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FESTIVAL DE JEREZ 2008. MANUELA CARRASCO,
‘ROMALÍ’
Intentions
Silvia Calado. Jerez, March 2nd, 2008
‘Romalí’. Manuela
Carrasco: baile. Maha Akhtar: special collaboration.
Torombo: guest artist. Enrique el Extremeño, José
Valencia, Samara Amador, Antonio Zúñiga,
Pilar Carmona, Mai Fernández: cante. Joaquín
Amador, Ramón Amador, Román Vicenti: guitars.
José Carrasco: box drum. Rajeeb Charaborty, Pandit
Ramesh Misra, Sanju Sanhai: Hindu musicians. Javier Latorre:
stage director. J. Goatinsa SL: artistic director. 12th
Festival de Jerez. Teatro Villamarta. Jerez (Cádiz,
Spain), March 2nd, 2008. 9 p.m.
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Manuela Carrasco
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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“I aspire to twin India and Andalusia,
to harmonize flamenco with Indian kathak”. Manuela
Carrasco herself signs these lines printed in the
program booklet of ‘Romalí’. But according
to what was seen at the Teatro Villamarta, it all remains
a theory, an intention. And just in the first part in
which a gypsy caravan gets together with a music ‘group’
and kathak dancing. Surprisingly, the first musical connection
focuses on a work cante, a field one: the trilla. And
forcing the stage to seek out the succinct flamenco base,
which has nothing to do with the very rich Hindu polyrhythm.
When it comes, it does so to accompany dancer Maha Akhtar,
who instead of limiting herself to the classical features
of her culture, opts for a light fusion with arm waving
and a flamenco pose.
Time for the flamencos, now with guitars,
por alboreá. Then Manuela Carrasco attacks with
her power, with fierce little kicks, in short spurts.
With Enrique
el Extremeño’s cante, the bailaora controls
herself por seguiriyas. But in the motley scene, her greatness
is watered down. Akhtar dares to come out and double for
her, changing her bare feet for high-heeled shoes. Of
course, she isn’t the equivalent in her thing as
the Sevillian bailaora is in flamenco. And in flamenco,
even less so. Next, the thread is lost. Torombo charges
por alegrías, a girl goes astray por bulerías
and one ends up resorting to cantes with folk roots, linked
with the “cabalgado van los gitanos” by Lole
and Manuel. The caravan breaks up and withdraws, and
singing the chorus, the forced twinning of Triana and
Punjab finally ends.
Maha Akhtar and Manuela Carrasco
(Photo Daniel Muñoz)
But not the show, which by then is complicated
to set right. A box drum solo disguises the change in
scenes with great difficulty. And a second part kicks
off which is a series of bailes with standard cante and
toque. While the technicians are still working at the
back, Torombo dances soleá por bulerías,
with his peculiar Farruco-like style. The bailaora reappears
on stage dressed in white and coral to sketch out some
alegrías, with her sight set on the land, on the
footwork. So missed at the back was Pedro Sierra providing
the guitars with harmony and coherence. Tangos by the
female trio in competition. And finally, Manuela Carrasco’s
soleá. The sip of the sublime was diminished, since
the goddess wasn’t exactly at her Olympus. This
show isn’t the right setting for her to shine, to
dazzle, to blind. But above all difficulties, she was
able to deliver at least a little bit of her huge art.
The crowd understood her suffering and paid her their
respects. Which she always deserves.
Manuela Carrasco (Photo Daniel
Muñoz)
SALA COMPAÑÍA
María Juncal, ‘La hora
de los milagros’
Bailaora María
Juncal appeared solo at the Sala Compañía
with her show, ‘La hora de los milagros’.
Accompanied by cante, guitar and cello, the
Canarian artist performed farruca, taranto
and alegrías, with that know-how of
hers with such clean technique and strong
stage presence.
María Juncal
(Photo Daniel Muñoz)
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And tomorrow ... Eva Yerbabuena · Rafaela Carrasco · Juan Pinilla/ Juan Campallo
• Rafael Estévez
& Nani Paños, ‘Flamenco XXI’.
Teatro Villamarta (9 p.m.)
• Fran Espinosa. Sala Compañía
(midnight)
• Pedro Sierra. Bodega Los Apóstoles
(7 p.m.)
“To delve deep into
the roots in order to seek modernity”.
That’s the intention of Rafael Estévez
and Nani Paños, dancers and directors
of Dospormedio & Compañía.
On March 3rd at the Teatro Villamarta they
present their show ‘Flamenco XXI’,
which they define as “a stroll through
flamenco, from the vision we choreographers
have of this century”. They say they
pay tribute “to most of the figures
who have shaped this art form at the musical
and dance level, those references we artists
of today must have”. News from the nineteenth-century
press, photos and old videos and conversations
with Pilar
López are some of the sources they
use to shape up this show, performed on stage
by fourteen dancers. A couple of hours earlier,
Pedro
Sierra will offer an encounter with guitar
at Bodega de Los Apóstoles. He’ll
present his latest album ‘Nikelao’
there. And then to perform at the Sala Compañía
at midnight is Córdoba-born bailaor
Fran Espinosa, a new artist who announced
“a bunch of bailes with cantes from
the forge, a look at a Triana courtyard por
tangos, cantiñas de Pinini and bulerías
which I won with at the National Contest of
Córdoba”.
Rafael Estévez
& Nani Paños (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
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