“Arena” “Seis coreografías de Israel Galván para el mundo de los toros” Sunday, October 3rd, 2004. 9:00pm Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville   Program XIII Bienal de Arte Flamenco Seville

Daily coverage BIENAL DE FLAMENCO sponsored by:

Text : Estela Zatania
Photos: Manny Rocca

Dance: Israel Galván. Guitar: Alfredo Lagos. Cante: José Anillo. Percusión: Isaac Vigueras. Palmas: “Bobote”, “Eléctrico”. Gaita del Gastor: Mercedes Bernal. Guest artists: Enrique Morente, Diego Carrasco, Miguel Poveda, Diego Amador. Percussion quartet of the OJA. Banda Los Sones.

From the superficial world of Broadway to the “altered states” of Israel Galván – there’s something for everyone, and then some, in this Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla. The libretto of “Arena”, quite a bit longer than this review in fact, contains a sentence that would seem to contradict such length: “A dancer must never think about what he or she is dancing”. So it would seem advisable to ignore the convoluted text and discuss the show itself.

Two undeniable and glaring facts are to be dealt with: the work has to do with bullfighting, and Israel Galván is a genius. Beyond that it all becomes somewhat murky with images and references that defy our capacity to react without analyzing, or in some cases, to forgive the excesses of a prodigious mind.

Galván is the only dancer in the show which is decidedly not short, nor is there any intermission. At the start, when the lights have dimmed and we are all enveloped in darkness and the silence is broken only by the occasional nervous cough, there is a long period before the absence of sensory stimulus is alleviated by the first projected images of Enrique Morente singing, with Israel Galván sitting next to him, presumably viewing a bullfight, an interlude which is repeated between numbers. That opening delay, which is not the result of poor preparation, makes us just uncomfortable enough, and alienates us just enough – it’s not that time stands still but rather becomes deformed like a melting watch painted by Dalí, and this state of altered awareness is cultivated throughout the work.

Risk-taking, bravery and simply being outlandish are what this dancer is about

Israel doesn’t just dance. Israel philosophizes, surprises, confuses, provokes... It would be hard to call what he offers “entertainment” – it’s more like intellectual and spiritual nourishment. Or at least that appears to be the goal, although the results are inconsistent. The dancer likes to interact, even dance with the props. A rocking-chair is his partner for one dance...the object is overturned, loved, feared and assaulted to be become a raging bull, lover, executioner... In another dance a wooden bullfighter’s shelter becomes the immobile partner and apt receiver of the dancer’s head-butts and kicking.

Risk-taking, bravery and simply being outlandish are what this dancer is about, but he doesn’t always pull it off, and some parts are confusing, incoherent or just plain boring. Other things are surprising: alegrías with a classic beginning is repeatedly interrupted by the acrid dissonance of primitive bagpipes of Gastor, an old traditional folk instrument, but somehow it works and no one asks why, just as it should be. A corny dance combo from another age plays pasodoble and Galván dances atop a metallic table with metal appendages on his shoes that make him look like an Iberian Flash Gordon, and this produces the odd sound of metal upon metal. For sevillanas he stands stock still in an odd humped posture listening to the music and not moving but for the occasional sudden outburst.

The nearly total absence of flamenco references, most noticeably compás, becomes tiresome, and the appearance of Diego Carrasco with the non-stop bulerías soundtrack that runs in his head is a relief without which the show would have been excessively cerebral and heavy-going. The recorded sound of thousands of voices shouting “ole!” at a bullfight provides a hypnotic drone and singers José Anillo and Miguel Poveda clear the charged air like aerosol freshener. In addition to the aforementioned guest artists, there are noteworthy appearances by pianist Diego Amador and guitarist Alfredo Lagos.