"we feel more at home here than in South America even though we have only lived here for 12 years."
By GLORIA DEUTSCHRafael Grau 88 248(photo credit: Gloria Deutsch)
A small group of schoolgirls, all dressed in long swirling skirts, is dancing the flamenco they have been learning from their teachers, Rafael Grau and Silvy Baro. They clap their hands, they stamp their feet, they twirl to the rhythm of a Spanish guitar as the castanets click and the music grows to a crescendo. And they sing, in perfect Spanish, as they dance.
"It's all those imported soap operas they watch," explains guitarist Grau. "If nothing else, they have certainly contributed to the level of spoken Spanish among our youth."
Grau and his wife Silvy made aliya from Buenos Aires Argentina in 1996. They feel they have made a large contribution to the popularity of flamenco dance, which is now taught in many schools and music conservatories as a standard part of the curriculum.
"There was some flamenco being performed here before we came," Grau says, "but today there is much more awareness of flamenco as a tool for discipline and coordination, as well as for pure enjoyment."
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Baro's grandfather, who came originally from Poland, was a well-known cantor in the South American Jewish community. Grau has roots in both Russia and Turkey.
BEFORE ARRIVAL
They met about 20 years ago when she went to the Buenos Aires academy to study dance and he was teaching singing and classical guitar there. In 1995 they came here as tourists and to spy out the land. The initial two months extended to nine as they gave performances and discovered there was the beginning of a real interest in flamenco.
"We went to discuss our plans with school principals and discovered that they were ready to introduce flamenco into the learning programs," she says.
They returned to Argentina, but Grau pressed to return. He had been here as a volunteer in the '80s and felt that the country was right for them. Perhaps, he concedes, the anti-Semitism and the bombing of the Jewish community center in 1994 might have contributed to the decision to come.
ON ARRIVAL
They spent nine months at the absorption center in Ra'anana. Baro went to the ulpan and studied Hebrew, but Grau admits he preferred to stay up until the wee hours playing his guitar and never made it to Hebrew lessons. After a spell renting a house in Givat Chen, they finally settled in Bat Hefer, a pretty village a wall away from Tulkarm.
LIVING ENVIRONMENT
"We needed a large house for all our practicing and, as we make quite a lot of noise, we could never have lived in an apartment," she says. For this reason they moved to Bat Hefer where they found affordable housing. Baro created a large dance studio inside the house for her daily practicing. Grau takes care of the garden.
ROUTINE
Besides working out in a gym every day to keep fit, they rehearse their shows and Baro also studies ballet. They travel all over the country teaching and performing. Once a week she goes to Eilat to teach, and Grau goes too if there is a performance. They are kept busy with shows, private parties and teaching. Their most recent show, in Ra'anana Park, attracted 4,000 people.
CIRCLE
"We are friendly with other dancers and musicians, Israeli and South American, but the truth is we just haven't got time for friends. Most people work during the day and relax at night, but we work days and also evenings and we're just too busy for a normal social life," Grau says.
FINANCES
"We make a reasonable living."
RELIGION
Although they are not observant, they are very aware of their Jewishness and Baro points to the fact that her grandfather, the cantor, was the inspiration for the show they are now promoting. Called "Meidalle," it is a fusion of Yiddish and flamenco culture and the show opens with the cantorial music she remembers from home. Performed by several dancers with guitar and clarinet accompaniment, it brings together klezmer and flamenco music to great effect.
"But basically we are secular, with an emotional attachment to our Jewish roots," she says.
IDENTIFICATION
"We are a bit of everything," Grau says. "Although we are Argentinean, we really feel we belong in Israel and now we feel more at home here than in South America even though we have only lived here for 12 years."
PLANS
They intend to carry on teaching and performing for many years.
"In flamenco age is not a barrier to doing it well," says Baro. "With the perspective of age, you can express the emotions more deeply and with more art. With ballet, a good dancer can't carry on forever, but with flamenco there are excellent dancers in their 50s and even 60s."
They also plan to bring their show, which was performed to great acclaim at the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv, to the US, and are confident it will be a critical success there.
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