Interview witt Mercedes Ruiz.

c/ Gran Via, 66 Teatro Gran Vía de Madrid.

A lovely Friday morning in April, the Jerez sun is reminding us that summer is about to get under way, and the air is charged with possibilities.  Over at the fairgrounds, they’re putting the final touches on the ‘casetas’ and at a dance studio in the heart of the San Miguel district of Jerez I have an appointment with two young artists.  Barely twelve hours earlier guitarist Santiago Lara presented his new recording in Seville with the collaboration of dancer Mercedes Ruiz.  In just a few more hours the couple will catch a flight to Russia where they will teach and perform.  After a few days they return to debut at Madrid’s Teatro Gran Vía where Mercedes and her group, with Santiago as guest artist, will be featured for 6 days running.  It’s what you might call a sweet moment for this young couple who are beginning to see the fruit of many years of preparation and sacrifice.  We’ve come to speak to Mercedes about her projects and to learn about the show she’ll be presenting in Madrid.

How’d it go last night in Seville?
Fine, really well…it was Santiago’s recital, his record, I did one number, but it was the live performance of the record.

Mercedes Ruíz

Mercedes, in retrospect, what importance, if any, have the prizes from Córdoba and the Bienal de Sevilla had for you?
A lot…they really helped me a lot. The Córdoba one was first, it’s not that it was less important, but the Bienal I think was the one that had the greatest repercussion.  Winning at Córdoba was a great motivation, because at that time it was a little difficult, no support was available, you either joined a company, or made a go of it alone, and alone, it was very hard. So it was a huge personal motivation for me, and then the Bienal prize was the one that…not exactly made my career, but it really helped a great deal.  Ever since then my career has moved steadily forward, little by little, but with a firm step.

Is there a Jerez school of dance, a style?
That’s a tough question…  I think there might be a certain air, like for bulerías, you know what I mean?  But a Jerez school of dance as such, I don’t think exists…I don’t know.  Ana Parrilla, when she would dance you could tell she was from Jerez, it’s a certain feeling in how you interpret the forms, but I don’t think there’s anything for example like the “Seville school”, with a specific placement, or guidelines.

Like many other young artists in Jerez, you often mention the help you got from Manuel Morao…how did he influence your beginnings?
Oh, for me Manuel was, wow, the foundation, when I was a little girl, I think he was the most important thing in my career, because I’m not gypsy, and I’m not from a flamenco family, but I grew up with them, so it was something I received unconsciously, because I was able to hear good cante, there was Moneo, el Torta, Tío Juane, María Soleá, I mean hearing people like that, unconsciously, even without trying, I was listening all the time, and I was a part of it.  So he gave me a very solid base that enriched everything I do.  If I hadn’t gone through that, I’d be a different dancer today.  He didn’t teach dancing obviously, but I watched and learned.  The show was in two parts, we’d come on and each do our little bulerías dance, we were just children, but the whole first part I would sit there doing palmas, and all the while soaking it up.  Guest artists would pass through the company, I remember Sara Baras when she began, and I saw Ana Parrilla at the height of her career…El Grilo…  There was lots of art, and I got to be there, taking it all in…

“We’re all looking forward to the debut, to get on that stage…we’re very excited about it”

You use the bata de cola a great deal…
Yes, I use it a lot, although it’s true women are using it more these days, there was a period when it had nearly died out, but now I think there are many dancers who want to revive it.  I think it’s very important for a woman to know how to use it, because whether you like it or not, if you don’t want to use it, fine, but I think all dancers have to make it their business to become familiar with it, and if you like it, defend it and learn the technique well.

What about shawls, castanets and fans?
In the show “Juncá” I use a shawl.  I’m just beginning to explore the possibilities of the fan, because it caught my attention.  Sometimes you feel like one thing, and then something else appeals to you, and right now I’m very interested in both fans and castanets.  I used to only be interested in the bata de cola.  But now I’m discovering what you can do with a fan, I’m no expert, only beginning to work out a vocabulary.

