Dance review

Marco Flores surrounded himself with an all-female cast of eight; dancers, musicians, applauders and singers; quite a rare notion on flamenco stages.

By ORA BRAFMAN
FLAMENCO DANCER Marco Flores and his ensemble. (photo credit: Courtesy)
FLAMENCO DANCER Marco Flores and his ensemble.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Marco Flores Flamenco Ensemble (Spain)
Suzanne Dellal, April 3
The Adi Foundation produces an annual mini-festival called Days of Flamenco at Tel Aviv’s Suzanne Dellal to promote flamenco dance in Israel.
This year, the guest of honor was the upcoming talented Marco Flores, an agile Spanish dancer with expressively lithe hands and strong heel-work.
In recent years, flamenco purists have slowly lost ground to the new-wave flamenco that seeks to expand its traditional borders. Some go to the outer rims of flamenco and break conventional patterns and structures, other challenge basic traditions.
Flores (33) belongs to the newer generation, but his work is not revolutionary, and his touch is lighter, yet distinctly his own, fusing traditional with contemporary flavors.
Choosing to be the only rooster, Flores surrounded himself with an all-female cast of eight; dancers, musicians, applauders and singers; quite a rare notion on flamenco stages. He generously gave plenty of chances for each to shine individually.
It was a pleasure to see how Flores steps away softly from the rigidity of flamenco’s basics with versatile hand gestures attributed to both genders to create his own touch, without giving an inch on fast, sexy footwork.
The dancers, all ripe and highly experienced, led by Guadaluque Torres, started together on a rather timid routines that made one miss the impish and playful Rocio Molina, but soon the girls proved they have a lot under their skirts: passion, power and plenty of playfulness. It was sheer pleasure to see such professional artists, led by a gutsy dancer such as Flores.
Fortunately, they didn’t give up on that centuries-old flamenco stage tradition: it ain’t over at the end, because there is more sizzle, fun and bravura ahead.
Sometimes one gets the feeling that the dancers, much like the audience, hold back that release of pleasure, which is basically what the prolonged encore is, to give and receive that rush, caused by explosive energy, reserved for those wild moments.