Flamenco takes center stage at Plaza De Espana

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.