Search For Identity From Spare Flamenco Drama
The Age
Tuesday January 23, 2007
DANCE REVIEW: EVA - EVA YERBABUENA'S BALLET FLAMENCO At Hamer Hall, January 21
IN EVA Yerbabuena's signature show, Eva, the dancer's most intimate partner is an old gramophone that sits beside her as the show opens. A crackly recording of a flamenco guitar rises into the air, as Yerbabuena dances a gentle, almost dream-like introduction to the underlying themes of her show: the timelessness of flamenco, and a woman's search for identity - and perhaps freedom - through dance. Darkness falls across the stage, and Yerbabuena and her gramophone are replaced by three male vocalists, each standing under a solitary spotlight and singing with restrained but palpable emotion. Eventually the curtain lifts to reveal four musicians at the back of the stage; the three singers join them and underline the rhythms of the guitars, cajon and flute with deftly clapped palmas.It's a muted but highly effective opening to the show, which Yerbabuena created for her fledgling company in 1998, and which she is still performing at the invitation of theatres and concert halls around the world.Yerbabuena calls her company Ballet Flamenco, and it's clear that her approach - as dancer, choreographer and director - is influenced by the aesthetics of classical ballet and modern dance as well as traditional flamenco. There is an unusual amount of unison choreography by the six dancers (three male, three female) in her troupe, echoing the precision and grace of a corps de ballet. There is also a strong sense of theatre - Yerbabuena's early training included drama as well as dance - that permeates every aspect of the production. Although the stage is almost bare, everything is choreographed to make expert use of the space, and to create dramatic impact with minimal changes to lighting, musical accompaniment and the position of performers on stage.Guitarist and composer Paco Jarana plays a leading role among the musicians, his lines often serving as expressive extensions of the dancers' movements - especially when Yerbabuena (to whom he is married) performs solo. The six young company dancers are all exceptional, although Eduardo Jose Guerrero stands out by virtue of his sheer magnetism. Even when his gestures are identical to those of his colleagues, they seem magnified, somehow, and executed with a panther-like sleekness that is instantly seductive.Yerbabuena, too, dances with a fierce, feline energy that pushes her body into constantly shifting shapes and contours. Yet she can also remain virtually immobile, speaking volumes with her undulating hands and fingers.There is a superb sequence featuring Yerbabuena in traditional bata de cola dress, but the show's centrepiece is her extended solea in Del Puente. This beautifully sculptural - and sometimes emotive - piece ranges from slow, balletic body arches to playful hip swivels and dramatically percussive footwork, and feels like a deeply personal expression by Yerbabuena of herself as a dancer and a woman.At the show's conclusion, the gramophone returns to "wake" Yerbabuena from her dancing reverie, perhaps filled with a new understanding of who she is, and a deepened appreciation of what she and flamenco have to offer the world.
© 2007 The Age