Antonio Gades Company. 50 años de la danza española

GADES RIDES AGAIN…

bY Manuel Moraga
photos : Rafael Manjavacas

Emotion. That was the star of the evening. On stage, his
maestra, some of his disciples, his friends and his work. In the
audience, family, more friends, admirers and colleagues. The Teatro
de la Zarzuela filled up to pay tribute to one of the greats of
flamenco dance. Hovering in the air, between the stage and the audience,
was the spirit of Antonio Gades.

Adrián Galia & Company Antonio Gades

In the introduction Tedy Bautista, president of Spain’s Society
of Authors (SGAE), the entity which sponsored the event, explained
that the debt to Gades was to have been settled during his lifetime,
and that’s how it had been planned. However, the choreographer’s
illness progressed more rapidly than expected, but all things come
to pass. A year after the dancer’s passing, the foundation
he created has published the first book about his life and work.
A month and a half after the book, we have the official presentation
of the company which bears his name.

Gades’ strong personality was no obstacle to enjoying his
creations posthumously. Quite the contrary. Antonio insisted on
following his philosophy to the T: “In this company we’re
all necessary, but no one is indispensable” he used to say.
Not even the maestro himself. “Gades’ creations are
like the works of Bach, there’s no room for improvisation,
said Faustino Núñez, president of the Antonio Gades
Foundation and director of the company. As happens with classics,
the work transcends its author.

Click on photos to enlarge

Before she uttered a word, Pilar López was received with
a long emotional ovation. She spoke some words directly to the person
she’s always considered like a son, and said her goodbye with
a peaceful “see you soon”. Pilar López was the
medium who invoked the spirit of Gades who minutes later would materialize
with scenes from “Carmen”, “Bodas de sangre”
and “Fuenteovejuna”.

For all practical purposes the Antonio Gades Company left no doubt
that the spiritual leader’s work is alive, and more importantly,
continues to be current. Few artists have managed to squeeze so
much dramatic potential out of choreographies as Antonio. Among
his many virtues, Gades had the satisfaction of appealing to a wide
variety of audiences, from the most uninitiated to the most demanding:
he made the complex seem simple, and the simple profound.

There was all the wardrobe, the stage sets and Antonio Gades’
choreography. And at the lead, a priceless Stella Arauzo. Priceless
because of her dancing and her interpretation, and priceless because
of her teaching which was fundamental to the company’s know-how,
the transmission of a style, of a modus operandi, of the philosophy
of each character and the associated movements, in other words,
the reconstruction of Gades’ spirit. After so many years alongside
the maestro, Stella last night lived one of the most emotionally-charged
moments of her life. With the audience standing, Stella Arauzo turned
to her fellow-dancers to applaud them emotionally, thereby showing
another of her virtues: humility.

Adrian Galía with Stella Arauzo

Adrián Galia did a dignified job with the tremendous responsibility
of being “Don José” in “Carmen”.
Galia had no need to demonstrate he’s a great dancer (something
we’ve all known for a long time), but he had to dance Gades:
that was the challenge. And up there on stage we could pick out
unforgettable images of the maestro.

Manolete, Sara Baras, Paco Ibáñez and a splendid
Aída Gómez were the four guest artists for this moving
tribute to Antonio Gades in which one of the maestro’s chief
merits was obvious: hard work as the fundamental tool of creativity.
Gades didn’t consider himself an artist, but a cultural worker.
That is why he struggled so that his work would not disappear with
his physical being. Although the company has been dancing for some
time (they just returned from Italy a few days ago), last night
can be considered the official presentation. The lengthy standing
ovation showed that like El Cid, Gades conquers even after death.

Libro de fotografías de Antonio Gades	Pack Saura 3 DVD