt cante,
so the echo returned it, stressing all its
qualities. He made up for the limitations
of his convalescent throat with effort, strength,
wisdom and jondura, daring to tackle not just
the rhythmic repertoire native to the land,
but also styles of a lyrical nature between
the granaína and the malagueña.
Tientos-tangos, soleá por bulerías,
soleá, seguiriyas and bulerías
were part of a repertoire which, accompanied
by the classical toque of guitarist Alberto
San Miguel, deeply pierced the audience, who
constantly showered the Jerez-born artist
with olés.
Rubichi (Photo:
Daniel Muñoz)
CD:
Rubichi. Luna de calabozo
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| And tomorrow... Ángeles Gabaldón
• Canela de San Roque
• Inmaculada Ortega
Cante at a palace and female
baile. The formula is repeated on Monday,
March 5th. The day’s schedule kicks
off in the evening with Canela de San Roque
at the Palacio de Villavicencio. Two hours
later, the Teatro Villamarta welcomes the
premiere of ‘Femenino plural’
by the Ángeles
Gabaldón Company. At the press
conference, the Sevillian bailaora firmly
read notes in which she pointed out that she
hopes this committed show “helps create
an internal change in spectators”. She
explained that it is split into five parts
which go from the “showcase, the reflection
of our society” to “women’s
solitude”. The artistic director, Fernando
Lima, said that “far from being propaganda,
it seeks to get to the bottom of women’s
problems in our society”. The scriptwriter
and lyricist, Juan José Téllez,
joined the conversation, upholding the artform
as a means “to touch the sore points
of reality”. The day’s bill is
completed by the performance of Jerez-born
bailaora Inmaculada Ortega at Sala Compañía.
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