Calzados Artefyl offers this self-portrait of:

“Flamenco has given me the freedom to be myself”

by Manuel Moraga

The beginning
I was born in Paris. My father went to France as a refugee after the war. My mother was born in France of Spanish parents. They both did flamenco and Spanish dance in Paris, so from very early on I was into flamenco. At the age of 11 we came to Spain and it was here I started taking classes with Mercedes and Albano in the school of La Quica and Frasquillo. It began as a hobby when I was 12. I did Spanish classical, bolero and flamenco. As time went on, I mostly developed a taste for flamenco.

The stage
I was studying then. In summer the opportunity came up to work with Luisillo. I did an audition and joined the group to do the opera “Carmen” in Italy. That was my first stage experience. I liked it alot and started to plan a life around this, although I kept studying. That was also when I had the chance to join the company of the Zarzuela. In the beginning I didn’t only do flamenco, but a little of everything. Flamenco has been mostly over the last decade.

My maestros
The people who most influenced me were dedicated to their work. They taught me to love and respect this art. Later on, what impressed me was the Ballet Antología, a very serious group where everything was well done, very professional, lots of respect. This marked me forever. It was run by Alberto Lorca who inspired me a great deal. And dancers who have also influenced me, Faíco, El Güito and Mario Maya. In the case of Mario, I was in his company for one year, this made a big impression.

Career
My first experience as a flamenco soloist was around 1981 at the tablao Venta del Gato, which was an important place in those days. Afterwards, I made my own group to work at the Casino de Mallorca and that’s where we did only flamenco. It was 1984 and that was my first experience as director and choreographer. In 1987 I put together a large company with the help of Javier Barón and Ciro. That was perhaps the most complete experience. During the time I was with Radio Tarifa I learned a great deal. It was a new experience. That kind of music had always interested me, to such an extent I even made my own group along those lines. “Reencuentros” was presented in the Pradillo in Madrid. I wanted to create a sort of open show without preconceived ideas. Dance wasn’t the most important element but just a part of the group’s machinery, and every night we invited some performer from another genre: an Indian dancer, a folk singer, etc. It was very open. I think things have to be like that in flamenco: everything pre-packaged stops being flamenco. You have to leave things open to spur of the moment.

Choreographer and teacher
That’s another world completely. Choreographing is totally different from dancing. I’ve always been very interested in this. I try not to be a dancer who teaches steps, but a maestro: I try to adapt myself to the person I’m teaching. It’s another direction.

Flamenco singing and guitar
Aside from dancing, I play the guitar and started out playing for dance, which also helped me develop my style. Paco de Lucía was an idol at that time. I actually bought all his records because that was the line I wanted to follow and he was the absolute reference. In cante, I admire Enrique Morente a lot, he seems like a person to respect, in every way, very original. I’d like to dance everything he does. He really communicates something to me, and inspires me.

Mi realidad
Experience is what makes me enjoy myself now on stage more than ever. It makes me rid myself of restraints and I just go out to have a good time, so I try to dance whenever I can. But the hardest thing is to keep it going. My current goal is to keep dancing and keep on with my various projects. Right now I’ve got the idea of a more ambitious production that I hope to carry out.

My dream
My biggest dream is to be able to carry out the ideas I have in my head, and that those shows be long-lasting. After you’re in this for a long time, the nice thing is to be able to do something well-done, serious, something people take as a reference. The problem is, you create choreographies, but it all becomes dispersed. Not enough promotion, not enough resources... I’d like to leave something like what Antonio Gades has done: we always know there’s Bodas de Sangre for example, and that’s a permanent reference. I’d like to say that I’ve done something long-lasting in flamenco and Spanish dance. It’s something we’d all like I suppose.

The chance to create
I started dancing solo very late. Until I was 25 I didn’t dare say “now it’s flamenco”. Up until that time it seemed like something that was too important. Until I felt I had sufficient preparation I didn’t really get into flamenco. And when I got into it I said, “now I’m going to express my own personality”. Flamenco gave me that freedom to be myself. That’s why I chose flamenco as the final objective of my development. The rest was fine, but it was very limiting. Flamenco however gave me the chance to create.

Calzados Artefyl:
Dance shoes from Arte Fyl, art for the Art.
+ info

C/ Duque de Fernán Núñez, 5 CP 28012 Madrid.
Metro “Antón Martín” (frente academia “Amor de Dios”)
Tel/fax 34 91 527 57 13
Web: www.artefyl.com.
Distribuidor EEUU
www.taconesylunares.com

See shoes catalog