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There was a week left before changing hemispheres,
before swapping Madrid's winter for South Africa's summer. Detached from the
cold and the rain that was getting heavier over Spain's capital, Ángel
Muñoz was finishing off the show 'Robándole al alma' with his company
with a view to its premiere in Stellenbosch in December 2003. El bailaor, the
lead figure of the María Pagés Company, three bailaoras - Inmaculada Ortega, Charo
Espino and Maribel Espino - and a few musicians - guitarists Jorge Rodríguez and
Manuel Pérez; cantaores Miguel Ortega and José Ángel Carmona; and percussionist
Nacho López - had set up camp in the neighborhood of Lavapiés, in one of the El
Horno rehearsal rooms. And there, with little Aroa as a mischievous and one-and-only
public, they adjusted the repertoire, a diverse display of baile, cante and toque
flamenco which strolled through styles such as alegrías de Córdoba, tanguillos
and tangos, the taranto, the seguiriya, jaleos... The team worked hard as one
to polish off the most intangible details: the cuts, the waits, the rests. A more
than fluent communication with each other, together with a very demanding level,
enabled the painstaking rhythmical line to be developed which acts as the core
of the show. The fact that there was no audience, nor stage, nor wardrobe was
no obstacle for art to appear, as can be appreciated in Daniel Muñoz's photo report.
All were giving a hundred percent. At that point 'Robándole al alma' was a creature
about ready to start walking.
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