Another kind of fusion -- "Tango Flamenco"

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Anyone seen the current tour of Tango Flamenco? (I know it was up in Montreal and Toronto recently.)

There have been several threads on Ballet Talk recently about "fusion" choreography, usually referring to some combination of ballet-modern. I just saw an evening entitled "Tango Flamenco" -- performed by the Spanish Compania Talent Danza, and created and choreographed by the company's artistic director, Antonio Najarro. Najarro also danced in each piece -- and what a good dancer he is. The company consists of 6 stunning women, 5 men who were both solid and quick, a contemporary flamenco band and (excellent) singer and a "nuevo tango" orchestra.

Here the obvious fusion was tango and flamenco -- though hand and arm movements and footwork were mostly derived from flamenco and there was relatively little sustained tango dancing even in the tango second half. There were numeous recognizable touches of Bejart-style ballet (but no jumps, true to the grounded traditions of flamenco and tango), Graham (including one solo with a textbook illustration of contraction and release), and show biz gestures and panache from both Fosse and Flatlley.

This might sound awful, but it wasn't. Quite the contrary It ws done so artfully, seamlessly, and with such conviction by each dancer, that it was actually one of the great strengths of the work. There was a unified choreographic vision to the whole program (consisting of what could be peformed as separate dance). The reliance of basic ballet steps and positions to hold it all together (returning to pointed toe, standard pirouettes, etc., with a few double tours en l'air, etc.) was especially nice to see. They -- and the flamenco hand, arm and torso movements -- held it all together.

Colorful and beautifully dance-able costumes, simple but colorful lighting and backgrounds, and placement of each band at the back of the stage all contributed to the effect.

The audience went wild -- a rare event indeed in this neck of the woods. On the drive home my companion mentioned that each dancer seemed to remain an individual while never ceasing to be part of the ensemble, and that each seemed 100% committed to the performance. It's as if each had been told that Mr. DeMille was in the audience tonight. We were near the front of the orchestra so could see faces and eyes, ,and I didn't see any instances of wandering attention. This was a group that knew how to dance like this was the most important performance of their lives.

I could think of several ballet company directors -- and certain members of their companies -- would would benefit from seeing how this can be done. And how it thrills the audience.

And did I mention how good and charismatic a dancer Antonio Najarra is?