““Para las seis cuerdas” Cía. Charo Cala Thursday 16th september Teatro Central, Seville     Program XIII Bienal de Arte Flamenco Seville

Daily coverage BIENAL DE FLAMENCO sponsored by:

Dance: Charo Cala, El Junco, Juan Carlos Cardoso. Cante: Juan José Amador, Enrique Soto, Inmaculada Rivero. Guitarra: Salvador Gutiérrez, Fernando María. Percussion: Tete Peña, Roque. Bass: Amadeo. Viola: Tamara Cuerda. Wind: R. Mustelier.

When flamenco fans are still talking about Paco de Lucía’s concert the other night, the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla continues to offer something for everyone. Dancer Charo Cala’s work “Para las seis cuerdas” presented Thursday evening at the Teatro Central, a venue reserved for the most avant-garde or novel shows, is not easily labeled.

Memories, dreams, impressions and a longing for times past

Charo is the daughter of José Cala “El Poeta”, a name which means a great deal to those of the previous generation, and almost nothing to the current one. El Poeta was a prominent guitarist for accompaniment, star of the festivals of the nineteen-seventies and regular guitarist for singer Naranjito de Triana until 1984 when he fell ill, never again to perform in public. “Para las seis cuerdas” is a tribute the daughter offers the father, an act of love which was two years in preparation and establishes a pseudo-biographic format that incorporates theatrical elements such as the off-stage voice of the dancer who narrates with memories, dreams, impressions and a longing for times past.

It is necessary to assimilate this background in order to suspend disbelief and not take notice of Charo Cala’s unexceptional dancing. She is not the star of the show because that role is too outsized for her, nor is the surprising and original dancer El Junco, both alumnae of the company of Cristina Hoyos who was present for the premiere. The star of the night is the work itself which, while not being a great theatrical achievement, does captivate the audience with its sincerity, freshness and a knowledgeable mix of disparate elements such as the transparent suitcases that represent the father’s frequent travels (“the house is full of all sorts of luggage” informs the off-stage voice) containing flamenco dancer dolls and model ships which decorate the habanera danced by Cala.

Flamenco business as usual, but from another perspective.

This is a work based on flamenco, not flamenco shoehorned into a theatrical framework as we see all too often these days with the sole objective of being able to boast of a “world premiere”. Intelligent use is made of silences and evocative images with no concessions to cheap effects, and it all adds up to a kind of dream flamenco. A habanera is sung and danced as tangos with a tropical flavor, Junco’s spectacular soleá gets underway when a suitcase becomes a miniature stage after the dancer tips it over with one foot. Siguiriyas, trillas, tientos, bulerías...flamenco business as usual, but from another perspective.

Artistically the most noteworthy elements are the three fine singers, Juan José Amador, Enrique Soto and Inmaculada Rivero who lend a great deal of credibility to a daring project. For the discreet fiesta ending Charo Cala dares to appear in a colorful polkadot dress wearing a flower in her hair, a folkloric image in the best sense of the phrase, and a look all too infrequent in this day and age of basic black austerity which often communicates little more than icy indifference.

Photo of José Cala:
“Diccionario enciclopédico ilustrado del flamenco”.
José Blas Vega and Manuel Ríos Ruíz

Text: Estela Zatania