Review of Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company, ¡A Compás! Town Hall, New York City.

Friday March 30, 2007. 8:00 pm. Town Hall, New York City.

Dance: Ángel Muñoz, Charo Espino, Ramón Martinez. Guitar: Paco Peña, Paco Arriaga, Rafael Montilla. Cante: Miguel Ortega, Inmaculada Rivero Percussion: Nacho Lopez

What comes to mind when you think of the word “tradition”? I always picture barrel-chested Tevye, who proudly proclaimed to the skies in Fiddler on the Roof, “TRADITION!” There was most definitely a beautiful display of flamenco tradition on stage that night. World-Class Master Flamenco Guitarist Paco Peña started off with an elegant petenera, one of many palos which he performed that are not part of the usual theatre fare.

At another instance in the show, guitarists Paco Arriaga and Rafael Montilla’s skillful fingering complemented his playing, each adapting harmonies, one higher, one lower, all melting into the sound of one guitar. There is a statesman-like quality to Sr. Peña’s playing, clothed in his humble willingness to be the guitar that accompanied the other members of the company as they danced. I could not believe how much stage time he allotted to all his performers, this was a “troupe” in the very noblest sense of the word. Paco has enough confidence in the quality of his own personal “product”, that he understands that audiences will evaluate his mastery without the need to “hog” the stage as others have in the past. Each and every number had a connection to the one before it, and highlighted the skills of the dancers, guitarists and singers in a truly even-handed way.

Now for my favorite part of the show – sorry but I am rather prejudiced when it comes to Ángel Muñoz and Charo Espino, who are husband and wife. They executed an achingly exquisite flamenco “pas de deux”, to the point that I felt as if I was peeking into an intimate moment between lovers. You could tell this was much more than a working gig for this pair – it was an expression of their deep love and regard for one another as dancers, and as life partners. Angel’s hands caressed the air around the curves of Charo’s body, an unseen string connected his hands to her hips, her deep backbend and outstretched arms signaling her submission. Separately, they are masterful performers. Together, they produce an intense slow burn that few contemporary performers either seek to perform, or if attempting to perform, can achieve. Angel was principal dancer for many years with Compañía María Pages, and while touring with her, he only got to dance a fraction of the kind of rare and traditonal flamenco seen this night.

In fact I can’t remember the last time I have seen a pair dance so exquisitely – these days it’s about solo performances or huge stage gatherings, but the simple “man/woman” thing gets short shrift in modern flamenco productions. Kudos to Sr. Peña’s keen understanding that most American theatre-goers are starving for the real deal which he has so graciously provided in this particular production.

New to me, Ramón Martinez danced an alegrías that breathed the heady fragrance of love into the air that lingered momentarily. Its bright and sunny joyfulness conveyed the promise of young manhood; bravado-fueled leaps and hair-tossing turns marked its sentiment. I appreciated his sense of playfulness, the audience responding in kind. Like Antonio el Pipa, he smiled and emoted freely (with no regard for any external judgment.)Unlike Sr. el Pipa, his emotion served as accent to the dance and not as a full-fledged character in the story. Isn’t it wonderful how music and movement combine to form a language spoken worldwide that needs no translation? This dancer is a tremendous talent and another hidden jewel of the male flamenco dance community. After a mind-numbing selection in Jerez, it was so refreshing to see Ramón Martinez blow the audience away with his style

Sr. Peña’s keen understanding that most American theatre-goers are starving for the real deal

The style of the farruca danced by Ángel Muñoz is, by definition, seminal to the question plaguing many dancers: how to marry ballet training with the earthy feel of flamenco without seeming stiff and/or contrived. He is the very characterization of how to portray classical form with a distinctively masculine grace. The farruca is where your technique is laid bare for the entire world to see – the lunges, the turns, the compás.It is astonishing to see how much his feet, arms, even hair are an extension of his thoughts. That is true, unadulterated talent wrapped up in one of the finest performers on the world stage today. This man deserves his own show New York.

In one of the many gorgeously-staged numbers, Sr. Peña and Sra. Espino sat face-to-face, he with guitar, she, armed with castanets. They conversed, his tone was a thoughtful one, she answered sharply and distinctly, the castanets an extension of her arms (again with extensions, it must run in the family!). In the end, she acquiesced and they both agreed. There is a seamless co-existence between Paco Peña and his artists, no matter what is being performed; you instinctively knew they completely understood each other. Flawless.

Charo Espino is a sketch artist’s dream. Imagine, if you will, a blank page where you are asked to define a moving object in not more than six strokes of your pencil. If you use the plumb line of Charo’s back, you can clearly illustrate how a female dancer is supposed to move.

Singers Miguel Ortega and Inmaculada Rivero are two well-matched voices. It is not an easy feat to have different voices blend well, this is a testament to Paco Peña’s ear. Where Mr. Ortega’s voice was powerful in volume and expression, Srta. Rivero’s quiet intensity was demonstrated in the amount of the control it took to transmit a jondo lament: the contrast of explosion versus implosion. Both forces can bring down the foundation of a building.

Towards the end of the show, something only heard on recordings, yet there it was, live on stage.The guitarists turned into blacksmiths, pounding compás on anvils. Neurons [those little electrical impulses in your brain] were firing throughout the entire theatre, especially within the head of yours truly. There’s more – the rest of the men were rapping their knuckles on a table, and the two women in the company were doing palmas. In fact Charo was doing palmas and dancing while sitting down. (Try that sometime, I dare you all!). They coursed through different palos, as if to say, compás is found anywhere and in anything you do, it is as close to you as the air you breathe. It is the heartbeat of flamenco.

This show with it’s simply designed costumes, bare stage, and minimal use of lighting left me gasping for more – they even had an intermission can you believe it? The 8:00 pm show let out sometime before 11:00 pm, and yet still left the audience hungry for more. I was totally enraptured for the entire show, no wandering of mind, no fidgeting, just pure devotion to the elegant offering that was “¡A Compás!”

PACO PEÑA FLAMENCO & CO. PERFORMING AT:

SCHEDULE:

March 30, 2007 – Town Hall – New York, NY
March 31, 2007 – International Artist Series – Miami Beach, FL
April 6, 2007 – Orpheum Theatre – Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA
April 9, 2007 – Edmonton – Edmonton, Alberta – CANADA
April 11, 2007 – Stanford University – Stanford, CA
April 15, 2007 – Montreal, Quebec – CANADA
April 16, 2007 – Quebec City, Quebec – CANADA
April 20, 2007 – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall – Sarasota, FL
April 22, 2007 – Peabody Auditorium – Daytona Beach, FL
April 23, 2007 – Solo Performance – Chihuahua, MEXICO
April 26, 2007 – University of Arizona – Tucson, AZ
April 28, 2007 – Georgia State University – Atlanta, GA TX
April 30, 2007 – One World Theatre – Austin, TX

Check with the venue to see if the show is «Requiem» or «A Compás» as these are different productions.