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“I like to show a pure kind of flamenco on stage”
Text: Sonia Martínez Pariente
Photos: Rafael Manjavacas
“I’m a pure flamenco dancer, and I like to show a pure kind of flamenco on stage” declares Manuela Carrasco with absolute authority when she explains what she was aiming for in her newest show. “Romalí” which debuted last February in Madrid within the Festival Andalucía Flamenca. The Seville dancer, who champions the most orthodox sort of flamenco, says that incorporating Hindu music and dance in this show doesn’t mean it’s fusion: “I’ve never done fusion, and I’m not going to start now” points out Manuela.I just wanted to show that in Hindu music are the origins of flamenco. “We gypsies are from India, that’s where we come from, and they make music we used to do in ancient times”.
The idea for “Romalí” began with a proposal from Maha Akhtar, a dancer specialized in Khatak, who showed Manuela Carrasco the connection between Hindu dance and flamenco. For Manuela, the relationship between the two is clear: “when Maha and I dance siguiriyas together, it’s exactly the same” she says. In addition to this seguiriya in “Romalí”, which in the gypsy language of Caló means “gypsy dance”, you can find bulerías al golpe, soleá por bulería, alegrías and soleá which reflects the journey from the roots of flamenco to the present time. “You see the exodus of the gypsies from Rajasthan. We show the trip out of India until we set up camp, and from there, we continue evolving until we reach modern times.I wanted those roots to be seen and reflected as we go walking. The singers sing trillas with the music beating out by the Hindu musicians. You can see our ways, our customs… no matter how modern we are, that’s never lost, because I can be wearing a fur coat, and if I feel like it, I sit on the ground or take my shoes off, or I’ll wear a hair comb I pick up in the street” , explains the dancer. “I tell my girls they must never lose that because it’s our way of being, and very precious, our way of being and living” she adds.Those are the kind of day-to-day details that inspire Manuela Carrasco when she puts a show together. “I try to imagine how they went through the country, because that’s what we wanted to show, and I see them with those colorful clothes, and it really gets to me, because I say to myself: ‘look, that’s how my grandmother used to go, that’s my father’ and it really inspires me”.
“We gypsies are from India, and they make music we used to do in ancient times”.
Manuela is accompanied by her husband Joaquín Amador in this show, Toromba dances, Samara and Enrique el Extremeño sing, all of them artists who are part of Manuela’s inner circle. “I like to give great artists their chance, because when I leave the stage to change, it has to be strong, my absence shouldn’t be noticed”, she explains.
“Romalí” is the lastest addition to Manuela’s prolific career after shows such as “Un Sorbito de lo Sublime” and “Tronío”. After more than forty years as a dancer, Manuela is right up front working hard when it comes to creating new choreographies and getting up on stage. “I think this is my best moment ever, because when I started out, I was very strong, but I didn’t have the self-confidence or the knowledge I have today. I really think this is my best moment” says the Seville dancer.You have to give her credit, maintaining her own company after so many years, and for her, it’s just a question of different eras. Right now woman heading companies are being very successful. “It goes by turns.When I started long ago, it was mostly women, then there was a time when it was men, and now it seems to be women’s turn again, well let’s hope women are in for a time!” she laughs.
“I think this is my best moment ever, because when I started out, I was very strong but I didn’t have the self-confidence or the knowledge I have today”.
Born into a family of artists, daughter of José Carrasco “El Sordo”, Manuela always knew she would be a dancer. She was self-taught since beginning at the tablao “La Cochera” in Seville at the age of eleven. At 18 Juan de Dios Ramírez called her “The Goddess of flamanco dance”, and in fact her svelte form, her strength and her gypsy appearance made her stand out. Nowadays she is one of the great gypsy dancers, ever faithful to her own personal style. “In dancing, not only the dance is important, it’s also a look, a move of the head, the way you pick up your skirt, the way you raise your arms at just the right moment, how you remain still or move your feet when the time is right.It’s not something I searched for, it was already inside me. I think I know how to do it in the right places. What can I tell you about my strong points? I think my feet are strong, and my arms, because I never forget them. I try never to destructure the line”.
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