What are your feelings about works that have a script…do you like there to be a story line, or do you prefer straight dance?
At this point in time, I don’t feel like doing anything with a story, but that doesn’t mean that in two or three years I might not change my mind.  For now, I just want to dance, covering as many different forms as possible.  A professional has to have knowledge, be able to dance ‘siguiriyas’ but know when it’s ‘serranas’, I think this is very important.  Before getting involved in story-telling, I want to expand my repertoire.

So the title of the show you’ll be doing in Madrid is “Mercedes Ruiz”, nothing else…
Well, the show we’re taking to Madrid is “Juncá”, the thing is Santiago is guest artist, which changes the dynamic somewhat, because he’ll be playing solo, and there are also a man and woman dancers, which is another modification, but it’s basically “Juncá”, which hasn’t been presented in Madrid.

How does a dancer unknown in Madrid have a run of 6 days, that’s a big responsibility, isn’t it?
But I’m really looking forward to it, six days and two performances on Saturday, I don’t know how we’re going to do it, we’ll see…  But everyone in the group is very excited, the singers, everyone, and it’s the challenge that keeps me going.  No one knows me in Madrid, I’ve never danced there in any of the regular programs, Caja Madrid, Flamenco Pa’Tos…everyone’s been through Madrid except me, but precisely for this reason, I’m all the more anxious to do it.

What with Sara Baras, Eva Yerbabuena, María Pagés and others, do you believe there’s room for another star of female flamenco dance?
Of course, why not?!  Like we say in Spanish, “the guide to taste is full of blank pages”, and thanks to that we have so many artists these days, it’s the diversity…

This seems to be the age of women dancers…
That’s quite true, and I think it’s great!

Because if you try to name men…
New ones, the fact is, there’s no one.  Before the fashion was male dancers, and now it’s women’s turn.

What else can you tell us about the show?
Well, there are numbers dedicated to Jerez and the artists Jerez has given the world.  The bulería is dedicated to Paquera, the martinete reflects my beginnings, Tío Juane, the time I was with Manuel Morao you might say, that’s the strong point of the show.  We also do malagueña to honor Chacón and Manuel Torre, and a fandango del Gloria also, the way Paquera used to do it, and then the guest artist, Santiago Lara, who plays zapateado, which brings us good luck, it’s the number with which I won in Córdoba, so it’s like a good luck charm.  Then, there’s a number dedicated to Lola Flores, which for me personally is very important, and then we end with soleá, which is dedicated to Jerez in general, the place that gave me flamenco in the first place.

Santiago Lara / Mercedes Ruíz

Who’s in the company?
Well, there are three singers, Jesús Méndez, David Palomar and Londro, Santiago Lara on guitar, naturally, and Javier Ibáñez, Perico Navarro on percussion and the two dancers, Antonio Ramírez and Vanesa Reyes…with another woman in the group, it’s a different focus.  We’re all looking forward to the debut on May 6th, to get on that stage…we’re very excited about it.  You never know what’s going to happen, things might not gel, but I’m dying to get started.

Will you be going to the Jerez fair?
I won’t be able to, this afternoon we’re on our way to Russia, so it’s impossible, but I love the fair.

What will you be doing in Russia?
First I give a 5-day course, then the show, two days, with a reduced format, a singer, Santiago and the percussion, because we’re only doing one number, the cantiñas you saw at the Villamarta theater; it’s nice sometimes to dance without so many people, there’s more room for improvisation. In Russia it’s incredible how they accept flamenco, I’ve been twice before, it’s something you can’t even imagine…we were there in November with another show of mine, and the theater was packed, over a thousand people, it’s something you don’t expect!

What does Jerez mean to you?
I’m very happy to have been born here, really, Jerez for me is a very important place, I feel good here, I love the aromas, the streets, I like everything in Jerez, and it’s one of the most fundamental pillars of flamenco.