16th FESTIVAL DE JEREZ |
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Text: Estela Zatania LUCÍA ÁLVAREZ ‘LA PIÑONA’ “Un granito de arena” Video Dance and choreography: Lucía Álvarez “La Piñona”. Cante: Moi de Morón, Trini de la Isla, Niño de Elche. Guitar: Miguel Pérez. Percussion: Jorge Pérez. Guest artist: Angelita Montoya. I know I must be in the Sala la Compañía of Jerez de la Frotnera when I can barely see the dancers because of the insufficient lighting. Having said that, and aside from some serious sound problems, the show “Un Granito de Arena” of Lucía Álvarez “La Piñona” is a dignified professional work, with some fine moments. In fact, the hour and a half it lasted was perhaps the most negative point.
The first prize in dance from La Unión which this dancer holds, is not necessarily a guarantee of quality, but it does indicate a person anxious to succeed in this difficult world of flamenco, and someone who isn’t afraid of hard work and sacrifice. La Piñona’s dancing is strong, clean and decisive. All too often young dancers overload their choreographies with endless steps learned from their maestros…in other fields it’s known as being “over-qualified”. But the intelligence and good taste of this woman from Cádiz serve her well in a series of dances that includes a traditional caña, a stylized siguiriya that starts out “CC”, contemporary conceptual, and an excessively long soleá with vintage ending in which the singers belt out “Libre Como el Aire”, 1975 version. The most noteworthy number, the one that was full of life and spontaneity, was the tangos, with the delightful surprise of Angelita Montoya from the famous Montoya family, who sang and danced with a direct line to the flavor of her own true-life experiences. Also worthy of mention is the guitar-playing of Miguel Pérez who ably manages alternative tunings, and some ambitious arrangements of cante…overlapping voices, exotic harmonies, etc. The round Caracol-sounding voice of “Trini de la Isla” and the dense texture of Moi de Morón’s singing made it all possible. Wearing a short bolero jacket and trousers, she came on stage to dance alegrías, again evoking her artistic point of reference. This dance went on for more than twenty minutes. Karime’s polished technique and great sense of rhythm allow her to toy with the tempos giving an impressive sense of being in control. Noteworthy was the singing of Rubio de Pruna who is a wonderful reference point, making everything easier for the dancer. Between dances, and perhaps a negative point, were the instrumental interludes that occasionally caused the show to lose its pace. CARMEN LINARES “Ensayo Flamenco 2012” Video Voice and music director: Carmen Linares. Guitar: Salvador Gutiérrez, Eduardo Pacheco. Piano: Pablo Suárez. Percussion: Antonio Coronel. Guest artist: Belén Maya. It’s said that Enrique Morente was the first singer to omit the names of the flamenco forms he recorded, preferring instead to treat the pieces as independent songs. One of his greatest followers is Carmen Linares who applied the same philosophy for this recital.
The idea behind the work is to represent verses of poets Miguel Hernández, Lorca, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Rafael Alberti, José Luis Ortiz Nuevo and José Ángel Valente as applied to flamenco-tinged songs. This isn’t the kind of music which in earlier times, according to some reports, made listeners jump out of windows or pull off their warts. In fact, only about ten percent, if such things can even be quantified, could rightly be called “cante”. Most of the songs are, judging from the program, original compositions of Carmen Linares. If you paid close attention you could detect some tonás, a malagueña de la Trini, a fandango de Albayzín, rondeña, compás of fandangos de Huelva and alegrías, or bits and pieces of Lorca among other flamenco references, but the global effect is that of a recital of lyrical and folkloric songs, and there’s very little for a flamenco-lover to latch on to. Justifying this show’s inclusion in a flamenco-dance festival, Belén Maya interpreted two pieces, albeit in her most avant-garde line. Generally speaking, “Ensayo Flamenco 2012” is far more cerebral than spontaneous. Carmen ended a capella with her version of the Andalucía anthem, reminding us that Tuesday the 28th is this region’s traditional day. Round about midnight at the Peña el Pescaero, Jerez singer Eva Rubichi offered a cante recital supported by her regular group.
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The title “ensayo”, which means “rehearsal” would seem to indicate something informal, half-invented on the spur of the moment. But “Ensayo Flamenco 2012” as this work is called, is anything but that. In fact, it is a presentation that is meticulously constructed note by note by the chanteuse, diva and señora from Jaén.
