Flamenco takes center stage at Plaza De Espana

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): If you think a good Spanish night is a night of tapas and wine, Jorge "Jordi" Reyes will say it's not joyful enough.

For one month, from March 5 to April 5, Jordi Reyes Flamenco Group will entertain patrons of Plaza De Espana Restaurant in Jakarta's Holiday Inn with their street flamenco: men snapping guitars and singing in tenor and women twirling their ruffled skirts, tapping their feet energetically on the wooden floor.

The troupe consists of two guitarist-singers, Reyes and Rubin de la Ana, as well as two female dancers, Sandra Carmona and Mercedes Benitez. All are from the native land of flamenco: Andalucia in southwestern Spain. Reyes, Carmona and Benitez come from Sevilla region, while de la Ana comes from Jerez.

The idea is to re-enact the annual fiesta, called Fiesta Seria de April, where people flock to the streets to dance flamenco. "It is nothing serious. The performance is to bring fun and joy of a fiesta," Reyes said.

With that in mind, they chose some short folk songs and Gypsy Kings' music to accompany the Spanish sensuous folk dances. Reyes, leader of the group, acknowledges that the music of the Gypsy Kings has been criticized as being too soft, thus not real flamenco music. But Reyes defends it, saying that flamenco evolves and changes throughout time.

There is also the practical side. Gypsy Kings are well-known among Jakartans.

For the fiesta night, the dancers will be performing fandangos and alegrias traditional dances.

Fandangos is the dance from Huelva region of Andalucia, southwestern Spain. It is accompanied with five-line songs. The two dancers take turns as the singers sing a different song. Fandangos are common in nightclubs and cafes, where audiences generally expect to hear the playful clicking sounds of castanets.

Alegrias, on the other hand, is a dance from Cadiz, also a region in Andalucia. The name alegrias means happiness, and the rhythm is very joyful and inviting for the audience to join the mood, Reyes said.

However, do not expect a totally fiesta mood. After all, the guests will be riveted to their chairs while the group performs the high-energy, near-trance music and dance on the stage.

An undetached image of a flamenco dancer is her flower-like posture: arms reaching high into the air, stomach and chest pushed forward. The gesture symbolizes the Spanish characteristic of proudness.

"The Spanish are proud people," said Reyes, who came from a flamenco artist family. The 41-year-old further said that proudness can be a good thing, symbolizing one's contentment with their character and activities.

On the other hand, if one's proudness is too strong, it can give the impression the person is selfish. And, for dancers, Reyes admitted it is a challenge to overcome excessive feelings.

Flamenco is also a dance of power. A dancer may be a petite and sweet girl, but once she dances, the audience can see how much power she has, Reyes said.

Indeed, hardly anyone can deny the charm of Carmona and Benitez. The breath-taking part is when they do their own number, for approximately seven minutes. Their piece is intense with fast feet movements, tapping on the hard wooden floor. Soon enough, the dancers' faces are covered with tiny beads of sweat.

Although they are nine years apart, Benitez, 29, and Carmona, 20, have been dancing together in theaters around Europe. They even studied at the same flamenco schools.

Reyes, a big, heavy man with thin sideburns curling to his cheeks, normally plays guitar when he performs with a bigger group. His Berlin-based Triana troupe consists of 34 people, but a big performance of 34 people only takes place twice a year. Carmona, Benitez and de la Ana also belong to Triana.

Traditionally, playing guitar and singing are two separate tasks. However, this time, because the group is touring with only four people, both Reyes and de la Ana play the guitars and sing. Reyes said it is a challenge as very few people do both.

De la Ana is a latecomer in their first visit to Indonesia. He replaced Salvador Carrasco who was sick. De la Ana joined Triana four years ago.

History

Flamenco roots come from different non-Spanish cultures, such as Greek, Arabic, Gypsy and Indian. Flamenco arm and body positions, castanet instruments and hand clapping might have been introduced by the Greeks, who controlled southern Spain by 550 BC.

When the Moors invaded Spain in 711, they also brought Arabic culture. Moslems introduced poetry, song and musical instruments -- drums, flutes and guitar-like instruments.

The Gypsies, who came from India in the eight or ninth centuries, introduced their craze in dance, particularly the arm and hand movements as well as the footwork, common to kathak dance of northern India.

The blend of these elements is, in fact, the origin of the flamenco.

Even in modern times, where flamenco is regarded a Spanish tradition, the non-Spanish have embraced it. Some fascinated Germans learn to dance it. The Japanese have formed a flamenco society. Even the famous flamenco musicians, Gypsy Kings, whose songs Jordi Reyes Flamenco Group play, are originally from France.

Reyes himself never has a problem with the origin of flamenco artists. "Flamenco is a matter of feeling, not nationality," he said.