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By Hannah Guruianu
Unless you want to take classes, or are just passionate about
Spanish culture, you may not be aware of New York City’s enormous
flamenco scene. From the outside, It feels a bit bohemian or underground;
but once you tap into it, you will discover a wealth of world-class
teachers and performances. Classes take place just about any night of the
week, and with a little effort, you can find scheduled performances at
restaurants and theaters both
small and large.
For the past two years, I spent many weekends traveling the
three-and-a-half hours from Binghamton, in upstate New York, to the city,
for intensive study with guest artists from Spain. Now that I live in
Manhattan, where I’m going to graduate school, I find myself in the
lucky position to train on a regular basis with Magdalena, an instructor
who lives half the year in Seville and the other half in New York.
Magdalena often speaks of the
annual New York Flamenco Festival and how we students should go and absorb
what we can, to be inspired. This year is the first I have had the
opportunity to see the latest and greatest performers direct from Spain.
The festival runs two weekends: February 13 through 15, with three
shows at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts,
and February 19-21 at City Center and Carnegie Hall.
La
Farruca and Farruco
The first show on February 13 was a celebration of music from the
prestigious Bienal de Flamenco de
Sevilla. The mayor of
Seville was on hand to welcome the audience. Among the performers were
singer Arcángel, whose
voice was pure and passionate – a true master of his art; and, Dorantes,
a pianist, who incorporated elements of jazz, classical and world music to
create truly original and innovative compositions – especially
considering that piano is not an instrument typically used in flamenco
performances.
Dance Rosario
Toledo was a little overdramatic, leaning heavily on her modern dance
background, while still honoring the classical style. She was accompanied
by two charming twins who sang and clapped out flamenco’s complicated
rhythms (most are in 12 with accents on different beats depending on the
type of song).
The Isabel Bayón Company performance on February
14 provided a decidedly different atmosphere. The entire 75-minute
program, La Puerta Abierta, (The
Open Door) was completely choreographed – even down to elaborate costume
changes on stage. According to a press release, “Isabel Bayón's career spans more than thirty years and (she) is widely
considered the definitive flamenco dancer. In La Puerta Abierta (The
Open Door) her program captures the essence and soul of
flamenco….”
Bayón emphasized the
movement of arms, shoulders and hands more than footwork, and also wove
modern dance influences into her choreography. Unfortunately, the
presentation came across a bit cold as she seemed somewhat self-indulgent,
at times appearing to bask in the spotlight. Thankfully, one of her
accompanists included guest singer Arcángel, who brought life into the show with his modest and honest
performance. My standing ovation went to him, not to Bayón.
Isabel Bayón
in ''La Puerta Abierta.''
(Luis Castilla photo)
That being said, I completely realize I can only hope some day to
be able to pound out those complicated flamenco rhythms at lightning
speed, while keeping my upper body lithe and catlike. I have great respect
for both Toledo and Bayón and their immense accomplishments as dancers,
but I would much rather watch a show featuring flamenco
puro, or pure, classical flamenco.
And, I’m in luck:
Los Farrucos, known as the first
family of flamenco dance, will bring flamenco
puro to the stage this weekend, February 19-21. Feeling inspired?
Master classes with La Farruca are $50 an hour, and take place March 8-15
at Ballet Hispanico, 167 West 89th Street, New York, New York.
For more information, call 212-362-6710, or go on-line to http://www.ballethispanico.org.
Want to know more about flamenco in
New York? One of the best resources is http://www.meetup.com/NYFlamenco.
To learn more about the Flamenco Festival, go to http://www.worldmusicinstitute.org/flamenco.
Photos: Courtesy Flamenco Festival
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