VII Festival de Jerez

 

 

PERFORMANCES:
The 7th Annual Festival de Jerez was held from February 27th through March 11th, 2003.  This year's performers at the Teatro Villamarta included the following:

     -
Ballet de Christina Hoyos, Tierra adentro
     -
Maria del Mar Moreno, Setiembre
     -
Rafael Amargo, Poeta en Nueva York
     -
Ballet Flamenco de Eva Yerbabuena, La voz del silencio
     -
Rafaela Carrasco, La musica del cuerpo
     -
Mercedes Ruiz, Dibujos en el aire
     -
Compania de Javier Baron, Dime
     -
Compania de Antonio el Pipa, De la tierra
     -
Javier Latorre y Compania de Danza, Rinconete y Cortadillo
     -
Compania de Antonio Marquez, Boda flamenca
     -
Mayte Martin & Belen Maya, Flamenco de camara
     -
Antonio Canales & Manuela Carrasco, Tierra y fuego
     -
Farruquito / Diego Carrasco
     -
Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, Mariana Pineda


Aside from these performances at the main theater, the Festival had put together a series of cante concerts and flamenco-fusion shows before and after the main event of the night.  The midnight <Cafe Cantante> series were particularly interesting, with such artists as Mayte Martin, Esperanza Fernandez, Dorantes, Diego Amador, and the trio Carles Benavent-Jorge Pardo-Tino di Geraldo performing in a Bodega.  

 

 

DANCE WORKSHOPS:
The workshop portion of the festival also had put together a team of well-known teachers, and I signed up with Rafaela Carrasco and Maria del Mar Moreno. 

Week 1
     -
Matilde Coral, Tecnica y estilo del baile por tangos (Nivel: Medio)
     -
Angelita Gomez, Las bulerias de Jerez (Nivel: Medio)
     -
Inmaculada Aguilar, El baile por solea (Nivel: Medio)
     -
Manolete, Tecnica y estilo de la farruca (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)
     -
Mercedes Ruiz, Introduccion a las bulerias de Jerez (Nivel: Iniciacion)
     -
Andres Pena, Introduccion al baile por siguiriya (Nivel: Iniciacion)
     -
Maria Jose Franco, Introduccion al baile por alegrias (Nivel: Iniciacion)
     -
Javier Latorre, Tecnica y estilo del taranto (Nivel: Medio)
     -
Antonio el Pipa, La solea por bulerias (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)
     -
Isabel Bayon, Tecnica y estilo de la siguiriya (Nivel: Medio)
     -
Lola Greco, Estilo y expresion del baile flamenco estilizado, alegrias (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)

Week 2
     -
Matilde Coral, Tecnica y estilo del baile con bata de cola (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)
     -
Angelita Gomez, Las bulerias de Jerez (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)
     -
El Guito, La solea del Guito (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)
     -
Ana Maria Bueno, Estilo y expresion de la siguiriya con bata de cola y palillos (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)
     -
Rafaela Carrasco, Tecnica y estilo del baile por tangos (Nivel: Medio)
     -
Mercedes Ruiz, Introduccion al baile por solea (Nivel: Iniciacion)
     -
Andres Pena, Introduccion a las bulerias de Jerez (Nivel: Iniciacion)
     -
Juan Antonio Tejero, Introduccion al baile por tangos (Nivel: Iniciacion)
     -
Jose Granero, Coreografia del baile espanol (Nivel: Especializacion)
     -
Merche Esmeralda, Estilo y expresion del taranto (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)
     -
Maria del Mar Moreno, Las bulerias de Jerez (Nivel: Medio)
     -
Manolo Marin, Tecnica y estilo del baile por livianas (Nivel: Perfeccionamiento)

 

 

 

A typical day in Jerez

The Festival lasts two weeks but usually I attend one week of the Festival and spend the other week traveling to other places, like Sevilla or Madrid.  I try to maximize my stay in Jerez by packing in as many classes and activities as possible.  Here is what my typical day looks like:

8:00AM - the alarm goes off
9:00AM - breakfast at a local bar around the corner from the hotel (usually a tostada y cafe con leche)
10:15AM - 12:45PM - Rafaela Carrasco's tangos class.  She spends the first half of the class going over technique, with emphasis on the hip movements and feet.  The second half of the class is dedicated to the choreography. 


[Picture with everyone in the class]

[Snapshot with Rafaela]
   

1:00PM - relax in an outdoor cafe and have a quick bite.  The city center is bustling with people as they go home or do their last minute shopping before the entire city closes for lunch and siesta at 2pm. 


[City center bustling with people]
 

[Plaza Arenal]
   

[The main cathedral of the city]

2:00PM - the only time during the day to do more "touristic" activities.  We visit  churches and walk the narrow streets of Barrio Santiago.  We join a tour of the Bodega Gonzalez-Byass.  (This bodega is in fact where the Cafe Cantante is held as part of the Festival programming.)  We learn the sherry (Jerez, or fino) making process and get a tour of their expansive compound.  I especially liked the bodega with hundreds of barrels signed by all the famous people who have visited the bodega.  Some examples: Steven Spielberg, Margaret Thatcher, Carlos Saura, Winston Churchill, and Lola Flores.  The tour concludes with sherry tasting (from dry to sweet oloroso) with little tapitas (tapas).  

   
   

[Our tour guide, Fatima]

[This Disney-mobile takes us around the Bodega]
   
4:00PM - 6:30PM - Maria del Mar Moreno's Bulerias de Jerez class.  She emphasizes the importance of cante, the aire, and having fun.  No complicated steps are involved but it's very difficult to dance the Bulerias de Jerez the way it should be danced.  Maria is a great singer as well, and she sings her way throughout the class so that her students can get accustomed to hearing the cante.  She taught us about 5 or 6 different pataitas and on the last day of class, she made us each dance una patada while she sang. 
   

[Maria del Mar Moreno's class]

[Maria receiving flowers from her students]
   

[Our guitarist, Santiago Moreno and DC flamenco dancer Lisa Scott.
  Santi is Maria's brother]

[We each receive a certificate of completion at the end of the course]
   

7:00PM - Time to catch up on shopping and a bit of rest.  There is time for a quick bite as well. 
9:00PM - The show at Villamarta starts.  The high caliber of performers at the Villamarta makes the trip worthwhile even without the dance workshops.  It's a rare chance to see the world's best flamenco dancers and their companies all within such a short period of time.  Many companies premier their work at the Festival
12:00AM - We head over to Bodega Gonzalez-Byass for the Cafe Cantante.
1:00AM - Time to head over to one of the Peņas scattered throughout the city.  Many of the singers I have seen are quite young but nevertheless with incredible talent.   

  [Peņa la Buena Gente was completely packed and people were spilling out into the streets]

3:00AM - Time to finally go to sleep.  This routine will start all over again in 5 hours.  

 

 

Text and images by Florida Flamenco.  Please do not republish in whole or part without prior written permission.