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Choreography
Eva
Yerbabuena
Music
Paco
Jarana
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Sadler's
Wells
9
- 14 July 2002 |
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Eva Yerbabuena
is described as the 'hottest name in
flamenco', and the title she gives her
programme is "Ballet Flamenco". Her
troupe provide the heat, and she provides
the ballet; with the result that when
her troupe is on stage, the dance is
exciting, passionate, heady, proud and
imperious – exactly what one expects
from flamenco – whereas when she
is on stage, going through a series
of long, slow, self-indulgent, elaborately
arty flamenco-balletic poses, mostly
in contradiction to the traditional
Spanish music being played with dazzling
skill and verve by a small band behind
her, interest quickly evaporates. So,
Eva Yerbabuena herself was a disappointment,
except when she burst into dance proper,
and then she was miraculous; but this
happened almost too infrequently and
too briefly to compensate.
Still,
the extraordinary grace of Eva Yerbabuena's
arm and hand movements were a treat,
and if she were not choreographing herself
something might be made of "ballet flamenco"
after all, not a bad idea given that
flamenco, for all its drama and beauty,
is a single form of dance, and needs
expansion if it is to move into dance
theatre from its natural home –
which is a small courtyard open to the
stars of a warm night, crowded by hand-clapping
spectators around a little space made
for a guitarist and a dancer.
Eva Yerbabuena's
troupe, and the spectacular musicians
and singers lining the back of the stage,
were outstanding – they made the
evening's performance memorable.
AC Grayling |
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