FESTIVAL DE JEREZ 2003

María del Mar Moreno seeks an equilibrium between theater and traditional flamenco dance in 'September'

The dancer from Jerez debuts as producer and artistic director

Silvia Calado Olivo

"The poetry of the month of September". This is the defining thread of the work María del Mar Moreno will premiere at the Festival de Jerez 2003. The Jerez dancer, who debuts as producer and artistic director, deals with the passage of summer into autumn, life into death, like "a Greek tragedy", making use of a traditional style of dance. To give form to this first thematic work to be presented at the Teatro Villamarta on Friday, February 28th, 2003, she has surrounded herself with a team that features flamenco singer Antonio Malena, guitarist Domingo Rubichi and dancer Juan Ogalla.

Foto: Anahí Cármody

September is a month with both personal and professional connotations for María del Mar Moreno, which is why her first theatrical work revolves around this symbolic period. "We play with the changing light of summer to autumn to create a mood for this work which, like the Greek tragedies, has to do with love, hate and death, taken as a passage, and life". The dancer from Jerez considers that "autumn in Jerez is between the grape-picking season, the beginning of the wine cycle, and the obvious symbol of death which is the falling of the leaves". She inevitably resorts to the element of wine as a symbol "since it dulls the senses and is conducive to dreaming".

The show "has a very sedate rhythm, but with flashes of summer frenzy". And it takes form in "the use of soleá, the mother of all cante, as a rhythmic constant throughout the work", but studded with other elements such as bulería, taranto or seguiriya. Pianist José Zarzana and guitarists Domingo Rubichi and Santiago Moreno were in charge of the music and play their respective instruments in the presentation. Flamenco singing is handled by Luis Moneo and Luis de Pacote, with Luis de la Tota providing palmas.

Innovation and tradition

Antonio Malena's performance is worthy of mention since he not only sings, but also interprets one of the four characters: Antonio. María del Mar Moreno, as María, and dancers Juan Antonio Ogalla and María Bermúdez as Juan and Sara respectively, complete the cast. Other individuals responsible for the presentation are Ramón Pareja, in charge of staging and theatrical direction, and Juan Manuel Sainz Peña, author of the work and the verses. This lineup makes possible a cordial collaboration in a work which "is not traditional theater, but symbolic theater, where interpretation and dance are on the same level, and far from overlapping each other, they are mutually adaptive". María del Mar Moreno and her group have tried to give this work a high dose of innovation, never renouncing one iota of traditional style: "Although there are complementary elements such as a violin and a piano, 'September' is always secondary to the land and the roots, with sincere emotions and sobriety".

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