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| Volver means return. Williams is originally from NL! |
Last Saturday evening at the Masonic Terrace, St. John's was
treated to a performance of flamenco music and dance that was nothing short of
a transfusion of primal energy.
Forget the lighter, milder versions of flamenco that many of us have
experienced in folkloric cafes, popular with tourists, in Spain. Andrea Williams and Michelle Harding
from Vancouver's Raices y Alas Flamenco dig deep into the authentic and share
with us all the Andalusian roots that have fed Flamenco.
One of the joys of the Saturday performance is that we had a
full serving of all the vibrant components of flamenco: live vocals by Sean Harris (cante),
Manny Companjen on guitar, Anthony Tucker on a beat box (percussion) and
Christina Penney clapping (palmas y baile). The vocals of Harris had that unmistakable heart-felt wail
that carry us from soaring joy to the depths of despair–and that is the
emotional torque so characteristic of true flamenco. That pared-down cry from the heart is an indication of the
Jewish and Arab flavours of flamenco and surely takes us right back to the origins
of song itself. All the other
components fall in percussive and rhythmic place and the dancers inhabit the
music with every cell they possess.
Williams and Harding have a clearly defined vocabulary of
dance gestures and communication flows between them. It is as if they suck the music up through the soles of the
feet and without restraint or convention it percolates through their bodies and
back to the musicians. The word
spontaneous seems more apt than improvisation. Their graceful hands circle and air borne arms undulate as
if recalling the gypsies' spice route of migration from India to
Andalusia. And all the delicious
moments of contrast: a ruffled
skirt goes from sensual to seething, curling lines give way to the jut of an
elbow or flat palm. This is so
much more than the attitude-filled dance moves of a pair of dueling dancers;
this is skill that has become charisma.
From St. John's to Corner Brook, our local dancers who got
to participate in the Flamenco Residency had a rare opportunity to experience
professional classes, one-on-one mentorship and community performances with the
featured dancers of Raice y Alas.
No doubt, "Olé!" could be heard all the way from St. John's to
Gander and Corner Brook.
Watch for the October 21st showing of the flamenco
documentary La Chana (see the link above for the trailer) at the St. John's International Woman's Film Festival,
accompanied by a curtain raiser performance with local flamenco dancer
Christina Penney and musician Sean Harris.
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