Sara Baras Ballet Flamenco

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday September 27, 2008

Gabrield Wilder

? DANCE

SARA BARAS

BALLET

FLAMENCO

Sydney Opera House, September 25

Until tomorrow

Reviewed by Gabriel Wilder

FLAMENCO diva Sara Baras's Sabores started not with fireworks, but with a gentle warming: a mournful, orchestrated song played as she and her company arrived on stage. They stretched and chatted as the musicians took their places - it was a backstage scenario staged for an audience.

The company left and Baras returned in a silver-grey dress that hugged her slender torso then bled to charcoal at its hem. With two men, Jose Serrano and Luis Ortega, she performed graceful silhouettes in perfect unison. The music reached a peak, she tugged at the knot at her waist, and her voluminous skirt cascaded to the floor.

She flung it over a shoulder to reveal her feet moving at breakneck speed and her face broke into a smile as she skittered across the stage, delighting in the dance and her power. Both were infectious and the audience erupted into applause.

The next section was dominated by solo dances by Ortega, who incorporated castanets, and Serrano. Both danced with skill, but I missed Baras.

She returned in a black strappy maillot with black pants and a leather garment that was part chaps, part blacksmith's apron. Her command of her body, the rhythm, and the audience's attention was complete, never more so than when the music died out and she moved gracefully in the silence before her feet erupted in a frenetic tattoo.

Some flamenco dancers seem removed from the audience, as though performing behind glass; Baras reaches out - literally and figuratively - as if she is yearning to be closer. Sabores is flamenco with a modern edge. It's a wonderful, warm experience, with gorgeous costumes, captivating choreography, skilful dancing and, above all, a charismatic virtuoso at its centre.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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