Sanjoy Roy

writing on dance

  • HOME
  • Step by Step Guides
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Resources
  • Etc
  •  
  • FAQ
  • Me
  • Events
  • Blog
    • You
  •  
You are here: Home → Reviews → Paco Peña: Flamencura
  • share  
  • tweet  
  • share 
  • e-mail 
By: Sanjoy Roy · Published: The Guardian 24 June 2015 · Category: Reviews · Place: London, Sadler’s Wells Theatre · See original at The Guardian

Paco Peña: Flamencura

A transfixing glimpse into flamenco's unsettled soul

In many ways, Paco Peña’s show Flamencura is typical of staged flamenco: a musical ensemble of voice, guitar and percussion, three dancers in mostly solo turns, a miscellany of scenes that showcase styles and moods. But instead of commonplaces and cliches – fireworks, passion, swagger – Peña’s dance company offers something altogether more artful: technical command and a glimpse into flamenco’s unsettled soul.

a metaphor, surely, for the caged spirit

You sense that most readily in the wailing lines of singers José Angel Carmona and Inmaculada Rivero, their voices straining against the melody yet hemmed in by strict rhythmic clapping that surrounds them – a metaphor, surely, for the caged spirit. You also sense it in the astringent guitar harmonies, in the runs of notes that keep being tugged down by descending chords. And you sense it in the dancers. Carmen “La Talegona” Rivas moves as if the very space around her were an adversary, to be considered, challenged, withdrawn from or circumvented. Charo Espino sways her hips provocatively, arms and spine undulating like serpents while she herself remains elusive, forever spiralling away from the audience. Angel Muñoz holds his arms and shoulders with steadfast composure, a foil against the gunfire rhythms of his heels, hammering the floor.

Rather than show themselves off, these performers show us their art – and in doing so, connect us emotionally with a Gypsy history marked by dislocation, suppression and resilience. So it was a genuinely inspired idea for Peña to try connecting flamenco with a similarly culturally embedded art form by bringing in jazz/blues singer Vimala Rowe as a guest vocalist for one scene. Choreographically this martinete number is spellbinding, and its theme – the bodies of people subjugated by the rhythms of labour – forms a perfect nexus between the flamenco tradition and the African American one. Shame it doesn’t quite come off: it remains an encounter between forms rather than a meeting of souls.

Angel Muñoz and Carmen "La Talegona" Rivas in Paco Peña's Flamencura

Angel Muñoz and Carmen “La Talegona” Rivas in Paco Peña’s Flamencura. Photo: Jeremy Toth.

  • share  
  • tweet  
  • share 
  • e-mail 

Related articles

  • Paco Peña: A Compás
  • A low-key but spellbinding evening based on rhythm

  • Paco Peña: Voces y Ecos
  • Paco Peña’s is open to diversity but stays to true to his soul

  • Paco Peña: Patrias
  • Captivating flamenco music and dance bogged down by poetry and drama, in Paco Peña’s tribute to Federico García Lorca

← Previous: Motionhouse: Broken Next: Dance writing workshop at Siobhan Davies Dance →

You like

  • Stage to page: a guide to dance reviewing and writing 2 December 2015
  • Expanding horizons: on the metaphor of travel 1 March 1999
  • Profile: Siobhan Davies 1 September 2003
  • Zero Degrees: nothing is singular 30 September 2005
  • Signs and wonders: The Nutcracker 30 March 1995

I like

  • Sadhana Dance: Under My Skin
    12 December 2013
  • Storyboard P / Story Basquiat
    20 May 2013
  • Rosemary Butcher: Choreography, Collisions and Collaborations
    1 April 2006
  • The shape shifter: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
    2 November 2013
  • Akram Khan Company: iTMOi
    3 June 2013

Recently published

  • Polyphony, playing and politics: the many voices of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
    6 December 2018
  • Belén Bouzas, Diego M. Buceta, Fran Martínez: ‘No hay que ser una casa para tener fantasmas’
    6 December 2018
  • Eduardo Zúñigo: At Last
    6 December 2018
  • Kicking and screaming: how dance became cinema’s biggest boogieman
    22 November 2018
  • Shobana Jeyasingh: Contagion
    22 October 2018

 

  • Home
  • Privacy policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact

Dance writing: links

  • Guardian dance
  • Springback magazine
  • Performance Monkey
  • Deborah Jowitt
  • dancetabs.com

Random fandom

  • Aretha Franklin
  • Guy Maddin
  • Joni Mitchell
  • Maurice Ravel
  • Slayage
  • The Spirit of the Beehive
  • Whedonesque
 

© Copyright 2013–2018 by Sanjoy Roy · All rights reserved · Site design by Sanjoy Roy

Cancel

  • Home
  • Writing
    ►
    • Step by Step Guides
    • Reviews
    • Articles
    • Books
    • Resources
    • Etc
  • Info
    ►
    • FAQ
    • Me
    • You
    • Events
    • Blog
    • Subscribe
  • Follow
    ►
    • Facebook
    • Twitter