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The third night of the Jerez Festival launched the Los Novismos cycle, presenting two young dancers. The first, María Canea, is hurricane on the stage. She dominates the stage with her prominent presence and strong personality. Her furious footwork and clean, quick turns define her dance, and her overpowering desplante commands respect.
Canea may require some refinement in order to add a touch of elegance to her dance, but with a very solid technique and an unmistakable charm, there is no doubt that with some more professional experience and further encounters with established flamenco dancers, she’ll mature and perfect her style.
Contrasting completely with Canea’s dance was that of the dancer from Jerez Carmen Herrera. Although her arm and hand movements exude elegance, Herrera lacks spontaneity and vigor. With fairly soft footwork and an almost non-existent energetic impulse, Herrera did not hold my interest, although the applause made evident that Jerez feels a fond affection for her.
The second night of the XIV Jerez Festival began at the Sala Compañía with the kick off to the Con Nombre Propio cycle, which debuted this year with the excellent dancer and flamenco teacher from Madrid, La Truco. The daughter of the singer José Truco, presented “Pa mis adentros” a suite of dances that she created at the Madrid tablao Casa Patas and that demonstrates, in her own words, “what it feels like to dance flamenco from the inside.”
Despite being a mature woman, La Truco moves with the quickness, energy and charm of a young dancer. With all of these attributes, it is completely incomprehensible why she would invite the dancer Joaquín Ruiz to share the stage with her on this occasion. Despite having a long career in flamenco dance, Ruiz is a dancer that severely lacks both style and fluidity and who adds absolutely nothing to the show.
The last I saw of the XVIII Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival before packing my bags and heading for Jerez was the dual show starring the singer from Huelva Arcángel and the pianist from Seville Dorantes.
Arcángel began the evening with a gorgeous concert. With a delicate yet strong and expressive voice, Arcángel is representative of a young style of singing that strictly preserves the flamenco tradition. Maybe it’s because he’s lived them firsthand, but he sang the fandangos de Huelva masterfully.
What also contributed to the success of Arcángel’s concert were the artists with whom he surrounded himself: the guitarist Miguel Ángel Cortés flaunted his talent with a solo that was heavily applauded by the public, and the brothers, possibly twins, Antonio and Manuel Saavedra, responsible for choruses and palmas...
The XIV Jerez Festival begins tomorrow, and La Vaca Lola will be covering the event for FlamencoExport. To see the festival program visit the fest’s Web site, and if you can’t swing by Jerez, follow the festival here with us.
In the meantime, enjoy Flamenco.TV’s video coverage of the XIII Jerez Festival. Click on the artist’s name to see the corresponding video:
Juan Diego & María José Franco
Aida Gómez & Juan Antonio Suárez “Cano”
Anabel Rosado, Macarena de Jerez & Gerardo Núñez
And more...