The third night of the Jerez Festival launched the Los Novismos cycle, presenting two young dancers. The first, María Canea, is hurricane on the stage. She dominates the stage with her prominent presence and strong personality. Her furious footwork and clean, quick turns define her dance, and her overpowering desplante commands respect.

Canea may require some refinement in order to add a touch of elegance to her dance, but with a very solid technique and an unmistakable charm, there is no doubt that with some more professional experience and further encounters with established flamenco dancers, she’ll mature and perfect her style.

Contrasting completely with Canea’s dance was that of the dancer from Jerez Carmen Herrera. Although her arm and hand movements exude elegance, Herrera lacks spontaneity and vigor. With fairly soft footwork and an almost non-existent energetic impulse, Herrera did not hold my interest, although the applause made evident that Jerez feels a fond affection for her.

The second night of the XIV Jerez Festival began at the Sala Compañía with the kick off to the Con Nombre Propio cycle, which debuted this year with the excellent dancer and flamenco teacher from Madrid, La Truco. The daughter of the singer José Truco, presented “Pa mis adentros” a suite of dances that she created at the Madrid tablao Casa Patas and that demonstrates, in her own words, “what it feels like to dance flamenco from the inside.”

Despite being a mature woman, La Truco moves with the quickness, energy and charm of a young dancer. With all of these attributes, it is completely incomprehensible why she would invite the dancer Joaquín Ruiz to share the stage with her on this occasion. Despite having a long career in flamenco dance, Ruiz is a dancer that severely lacks both style and fluidity and who adds absolutely nothing to the show.

 

 

The XIV Jerez Festival began Friday, February 23 with the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía and the company’s third show based on the works of the poet from Granada Federico García Lorca, entitled “Poema del cante jondo en el Café de Chinitas”. This show, directed by José Carlos Plaza and choreographed by Cristina Hoyos was a magnificent super production that spared no expense.

The last I saw of the XVIII Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival before packing my bags and heading for Jerez was the dual show starring the singer from Huelva Arcángel and the pianist from Seville Dorantes.

Arcángel began the evening with a gorgeous concert. With a delicate yet strong and expressive voice, Arcángel is representative of a young style of singing that strictly preserves the flamenco tradition. Maybe it’s because he’s lived them firsthand, but he sang the fandangos de Huelva masterfully.

What also contributed to the success of Arcángel’s concert were the artists with whom he surrounded himself: the guitarist Miguel Ángel Cortés flaunted his talent with a solo that was heavily applauded by the public, and the brothers, possibly twins, Antonio and Manuel Saavedra, responsible for choruses and palmas...

When Mayte Martin’s concert ended on the second night of the XVIII Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival, the Flamenco Calle de Alcalá 2010 Award was presented to the maestro guitarist Enrique de Melchor, whose concert ended the evening.

The son of Melchor de Marchena brought with him a large group of artists. Among those who shared the stage with Melchor, the most impressive were the excellent flamenco flutist Juan Parrilla and singer Chato de Vélez. I’d seen Juan Parrilla on several other occasions and admired his talent for a long time, but Vélez was a discovery. With a clear and strong voice, he soon won me over, becoming in a single night one of my favorite backing singers...

On the 16th of February, the Catalan singer Mayte Martin opened the second night of the Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival accompanied by guitarist Juan Ramón Caro. The magnificent flamenco singer was even more affable than usual, joking with the audience and creating a welcoming, cozy environment, even though the concert took place in the enormous Circo Price Theatre in Madrid, which is in actuality a circus ring.

Shortly after taking the stage, an audience member shouted effusively “¡Guapa!” (Beautiful), to which Martin responded, “You’re not half bad either.” After singing several numbers, another spectator yelled “You sing better every day.” And Martin quipped, “She said it, but I know you were all thinking it.” They were both probably right. Martin presented an almost impeccable concert. Only when she began to sing a garrotín did she have to stop a few seconds so that the guitarist could adjust the key, and despite the rocky start, the garrotín was one of the evening’s most evocative pieces...