'Carmen Complex' Toronto, Canada

«CARMEN
COMPLEX»
Friday, October 17th, 8:00 pm,

Premiere Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre Toronto, Canada

Novel reworking of a classic theme

CAST: Carmen Romero, 'Carmen'; Domingo Ortega, 'Don Jose';
Ruben Bustamente, 'Escamillo'; Ryan Boorne, 'Stage Hand';
La Pamela 'Micaela'; Gina Tantalo, 'Fortune Teller'; Gypsy
Women: Katia Marisa, Leona Cortes, Luisa De Ronda. MUSICIANS:
Miguel de la Bastide, 1st Guitarist; Juan Dino Toledo, 2nd
Guitarist; Javier Requena, Vocals/Percussion; Gina Tantalo,
Vocals; Robert Benson, Electric Bass/Percussion; Paul Ormandy
and Ray Dillard, Percussion. CHOREOGRAPHY by Carmen Romero,
Domingo Ortega, Ruben Bustamante, and Ryan Boorne. ORIGINAL
MUSIC composed by Miguel de la Bastide. ADDITIONAL MUSIC by
Rodion Schedrin/Mikhail Pletnev-Carmen Suite

What sets this production apart from so many others which
attempt such diversity is the vision of Carmen Romero, coupled
with the genius of Miguel de la Bastide. Toronto residents
are among North America's finest flamenco dancers and guitarists
– this pair work as a flamenco 'tag-team' tirelessly to push
the envelope.

A seamless, lovely,

haunting and highly visual offering.

De la Bastide's latest CD 'Siento' which he brilliantly
engineered as well as created over a two-year period, lends
many of it's cuts to the production. What is delightful to
this reviewer is how he re-captures the same level of sound
quality onstage in Carmen Complex as he did in the CD. Miguel
is the consummate musician's musician, and 'perfectionist'
would not be an unrealistic evaluation of this young, but
oh-so-accomplished guitarist. These two are distinctly separate
in their talents and yet blend and merge their artistic energies
together in a seamless, lovely, haunting and highly visual
offering.

This is a true showcase of the artists, including the breakaway
dance style of Jerez' Domingo Ortega, as well as the fabulous
cante of Javier Requena and budding cantaora Gina Tantalo.
Carmen Complex also serves to initiate those unfamiliar with
the passion of Flamenco by introducing elements of ballet
and tango to the mix.

A
night of total entertainment,
enchantment, intrigue, and sexy, beautiful dance.

This is easily accomplished by the addition of principal
dancer Ryan Boorne of the National Ballet of Canada and Argentine
tango sensation Ruben Bustamente to the cast. Each brings
to the show their particular skill-set, and all I can saw
is «WOW!» A night of total entertainment, enchantment,
intrigue, and sexy, beautiful dance followed to the delight
of an astonished audience.

So let's talk about these magical cast members.

Gina Tantalo – honey throated chanteuse, with an edgy bluesy
style, had my attention immediately. An absolute angelic face,
with a form so beautiful Goya most certainly would have painted
her – Gina graced the production with cante jondo so stirring
that the 'grito' she moaned so vehemently might well have
issued forth from a wolf who's mate lay dying on a cold Canadian
lansdcape – so profound was her grief in the telling. Went
right to the core of me. And all this in one so young and
still ascending to the perfection of her craft. Wait a few
years from now and you won't be able to touch her – she's
that good!

The combined millennia of
the Iberian
people in that young man's voice.

And what about Javier Requena? A Malagueno still young and
puppy-faced, playful in person, but absolutely diabolical
in his singing. Requena, who often accompanies Domingo Ortega
is a match for any cantaor twice his age.

In fact, you can hear the depth of his experience, the combined
millennia of the Iberian people in that young man's voice.
He sounds at once modern and eternal – his voice resonated
throughout the show. There was no one number where he didn't
excel or impress.

Ryan Boorne was sweet, athletic, and innocent in his portrayal
of Carmen's ardent lover, the 'stage hand'. His ballet moves
complimented and set off Carmen's furious flamenco accents,
coquettish swaying hips, and wild-hearted attitude. A perfect
foil indeed, he carried the audience to rapture with his dance
with a mannequin who sported Carmen's dress.

The wonderfully subtle machismo

of an Argentine tanguero.

Ryan is a young Toronto native who climbed steadily up the
ladder in his craft when in 1992 he joined The National Ballet
of Canada where, to this point, he has over those years of
hard work, achieved the prestigious position of Principal
Dancer awarded in 2001. Lending a 'touch of grace' to the
production, Ryan's beautiful choreography and gentle demeanor,
coupled with undeniable manhood – bring a softness to an otherwise
hard-edged content.

