|
<B>“Entradas,” Carolina Lugo’s Brisas de España Dance Company. Eureka Theatre, San Francisco, July 11-21, 2002</B><P>Carolina Lugo is a continuator of the flamenco traditions established by Lola Montes in the early 1950s, derivative of Spanish courtly dance and the Flamenco popularized in Spain by the dancer La Argentina, with whom the renowned musician, Manuel de Falla, chose to collaborate.<P>The troupe Ms. Lugo has assembled includes herself, her daughter Carolé Acuña, singer and dancer, Roberto Zamora, a corps of three dancers and an apprentice, and guitarists, Daniel Fríes, Sasha Nakra, and Dimitri. As an ensemble, they succeed as ambassadors authentic Spanish dance. The interplay between the musicians and the “jaleo” (clapping time) of the dancers makes for a loose, but warm weave of contrapuntal rhythms, as seamlessly, the dancers wend their steps into the rhythms, building to a sizzling intensity with the guitar crescendos. The program is divided into two parts, where different styles of dances are shown. As each part opens, we are never exactly sure when the performance begins, as the musicians and dancers call to each other, and the guitars start to tune with the clapping, and before we know it, out of the melée comes precision dancing with the jolie-laide face of Ms. Lugo as the company’s divining rod. <P>The younger women dancers have not yet achieved Ms. Lugo’s weathered look, and are appropriately the “majas” for which this dance form is famous. We cannot help but be dazzled by the intensity of their beauty, enriched by the concentration of their attention on each other and the audience as they execute their musical steps. The costumes were given to Ms. Lugo when her mentor, Lola Montes, dissolved her own company.<P>Into the mix of sonorous guitar, jaleo, castanets, and rich vibrato voice textures, are small offerings of balletic choreography: soutenue turns, arabesque, ronds de jambe, sprightly grand jetés, and tour jetés, performed with perhaps less turnout than we are accustomed to seeing in classical ballet, but with a vivid quality that is not always present on the classical stage. All of it works together, showing us how dance and music came from the same divine source before the orchestra was seated below the stage, or presented recorded on tape or CD. Reuniting the dancers with their musicians on the stage has the beneficial impact of making the audience feel that they are in a more intimate relationship with both. Imagine the feeling of this dance in a cabaret or even a café setting, where the audience, musicians and dancers are on a more or less equal plane!<P>See this accomplished troupe—for the history, richness, costumes, high definition dancing and haunting music, as well as for the texture and color of Spanish folklorico. You will leave the theater completely enchanted!<P><BR>[This message has been edited by Toba Singer (edited July 15, 2002).]<p>[This message has been edited by Toba Singer (edited July 15, 2002).]
_________________
"Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation!" Eddie Izzard
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
