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Flamenco Meets Modern Dance: The Royal Spanish National Ballet Goes Into Overdrive
| Article
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14487 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1988 |
892 Words |
| Author
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Alexandra Tomalonis
Alexandra Tomalonis is the editor of Washington Danceview
magazine and a frequent writer in the area of dance. |
Despite its name, the royal Spanish National Ballet is not really a ballet company, but rather a repository of Spanish dance idioms--flamenco, regional, folk, the eighteenth-century style escuela bolera, and contemporary styles based on traditional Spanish techniques. Spain's classical ballet company, sometimes confusingly called the Spanish National Ballet, has just engaged the celebrated Soviet ballerina Maya Plisetskaya as artistic director.
The Royal Spanish National Ballet Company's artistic director and principal dancer José Antonio has built a repertory of new works, often combining traditional Spanish dance with ballet and modern dance. Like most experiments, the results--as evidenced by the four dances presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., last December--were mixed, but the dancing was so spirited that the company easily could get by on its fire alone.
Flashy Opening
Antonio's premise was stated in the opening work, Ritmos (Rhythms), a showy introduction choreographed by Alberto Lorca to music by José Nieto. Like most contemporary "opening ballets," Ritmos is an abstract work intended to show off the style and power of its cast-in this case a corps of twelve women and ten men, three soloist couples, and a principal pair. What makes this dance different is that, unlike classical ballet displaying all its virtuosity, Ritmos makes use of the simple, repetitive, yet rhythmically varied heelwork of flamenco.
Although Ritmos creates a powerful effect, the blending of its uniquely individual style with classical ballet elements has aroused controversy. Whenever a folk idiom is moved to the stage, compromises are inevitable. But Lorca has been successful in creating a work that gives this Spanish company an identity, and Ritmos is an entertaining piece that presents the company in an attractive way.
José Granero's Alborada del Gracioso, an extended solo for Antonio danced to Maurice Ravel's score of the same name, also derives from flamenco. Virtuoso solos for male dancers are increasingly in evidence these days, and this one allowed Antonio to storm and stomp and turn, alternately suffering agonies and celebrating triumphs. The piece is disturbing, however, not because of Antonio's evident turmoil, but because the motivations behind the dancer's changing emotions are left unclear--and cannot really be explained as simple responses to the moods the music suggests. But this solo admirably showed off Antonio's
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