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A feast of flamenco
Away from the notorious racket of rickshaws, buses and other such contributors to the art of noise pollution in Karachi, one was transported for a short while to the sun-kissed, saffron fields of Andalusia, relaxing to the percussive gypsy folk tunes. The event was a Spanish food and culture festival held at a local hotel, and the ‘Bravo Flamenco’ group entertained guests over a series of four nights while they dined on Spanish delicacies.
The 12-member troupe, led by Juan Antonio De Los Reyes, who has been performing for over 33 years, consisted of six dancers, two singers, one percussionist and three guitarists. They displayed their singing and dancing talents in a three act performance, with each act spanning 45 minutes.
Flamenco is an ancient art form, but its modern manifestation started taking shape in the 14th century, going through its final phase of evolution in the 1800s. It is the music and dance of the Andalusian Gypsies, and, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the roots of flamenco are embedded in Gypsy, Andalusian, Arab and Spanish Jewish folk songs. Some experts have also gone as far as to say that flamenco’s foundations are even more ancient, having their origin in Byzantine and Hindu religious chants. That explains why a little bit of each of these cultures shined through in the performance, particularly when the accompanying female singer started her bit. At times one was confused and wondered whether the woman was singing in Spanish or Arabic. Considering Spain’s Muslim Arab legacy – a presence that lasted close to eight centuries – this confusion was excusable.
Flamenco is an ancient art form, but its modern manifestation started taking shape in the 14th century, going through its final phase of evolution in the 1800s. It is the music and dance of the Andalusian Gypsies, and, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the roots of flamenco are embedded in Gypsy, Andalusian, Arab and Spanish Jewish folk songs
There are three basic components of flamenco: Cante – the song —; Baile – the dance and Guitarra, the guitar playing or music. Adding rhythm to this concoction was a percussionist playing a box-like instrument – upon which the performer sat, which emanated a grating sound. Flamenco is a very dramatic, almost theatrical art form, at times resembling an elaborate courtship ritual. There are two types of flamenco: the grande or ‘grand’, something akin to our classical music, and the chico, or light, which is pretty self-explanatory. The former covers more sober themes such as death, despair or matters of spirituality, while the latter is more interested in celebrating love and gaiety.
As the dinner rush subsided and the performance began, the entire group — singers, dancers and musicians — walked out in their festive, traditional costumes. The men looked elegant in dark trousers and flashy silk shirts, while the women personified western charm in their flowing, colourful dresses. The dancers started stamping their feet for effect, which continued for some time. After a few graceful pirouettes and seemingly constant clapping (a rhythmic aide one assumes), a more sedate instrumental passage followed, which was soon aided by singing.
After a costume change for both ladies and gentlemen (one of many throughout the night) there was more dancing. At this point, one felt that the show could have done with commentary, perhaps between performances, that could have acquainted the audience with what was being sung, or maybe a little history of the art could have been read out. Also, a little more attention should have been paid to the sound engineering, as at times, feedback played an additional instrument.
Up till now, mostly couples had been dancing, but an all-female trio came out in matching red hats to hot-step to the percussive, nylon-string strumming. But the gentlemen were not to be outdone, as a solo male dancer came on stage and created a thundering rhythm with his feet. A whole lot of oles and alles later, a female dancer came out in a stunning floral print dress and danced a jig with a fan. As she danced in consonance with the frenzied rhythm of the guitar, Reyes, the lead dancer, brought out a cane and proceeded to perform with the prop.
At the tail end of the show, the group performed Bamboleo, made famous the world over by those other, more famous exponents of flamenco, the mighty Gypsy Kings of France, along with what sounded like a Ricky Martin song! The lead guitarist also soloed for a bit with a swirling melody, as the remaining two supported by strumming chords.
The stamina of these performers must be applauded as they danced from about 9:30pm till a little past midnight, with only a few 15-minute breaks in between. Perhaps hosts Sheraton should have started dinner, and then gone for a shortened version of the performance, as the fashion in which the event was executed prevented one from concentrating totally on what was happening on stage, as people were milling about around the goodies rather than paying attention to the performance.
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