Ruben Bustamente finishes off this stellar array of talent
with ultra-smooth tango moves, attitude, and wonderfully subtle
machismo of an Argentine tanguero. The man is not only one
of the finest tango dancers performing today – his mastery
of the South American Indian 'Boleadoras' mesmerized the audience,
leaving them gasping for breath. This lasso-style percussion
instrument is performed by only a few in North America today,
and if you have the opportunity to see it – I must encourage
you not to miss the experience.

Masterful handling of Carmen Romero the dancer, and 'Carmen'
the seductress, is classic tango posturing. Having learned
tango only recently, Ms. Romero had all she could do to keep
up with him, and she handled herself admirably. During the
tango sequence Gina Tantalo also stepped up to the plate to
sing in the style best known in the small clubs of Buenos
Aires.

So accomplished and yet so
unaffected,
you can't help but wonder if his rhythm,
grace, and fire came to him while in utero.

Now for the juicy part: Domingo! What can I say – this relatively
young leonine-tressed bailaor captivated all whose gaze fell
upon his strong, wide shoulders, his wonderfully poised body,
his intense eyes. Domingo, who traces his roots to Jerez de
la Frontera – the epicenter of Flamenco Puro, he was offered
membership in the Albarizuela Ballet Company where he emerged
over a two-year period as a solo artist. Since then, numerous
national competion awards in Spain, and work with such outstanding
notables as Carmen Cortés have led him to form his
own Companía Domingo Ortega, which has travelled and
performed worldwide. So accomplished and yet so unaffected,
you can't help but wonder if his rhythm, grace, and fire came
to him while in utero – so ingrained into his being is flamenco.
And yes, while not the tallest man in the room, he nevertheless
fills the stage (or any other place he inhabits for that matter)
with his 'presence'… Formidable in accomplishments and yet
approachable, he is one of those rare living contradictions.
And don't forget sexy – which any dancer needs to be. What
a package!

From young flirtacious
coquette, to
sultry siren, to doomed heroine.

And then, there is Carmen… She is the embodiment of the
ancient gypsy woman who not only lives but actually flourishes
in the postmodern 21st century. As hip, poised and intellectual
as any of her contemporaries, Carmen Romero conveys the raw
and earthy moves of any Andalucian gitana – yet carries it
off with delicacy and demure style. She is feminine to the
core – but don't cross her. You can see it in her eyes, centuries
of betrayal, loss, jealousy, grief. It's as if Carmen has
been reincarnated from her forebears to play 'Carmen'.

As the tragic figure in Bizet's piece, she evokes the full
spectrum of those feminine wiles so captivating to a man.
She has such expression at all times in that face – never
once leading the audience to wonder what is on her mind, except
of course, when she's intent on the kind of mischief that
leads to bloodshed.

Miguel de la Bastide (photo: Thom Brewer)

Costume changes notwithstanding, she led the audience through
a series of chameleon-like changes, from young flirtacious
coquette, to sultry siren, to doomed heroine. She carries
us along and at times we hate her for being a cold-hearted
tramp, fear for her when she discovers the foreshadowing of
destruction in the cards, and weep for her as her lover Don
José sings over her stilled body, a life he had once
worshipped and has now extinguished. All along the way, you
as the viewer, were pulled in – voyeurs to this glimpse of
Carmen's existence and ultimate fate.

A culmination of many months
of effort and cooperation which inarguably succeeds.

And speaking of costumes – kudos to New Zealand designer
Michelle Turpin – whose label 'Karamea' is up and coming in
the field of costume design. She managed to transform Ms.
Romero at every scene into someone completely different and
yet at the same time believeable.

As Carmen told me after the opening night performance, this
was a project almost a year in the making – and all her energy
was directed to bringing about it's realization. Not only
the star and choreographer, Carmen was also it's conceptualizer.
This was for all intents and purposes – her baby.

So in closing I want to commend all the people who made this
show a reality, the excellent (and exquisitely beautiful)
local dancers of Toronto and the musicians, (especially nice
to see veteran flamenco fixture Robert Benson of Montreal
again). Their work was a culmination of many months of effort
and cooperation which inarguably succeeds.

So, Miguel, Carmen – I'd say it's time to take this 'baby'
out on the road!!!

Text: Mari Katsigianis in Toronto
Photos (except where noted): James DiDonato