FLAMENCO FESTIVAL LONDON 2006. ANDRÉS MARÍN

Metal baile

Silvia Calado. London, February 14th, 2006

‘Asimetrías’. Andrés Marín: baile, direction and choreography. Maribel Ramos, Marta Arias, Ana Morales: dance corps. David Lagos, La Tremendita: cante. Antonio Rey, Salvador Gutiérrez: guitars. Antonio Coronel: percussion. Flamenco Festival London 2006. Sadler’s Wells. London, February 14th, 2006. 7:30 p.m.

Andrés Marín (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

London's flamenco festival lays its stakes on variety. Including the avant-garde. Andrés Marín took his show ‘Asimetrías’ (‘Asymmetries’) to the majestic stage of Sadler’s Wells. Matured since the premiere at Seville's 2004 Bienal de Flamenco, the show puts forward a personal proposal about dance in flamenco key. It could be branded as cubist, as minimal … if you want to seek adjectives. The Sevillian bailaor dances as if he were scribbling on the lines of a sheet of paper, as if permanently experimenting. He never looks for applause and always seems to improvise according to the inspiration he gets, above all from cante. Nor does he forget the guitars, but being baroque, they're farther away from his concept.

The show, with cold, straight lines, starts off with the drums marking the seguiriyas beat. Steel baile. Edges. David Lagos's cante gains intensity little by little. He refers to the Jerez classics, to the patterns from the forge. He has three metal boards to tap his heels on, all of them embellished with different light effects. The first olés. The audience understands. Fade out. There's no fluency in the transition. Another episode. Milonga. La Tremendita on cante. She prances with her raspy voice. Antonio Rey on toque. A blue background for the tanguillos ‘Luz de Cádiz’. Choreography for three. Female style. And ‘andresmarín’ style. All his traits applied to woman and to choral movement. Imaginative work. A tribute to Pepe Marchena. Sweet musicality. The bailaor settles on the right sight of the stage. Black velvet suit. Extreme precision. Well-measured virtuosity. Reiteration. The turn. The x. And the bass drum emphasizing the rawness of this baile.

	Andrés Marín Company rehearsal (Photo: Daniel Muñoz)

A radical change. Alegrías for three yellow batas de cola. Nothing would refute the canons … except silence. A brilliant, sensual, flirtatious piece. The crowd is more satisfied with this dose of classicism. A return to stand-up cante. Three rush-bottomed chairs asymmetrical in color and in posture. Cantes through fandangos carried from inside to outside by the Sevillian cantaora. The lyrics, taken from the poets of '27. The sailor on land visits the sierra of Huelva. The Jerez-born cantaor heads towards other more eastern mountain ranges. His echoes still linger in the background when the gloomy voices of a piece by Ligeti start to be superimposed. Andrés Marín dances with his shadow. The scene is disturbing … just in case one decided to escape from his fate. The soleá is superimposed, sung as a sort of toná. A dense atmosphere until the bulerías arrive. The drums, the guitars, the group's baile is located above. And walking is also part of the baile … is its silence. Asymmetrical little kicks, with highly-polished technique and in their own way, flavor. An ovation and stamping from the crowd, dotted today with flower bouquets for Valentine's Day. ‘Asimetrías’ by Andrés Marín has been successfully performed before the London audience. An original way to celebrate Valentine's Day.

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