Flamenco Flamenco! Power of the People

The phenomenal guitarist on stage (Ricardo Garcia) is clearly a master of flamenco, and he looks quite a bit like Lenin.  Not just any Lenin, though: a Lenin who studied in France instead of St. Petersburg, and who learned music instead of the twisted mix of law and revolution.

Although I was mostly drawn into Flamenco Flamenco's performance at the Fringe, there were some slower moments when I had time to wonder what history would have been like if Lenin had taken up a musical instrument with the same dedication he gave to overthrowing the Tsar.  And if he had studied flamenco? The world would have looked quite different.

My favourite thing about flamenco as an art form is duende – that elusive soul of flamenco that no one can seem to define but you know for sure when you feel it.  I've experienced it as a complete liberation from the terrible weight of self-awareness. Perhaps I was distracted by the sound mix last night, or the small but annoying problem of the dancer's unfortunate, old-lady nylons, which drew attention away from her obvious skill.  I didn't find duende in this Fringe show, but I did find my second favourite thing about the dance. 

Flamenco is a collaborative art form.  Musicans and dancers form a semi-circle and work together, calling encouraging phrases at each other.  A knowledgeable audience joins in, and a warm, supportive trance can build.  It's a wonderful way to experience art, and I assume, to make it.  In fact, I wonder if flamenco artists experience stage fright less often than other live performers as a result.

It's hard to achieve this sense of communal art in a show with only three performers, who were performing for an audience which was clearly not accustomed to flamenco, and so didn't shout out the Spanish words of encouragement that can send the musicians and dancers further, further through the night. 

This Flamenco group was small, but there was joy on their faces.  They watched each other with intensity throughout, listened, urged each other on. All the performing arts could learn from the intensity of that connection, the need, and support, for each other on stage.  If we all achieved that shared strength more often, it could be the making of a revolution in the arts. And in society, perhaps.

Flamenco Flamenco! was performed by Ricardo Garcia's Flamenco Flow, from Edinburgh, UK. 

For more information on the show and to join in the public forum jump in here.