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FESTIVAL DE JEREZ 2009. AÍDA
GÓMEZ, ‘PERMÍTEME BAILARTE’
Frail… and so beautiful
Silvia Calado. Jerez, March 1st, 2009
‘Permíteme bailarte’.
Aída Gómez: directing,
baile. Christian Lozano: lead dancer. María Alonso,
Ángel Roda, Yolanda Murillo, Antonio Jesús
Jiménez, Adrián Santana: soloists. Sara
Martín, Rocío Osuna, Miriam Mendoza, Bárbara
Moreno, Patricia Fernández, Antonio Rosales,
José Franco, Jonathan Gómez, Daniel Morillo:
dancers. Marienma, Aída Gómez, Rubén
Olmo, Christian Lozano, Daniel Morillo: choreography.
13th Festival de Jerez. Teatro Villamarta. Jerez (Cádiz,
Spain), March 1st, 2009. 9 p.m.
Aída Gómez
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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As dance critic Marta Carrasco pointed
out the day before, the expression of our culture which
needs mankind’s protection might not be flamenco,
but rather the bolero school. Which is Spanish classical
ballet. Our ballet. And with this show ‘Permíteme
bailarte’, dancer Aída Gómez sounds
the alarm. And at the same time, she gets it right with
a most successful product in the audience’s view.
Not because she does anything special, but because Spanish
dance always had that ability to charm, here, in Paris,
two centuries ago … and now.
As in the programs of the era, the
show linked short pieces as it went along. Most of them
corresponded to classics of the genre to the sound of
music of nationalist heritage. And, in detail, the dancer
and choreographer wanted to bring that legacy to her
time in two solos with music by Juan Parrilla, but while
still remembering those who inspire her. The first one
was the introductory piece, entitled with the message
‘Frágil’, which was dedicated to
her maestro Antonio.
The stylized. The slender. And the character. The second
one, halfway through the second part, was reminiscent
of Pilar
López by means of an improvable but effective
solo with a shawl. But her star piece was undoubtedly
‘Fandango del Candil’ by Marienma, with
whom the now deceased maestra tried to recreate the
original by Antonia Mercé ‘La Argentina’
and which Aída Gómez had already performed
nearly two decades ago in the tribute which was paid
to the historic figure of Spanish dance. And not just
the dance was recalled, but also the beautiful architecture
designed by Néstor for the wardrobe and the backdrop.
Nor could Christian Lozano’s
individual brilliance be ignored, combining refinement,
plastic art and neatness, or the flawless beauty of
many of the choral pieces, performed by a dance corps
diligent in the delicacy of the slipper, the elegance
of movement, the lightness of the fan and the forcefulness
of the castanet, wrapped up in Goya-style ambiences
and fabrics. But something different, although clearly
related, is flamenco dancing. Among other things, because
what gives it life is its dialogue with the music, with
the quejíos and the falsetas. Nature doesn’t
come packaged … as El Torta says.
Alfonso
Losa, ‘Mirando atrás’
Sala Compañía,
7 p.m.
Alfonso
Losa
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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Natural
fandangos sung to the beat of soleá
por bulerías. Alfonso
Losa opened his solo show ‘Mirando
atrás’ with such an adventure.
To do so, he had himself backed by four
mighty voices: Antonio Campos, José
Anillo, Leo Triviño and David de
Jacoba. And in that unusual cantaor setting,
he laid out his credentials, then endorsed
in the farruca and in the soleá.
The Madrilenian continues to be one of
the greatest virtuosos and most powerful
artists of his generation. He comes on
incredibly strong and, at the same time,
he has the virtue of precision. But as
the years go by, the responsibility of
the many awards and the weight of his
maestros’ advice have achieved the
conscience of control in him as well as
the composure which he has edited and
balanced.
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Juan
Antonio Suárez ‘Cano’,
‘Son de ayer’
Bodega los Apóstoles,
midnigh
Cano
& group
(Photo Daniel Muñoz) |
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That the greater public
isn’t interested in (good) music
is absolutely evident. But it’s
still surprising that not even the great
dance audience concentrated at this
festival is interested in it. For what
is danced to, if not music? A priori,
it seemed obvious that many dance students
would attend to listen to Juan
Antonio Suárez ‘Cano’,
inasmuch as the Barcelona-born guitarist
has composed some of the most beautiful
pieces which have been danced here by
bailaores of the likes of Andrés
Marín and Rafaela Carrasco. Not
even that. So just a chosen few, with
their ears ready to enjoy, attended
Bodega de Los Apóstoles to listen
to ‘Son de ayer’ live. With
conviction somewhere between crushing
and touching, he selected pieces from
his repertoire. Unique, subtle, thrilling,
out-of-this-world. He played some of
them completely solo and standing, like
the suite-journey. Others, dialoguing
with instrumentalists of the prestige
of pianist Pablo Suárez and contrabass
player Pablo Martín. And the
rest, urged on by the chilling chorus
consisting of La Tana, Mari Vizárraga,
Samara Losada, Coco and Juan de Pura.
At the end, he made his own the primitive
‘Punteao’ by his aunt Adela
la Capachera (who couldn’t come)
with his father’s cante from Extremadura,
providing a lesson in ethnomusicology.
Cano and
Pablo Martín (Photo Daniel
Muñoz) |
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And
tomorrow …
• Raquel
Benítez / Macarena de Jerez. Palacio
de Villavicencio, 7 p.m.
• Gerardo Núñez Ensemble.
Bodega Los Apóstoles, 9 p.m.
• José Galván, ‘Maestría’.
Sala Compañía, midnight
While
María Pagés sets up her ‘Autorretrato’
at the Teatro Villamarta, Bodega Los Apóstoles
will be the program’s main stage. The
third show in the ‘Toca toque’
Series will be held there, for which Jerez-born
guitarist Gerardo Núñez has
prepared a flamenco-jazz ‘ensemble’.
The Jerez-born musician’s idea is “for
flamenco guitar to be the perfect host for
other types of music”. Starting here,
“there’s room for improvisation”,
since what is offered is “a different
way of understanding music”. The group
consists of Perico Sambeat (sax), Pablo Martín
(contrabass), Mariano Díaz (piano),
Cepillo (percussion), Marc Miralta (drums)
and Rafael de Utrera (cante). The day is completed
with a double cante recital at Villavicencio
by Anabel Rosado and Macarena de Jerez, as
well as with the show ‘Maestría’
starring baile by José Galván,
who will occupy the Sala Compañía
at midnight.
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