Eva
la Yerbabuena Dance Company: "5 women 5"
Lope de Vega
Theatre
September 28th, 9PM
The
minute woman: "Eva" appeared for the first time in last year's Bienal, showing
the flamenco palate of "La Yerbabuena", that has been touring the world for the
last two years with her work in more than a hundred functions. This year's debut,
more refined, introspective, shows an omnipresent Eva in her many forms. Few of
her kind know how be quiet on stage.
A
patient woman: Eva, who has spent 20 of her 30 years dancing, rests in her chair
while the public gets seated. With the soprano she lifts herself for the first
theme, ("Love") that finishes off with the dancers (clad in white) in "Ambition,"
where the primitive songs, la trilla and el polo come in. She leads, and a soft
light partially sweetens the musicians.
The estranged woman:
the third movement, "Parallel loneliness", she sits on her char with projections
over her, a flamenco guitar sounds and the light soprano (Conxita García) sings
a delicate murciana that Eva finishes off contorting in her chair. They recite,
they project, they disperse and in the only outside choreography, "Of madness",
by Latorre, who works interestingly on "Ombra" with Hansel Cereza of La Fura dels
Baus, there are intermittent stage lights flashing to the rhythm, desolate for
the tangos. Fluid movements on the stage by the nine dancers, not the same height
nor copying each other. Surprises, short, abrupt soprano with guitar. Loneliness.
The suffering woman:
"Hoyo de las agujas," the moment: Eva dances seguiriyas alone to three great singers
Enrique Soto, Segundo Falcón (both of them much better the previous night with
Miño) and Arcángel, who has only sung in this Bienal for Isabelita Bayón and Eva.
Seguiriyas in slow motion, drawn out with unexpected recourses and a little bit
of fiesta, but she finishes off collapsing in her chair, with a caress from the
soprano. Only 70 minutes have passed, some of them the most savory of the Bienal.
She is a personal dancer.
The unique woman:
under the growing applause, after having passed over so many feminine feelings,
a special detail: the kiss that she leaves on the lips of her husband, guitarist
and musical director, Paco Jarana, as the five Evas convert into one.
Luis Clemente
Translated
by Jessica Lorber
Dialogues
in the Alameda
José
de la Tomasa andLa Tabala
Alameda
Theatre
Thursday, September 28th, Midnight
Strange
sign for closing the series "Flamenco a dos" in which La Tobala opens with malagueña-rondeña
and soleá por bulería, with two alegrías, some classical and others in her style,
made personal with the guitar of Pedro Sierra (also husband, also musical director),
who guides her toward the intense tangos of Juana la Tobala, elaborate compositions
that wind down with bulerías. More like a recital for Sierra, while La Tobala
termina finishes recording her fifth CD.
If
this singer thinks like minded to El Barrio, José of La Tomasa starts out giving
us memories of the Alameda where he was born along with part of "malagueñas with
connotations of Cádiz" and "the song of plentitude, the soleá." He makes up his
own words ("some say Triana, others say Alcalá, anyone knows where is the ministry
of soleá"), more lineal with Levante, in the seguiriyas ("the national hymn of
my family".) He didn't make the columns shake, nor did he sign off with bulerías.
Instead he sang "pure songs of Triana" and demonstrative martinetes that he could
have sung the whole time without a microphone. He closes with four huge fandangos
in his own style. Accompanying, always excessively close is José Luis Postigo,
the son of La Tomasa and Piesplomo, so powerful that he gives courage, although
he scrapes his throat just at the right moment. A communicator with the public,
he finishes giving homage to Pastora Pavón, who used to live on the same street
as the theatre.
Luis
Clemente
Translated
by Jessica Lorber
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