XV BIENAL DE FLAMENCO DE SEVILLA. DESCOMPASADOS – 30 DECIBELIOS

XV BIENAL DE FLAMENCO DE SEVILLA

Text: Gonzalo Montaño Peña
Photos: © Archivo Bienal de Flamenco, Luis Castilla

The Alameda theater, in the very flamenco area of Alameda de Hércules, was sold out for a double bill that included the Danza Mobile company and La Niña de los Cupones.  Two distinctly different kinds of show, both based on interpreters with specific physical difficulties.

“Descompasaos” was the title of the work by Danza Mobile in which two flamenco dancers, and one classical were at the center of a story in which the main character is a girl with Down’s syndrome.  The girl seeks to find her identity, and between acts the dancers do footwork and allude to the name of the show.  There are also other youngsters with Down’s syndrome who interpret contemporary dance. But without a doubt, the best part of the show is the alegrías dance in which the girl gives all her strength and desire to communicate.  When something is felt, it’s felt, that’s all there is to it, and the audience was greatly moved.

The burning question is not whether people with this disability can be at the center of a flamenco show, because they can be just as flamenco as anyone else, this should not raise eyebrows.  However, the point is to do quality flamenco, no matter who is the interpreter, let’s not get our signals crossed.

The second part of the show was called “30 Decibelios”, a reference to the sound barrier suffered by the star of the work, who can only detect sounds above that level.  The dancer is María Ángeles, although she is known as La Niña de los Cupones, “the lottery-seller”, because that’s what she does in Seville.

An original touch is her use of hand signals when she dances.  She came accompanied by another dancer, Paki del Río, who radiated stregth with every movement, a little too much actually, even to the point of looking a bit like Concha Vargas.

A short repertoire, but enough to present the idea without it becoming tiresome.  The dress she wore to dance romeras sported the motif of the ONCE organization that supports people with physical defects, and one boy called “El Bola” sang bulerías with references to lottery numbers, causing the audience to stand up in approving admiration.  This may not have been the best show of the Bienal, but it had a certain amount of good humor, flamenconess and uniqueness, as far as the expressive language used by the dancer, making it all worthwhile.