‘Si el viento no te muerde…’ (If the wind does not bite…)
Reworking the deepest roots of Flamenco traditions, Estévez/ Paños & Company, challenge themselves and their audiences with fresh interpretations of a myriad of styles in ‘La Confluencia’. Harping back to the original roots of some of the dance forms, be they Black, Gypsy, Jewish, Moorish or Caucasian, they hold it together with carefully structured cameos, never losing the feel of the Andalusian earth it comes from.
In a stark, minimalist set of sombre blacks and carefully directed spot-lights, the drama unfolds with a group of five male dancers who, primarily, express the anguished soul of Andalucía through movement and sound, tapping into the world of Federico García Lorca.
This is a work where the sound is key. Forget castanets, here, it is in the power of the footwork. There is no intermission for the sounds never really stop. The wonderful sharp clarity of Claudio Villanueva’s flamenco guitar rings around the auditorium, so clearly it seems to be played beside you. Similarly, the cantaor, Francisco Blanco, with one of the best voices I have heard in years, sang with astonishing intimacy despite the location, with power and a wealth of nuances.
As a result, it is the sound of this work that you first notice. It envelops the audience and carries them along. The excellent percussionist Iván Mellen, truly understands the essence behind the weight of the beat, which is often missing. This emphasizes the depth of the movements and grounds the vibrations of the rhythmic footwork of the dancers that are always present, however minimally. Like a constant heartbeat, it expresses life and death in its feel. This is a background of sound inside which the dancers can weave their magic.
I picked up references to many sources. One sequence in particular had a strong element that I understood as a form of a danced Pietá, with a lifeless person being cradled as if dying, waiting for resurrection, while another figure stands, draped as with a shroud, and appears to be waiting, like Saint Sebastian, to be pierced by arrows. Other sequences have echoes of the dangers of bullfights, always reminding us of the closeness of death with Ansia sin cesar ( an anguish that does not cease)
The troupe display a high standard of technique and skill. To watch five men dancing in unison is impressive. There is eroticism, sometimes funny, and then, anger, in the movements, expressed with clenched fists, as the dancers challenge and provoke. At times, they appear to be freely improvising, when, suddenly, on a beat, they are instantly joined as one. This is not random, but highly choregraphed in every detail.
Both leads, Estévez and Paños stand out. Rafael Estévez, despite his rotund appearance, is totally charismatic on stage. There is something special in seeing men dance that I personally, find mesmerizing. In effect, one of the highlights of the show, is a solo by Estévez to hypnotic beats from the musicians, with which he dialogues with his own footwork and movements.
Rafael Estévez
Rafael Estévez (Huelva 1979) started to dance as a toddler of 3. Self- taught, he still managed to become a disciple of Carlos Roble, Manolo Martin and Merche Esmeralda. Later, he worked with Rafael ‘El Negro; Javier Cruz, Eva Yerbabuena, Ciro and La China to mention a few. He then progressed to directing and choregraphing shows for artists that include Amador Rojas and Fuentesanta La Moneta. He even shared the stage with the corps de ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow!
Since 2003, Estévez has worked closely with Valeriano Paños and now they co-direct the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía and their own company the Estévez/ Paños y Compañía.
Estévez/ Paños
Valeriano Paños (Barcelona 1976) in turn, studied with Nuria and Eva Leiva and Javier Latorre, later working with Manolete, Rosa Naranjo and Maestro Granero among others. For some time, he was part of the Dance Company of Andalucía, and the National Ballet of Spain, winning awards lime Outstanding Dancer at the Choreography competition in Madrid 2002. In 2019, the Ministry of Culture & Sports awarded them both the Premio Nacional de Danza- Modalidad de Creación (National Dance Award).
Both these co-directors have absorbed an innate understanding of Flamenco and their electrically-charged shows have been well-received by audiences. The Estévez/ Paños works explore and investigate the very roots of the dance form, even pre-Flamenco.
As Estévez insists: “I am not a dancer… I am a man who dances.”
Despite concentrating on hard work, discipline and precision, the works have an air in sections of being totally improvised and free. These ‘ballets’ are developing into an art form of their own, all the while grounded in traditional Flamenco culture.
La Confluencia (2023)
Dancers: Rafael Estévez, Valeriano Paños, Alberto Sellés, Jorge Morera, and Jesús Perona.
Cantaor: Francisco Blanco
Guitar: Claudio Villanueva
Percussion Iván Mellén
Lighting Olga García AAI
Photographs Beatrix Mexi Molnar
