Flamenco Festival

La leyenda

Premier at the Teatro Canovas of Málaga 15th of November 2002 by the Compañía Andaluza de Danza. Premier with the BNE, 22nd of April 2005 at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid.

Of the artists and audiences who frequent today’s theatres, very few actually saw Carmen Amaya in a live performance. Those who did have that privilege define the experience with a single word: “strength”. Her dancing was, in fact, strong, intense, fast, stern. And all of this comes across in the pictures that have gradually forged this myth of Flamenco art, this universal symbol of Spanish temperament: Carmen on stage, arms back and head forward, as if ready to charge; Carmen dressed like a man; Carmen in typical flounced costume, flaunting her bare, incredibly muscular arms; Carmen kicking the train on her dress to heaven on high…

Those who like José Antonio knew her personally outside the clamour of the stage, however, can also attest to the fragility and humanity of this high-strung woman who was barely five feet tall. La Leyenda (“The Legend”) springs from these memories in a modest personal tribute, a piece created by José Antonio with affection and admiration. The proposal harbours no biographic or mimetic intention – Carmen was so utterly unique that any attempt at imitation would be futile -, but simply designs to portray, in images, an allegory of certain moments of her life and art, her strength and frailty, her grandeur and solitude, a dichotomy to which she and only she could be the antithesis.

In this awareness, the choreographer has had to resort to duality, germination, to splitting the woman into two personalities, both opposite and complementary: Carmen, the woman in flesh and blood and Carmen, the immortal artist who ventured from Barcelona’s “tablaos” to the fame of the American stage; only to suddenly and unexpectedly depart, leaving behind the afterglow of her endless train for us to embrace, forever.

Rosalía Gómez

Sevilla - Madrid - Sevilla

CAPRICHOS: Caprichos is a non-narrative work of Flamenco dance, created for the Ballet Nacional de España which is intended exclusively to give a personal and abstract vision of Flamenco.

DUALIA: Our intention with Dualia was to deal with Spanish dance and breath in the youth and freshness of this generation with such a rich repertoire, reflecting ourselves in the colours of Sorolla’s paintings, seeking the complicity of pair dancing, interpreting the sensuality of looks, caresses, kisses, reminding ourselves of the great dancers our country has produced, to try to portray our meaning and feeling through the rasping of the castanets.

CAMBALACHE: Cambalache is a work that invites you to immerse yourself in luminism and move deep into the mixture of peoples. As its name indicates - “Cambalache” means swap or barter - it is a kind of exchange of styles, cultures, and ancestral feelings that in the end shape what we now call Flamenco. This exchange that traveled along the routes of the Mediterranean brings us the aromas, essences, and softness of silk. All part of a magical human circle that unfolds and opens its arms to a multitude of souls.

Dualia

Choreography: Rojas and Rodríguez
Music: José Nieto
Musical Recording: Orquesta de Cámara Andrés Segovia, directed by José de Eusebio
Lighting Design: David Pérez
Costume Design: Rosa García Andújar
Assistant Costume Design: Hugo di Perna
Costume Production: Pipa y Milagros (women), Luis Fernando Dos Santos (batas de cola), González ( men)
Shoes: Arte FyL and Gallardo

World Premier at the Teatro de La Zarzuela of Madrid in 15th of March 2007 by Ballet Nacional de España.

Our intention with Dualia was to deal with Spanish dance and breath in the youth and freshness of this generation with such a rich repertoire, reflecting ourselves in the colours of Sorolla’s paintings, seeking the complicity of pair dancing, interpreting the sensuality of looks, caresses, kisses, reminding ourselves of the great dancers our country has produced, to try to portray our meaning and feeling through the rasping of the castanets.
Thank you José Antonio, we hold your air within, this one is for you, maestro.
Rojas y Rodríguez