Interview with Eva La Yerbabuena. Flamenco Dancer

No one in her family has any relation to flamenco. Her mother, a hairdresser, and her father, a construction worker, had emigrated to Germany in search of work. And there was born their first child, Eva Mar ía Garrido García, ‘Eva Yerbabuena', a name given to her by guitarist Franciso Manuel Díaz in honor of singer Frasquito Yerbabuena.

Today Eva Yerbabuena, holder of the Premio Nacional de Danza for 2001, and voted best flamenco dancer by Spanish critics of “Flamenco Hoy” as well as at Seville's Bienal, is in the midst of a lengthy tour of Spain with her presentation “Eva”, one of the most performed shows in the history of this art form.

Eva, what made you take the decision to dance flamenco in the first place, and not some other type of dance?

I think that's something you start asking yourself after you've already chosen that path. What started out as a hobby ends up being your profession. I gave up everything for flamenco. I remember the day I was going to register to study business administration and my father asked: “Eva, are you going to be able to fit in dancing with your studies?” I answered that if I could only devote myself to dance, that's what I would do, and that I didn't want to give time to anything else…it felt like I had to make up for lost time. My father gave his approval.

“Flamenco must stop being the kid sister of other kinds of music”

How did you manage to find a place in the art having no family tradition in flamenco?

Nowadays there are many people dancing or playing who have no family background in the art. Some people think it's absolutely necessary but not everyone agrees. I've never felt any sort of rejection resulting from my background. And what's more, I'm very proud because it's wonderful to have the respect of people within the art.

It's also true that your work is very serious and respectful.

I've always said that flamenco must stop being the kid sister of other kinds of music. It shouldn't be that way, flamenco is very serious and profound and there's no need to make a block party out of it. From the very beginning it bothered me that this music was considered somewhat vulgar, and I always thought it was a profoundly expressive culture that deserved the highest world recognition.

After so much heated argument between traditionalists and the fusion contingent, what's the current the state of affairs?

Flamenco comes to us already fused. It's a mixture of cultures and musical forms which makes it difficult to contemplate “fusion”. That's a word I detest. There's no “new flamenco”, flamenco has always been flamenco, and it's there for the taking and will always be there. Those of us who make flamenco new, good or bad, are the ones who arrive newly on the scene, the “intruders” as I say.

Why intruders?

Because we're the new generation that came along and each one receives and understands flamenco in his or her own particular way. And when you go up on stage you develop what you've understood, that is what is truly new, not flamenco. When they talk about fusion or “new flamenco”, those are terms I don't understand. If you have something to say, something true and you feel the necessity, it's worthwhile. If it's just something new for the sake of doing what no one has done before, without motivation or need, it cannot endure.

“I want there to be a very clear
distinction between art and showbiz”

What qualities must a dancer have to join your company?

First of all, I have to see that he or she is a good person. I need to see an attitude that translates into a sort of unconditional love for this profession. The most important thing is to see that a person has respect for himself and for the rest of the group, humility. I can't deal with arrogance, it's something I like to keep at a great distance. In my opinion a dancer must have a burning desire to learn, to share, to live from and for this. I want there to be a very clear distinction between art and showbiz.

What do you mean by that?

I mean everything that surrounds the art and never becomes authentic…the spotlight, the fame… I believe that such a person would be incompatible with me. I look for the artist within the individual, and it's not easy, you always look to the future. I don't like a dancer who's completely formed because I like to draw out what's inside, what they can really do and which is hidden.

But that also means that sooner or later that dancer will leave in search of their own direction.

Always. It's the natural order of things. It's not my intention to have someone stay with me forever. Needless to say, they often leave just when they've reached top form, and that always hurts… But somehow, it's the best thing that can happen to you. It's a source of pride in many ways.

Have you ever said to yourself “that's it, I give up”?

Many many times…

And what were the reasons?

Sometimes because of the lack of financial support… In any case, your surroundings are important, the people around you must understand why you do what you do. Some people never understand because no matter how much you explain, they don't get it. There are people who look without seeing and hear without listening. And that's what I have no patience with. I can't stand hypocrisy and injustice. There's something I learned since the very beginning, and that is to have patience. I think it's patience that keeps me going. But yes, there are moments when you just want to give up.

“It's wonderful to have the respect of people within the art”

In what way has flamenco influenced your life?

When I was a little girl I was painfully shy. I suffered terribly when my grandparents would take me anywhere. There was no communication with people, and that's something I missed throughout childhood, I always wanted to be able to lose that shyness because I had no friends, I didn't even talk to anyone. The first time I went to a flamenco show my father took me to the dressing-room to see the performers, and they were all normal people, like me or like my father.

What did you expect?

You always expect show people to be different, and it turned out they were “normal”. When they go up on stage they become someone else, there's a dramatic transformation. And I think at that show, what went through my mind was that I'd found a way to get by without anyone noticing, like when you're small and you dress up for carnival. You lose your shyness because you become someone else. And perhaps it was that possibility to communicate and be someone else, and not Eva, that helped me so much. That moment when you go up on stage, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. At that precise instant you feel completely free, you communicate what you want, say what you feel, even though it's for a brief time. It's the only time I've experienced what it feels like to be truly free.

Maritza Gueler, Editora general de Danzahoy en español

www.danzarevista.com